therealljidol | Pre-Show Green Room

It's cold and rainy, and I'm a little sleepy. But I'm going to LUSH and the library today. Mi vida loca!

Today is an AWESOME day to hit up the library. I'll be going to my college library, but only because I have a class there.

The weekend is going to rock! I'm going to a three-mile corn maze! They have an American Idol theme too, so I have NO CHANCE of escaping the Idol mayhem. Being lost in an Idol labyrinth is going to be sort of a metaphor for my life. Good times!

An American Idol-themed Halloween maze? That is terrifying.

Their main character is some random peanut mascot. When you're walking around the maze (which is not Halloween themed), there's all these signs with random signposts with music trivia questions. You go in with a card and can fill in the answers. When I went, I just wanted to do the maze, but Jessi is a very socially cooperative person, so she couldn't help but participate.

vegan canadian soap! love LUSH!

They're coming out with solid perfumes in Honey, I Washed the Kids and American Cream scents. Sadly, they're not in stores until November 1st. :o(!

LOLOLOLOL. We are the women who love perfume, fizzy bath balls, gooey lotions and heavenly sudsy soaps... and big musty books. The world should fear us.

Hey everyone!

clauderainsrm said that he's going to be giving us all free cookies! Like, real ones! You need to let him know if you want them and what type you want. His exact words were that LJ Idol was "the place to get free cookies!*g*".

Personally, I'm going to ask for chocolate chip, or maybe chocolate covered oreos.

Mmmm I want those layered cookies with chocolate, coconut, caramel...

Well, he didn't put a limit on how many we could order. Maybe I can score some for some family and friends as well!

or just for me. they're all going to be just for me.

I heard that.

I want snickerdoodles... mmmm.

He's going to be cooking for a LONG time. He should have thought harder about this before making the offer!

I know! Heh, and I don't want just a dozen. I want 5 dozen! HAHAHA!

I'm pushing for a free weekly cookie delivery service.

*grins* Is everyone but me cookie deprived? I guess it's a good quality to know how to bake...

*starts setting out various cakes, cookies, pies, nutroll, brownies, and struesel*

Are there lemon squares? It's been a while.

O.M.G.

*drools*

I love lemon squares... please? Anyone?

Watch the drool, you're getting it all over your keyboard.

I can nearly taste them!

The definitely look ESPECIALLY good.

They're deceiving, though. It's one of those foods I'm completely satisfied after just one.

Wait!

If he is cooking... then who is running the competition?

*confused look*

And have you ever tasted Gary's cookies? There's a REASON he asks people to send them to him instead.

I think I'll stick with my Snickerdoodles instead...

::: tense moment of revelation :::

OH CRUD!

::: dives to the front cab and grabs the wheel just in time :::

I happen to have snickerdoodles RIGHT HERE ON MY DESK. *passes you the box* They're from the supermarket, though, and not nearly as good as the ones my mom used to make. For years I thought I was the only person who knew what snickerdoodles were!

I have a good recipe for them, but never can find the time to make them. Hrm, maybe for Christmas this year. I'll put them in my list. =)

Oh, you should. I love making homemade cookies. And now I'm addicted to them--I hate store-bought chocolate chip cookies now. I just can't handle 'em. But yes, it does take a good deal of time, waiting for them to bake and cool and trying not to eat all the raw batter...

I also love making homemade cookies. I'm spoiled because my mom always used to make them for us growing up. The only store-bought we ever had was oreo.

Time. At least now that I'm only working 3 days a week, I'll have time to make all 20-30 dozen cookies that are being requested by my boyfriend. ("Honey, I like these, these, these, and oh, these! Can you make them for me for Christmas?!" On top of all of my regular ones... *sigh*)

My mom used to make cookies when I was very young, but she didn't have time to make anything when I was older.

My boyfriend LOVES it when I make cookies. I send him to work with a huge bag of 'em to share. And of course he keeps them all to himself.

I used to send tins of cookies to work with my mom all of the time. The guys would constantly ask her when I was bringing them again and eat them all within minutes.

I think baking has become a lost art. Everything is store-bought anymore... =( I love going to a bakery to get fresh bread instead of eating crappy walmart bread.

A friend once told me I should open my own bakery. But if I did that, Gary would want to live in the apartment upstairs and then keep stealing my cookies every night.

I agree, baking is a lost art. I have several friends that really enjoy doing it (and cooking too) but then I have other friends who are like, "Why bother making cupcakes? Wal-mart does it better than I do." Ewwww! There's no comparison!

I'm not sure I could bake for a living. I think I'd get fed up with it and stop enjoying it.

I'm going home to see my fiance this weekend, so I'm in a great mood! I just wish school wasn't kicking my butt quite so hard!

Saturdays are dedicated to me and Jessi every week. I don't care how backed up I am, how much sleep I lose otherwise, or what I sacrifice- she just GETS one day a week with me.

I wish we could do that. With our schedules now, we're lucky if we even get to talk to each other every day...and once he's in Basic in a few months, he doesn't even get that.

With one exception, I've talked with Jessi at least once a day every day for the last seven months. Having a SO in the army would kill me- literally reduce my lifespan. I'd worry too much.

He's not going to be a soldier, he's going in as a computer tech of some sort. But I'm still going to be worried about him, especially considering I'll still be in grad school at the time.

It'd still be very difficult for me. Major props to you, my good woman!

Oh, it will be hard, but I think it's going to be a good thing for him. He's never been able to get out of our (rather small) hometown and spread his wings. I will be scared, but I'll just keep praying. Nothing I can really do by worrying about him, honestly.

I think everyone needs to go one at least one adventure in their life. Mine was an incredibly transformative experience for me. It broadens you considerably.

Are you religious? ::: interested :::

I am, actually...I'm Catholic. :-)

I'm lucky that my husband and I at least see each other every day. We don't quite have quality time to spend, though. He works days and I work nights so our schedules are off of each other. But I always make sure that we have time on either Saturday or Sunday that's family time. And one weekend a month, the Button BoyTM spends the weekend with Grammy and Poppy so we have some couples time.

But we did the LDR thing for awhile. I lived in NYC and he lived in Philly. We managed to make time for one to visit the other almost every weekend until I moved to Philly before the wedding. It was a tough time but I think that helps make couples stronger.

I'd LOVE to see my

stargazerkisses every day! I'm actually seriously considering moving even though it'd be extremely difficult due to time and money restraints right now to be closer to her. If I miss a week of seeing her, it takes a physical toll on me.

The relationship isn't so LDR- just 50 miles or so, but we're both so busy- she's a full-time special ed. teacher- that we just never seem to have the chance to be with each other- it's a 2 hour round trip, know?

I think it's made us stronger too. We've been developing a pretense of really appreciating each other, working hard to cooperate when things get tense and to really make the most out of each second we have with each other. Being able to see each other less forces to not take it for granted, which is a great way to establish a relationiship.

We're three hours apart, and I haven't seen him for almost a month and a half (which is why I'm going to see him this weekend) because of our schedules! We're both full time students, so it seems like we always have some project going on that consumes all our time. It's hard...it does make him appreciate him that much more, but I'm just tired of it.

Oh, God yeah. I have a lot of respect for anyone who tries to keep something like THAT rolling! I had a short relationship like that when I was in Iowa- I'd go out to spend the weekend at her house 2 1/2 hours away. I don't think I'd be willing to do that again.

Actually, in the beginning it was one of the best things that could have happened to us. We were high school sweethearts and lived within walking distance of each other growing up. If we hadn't had that separate time to grow up independently, I don't think we would have as strong of a relationship as we have now.

I can imagine that would help- I think it's good to join together, but it's fatal to be bored with each other. You both need to have adventures so you can both bring growth to the table. If you get stale, the relationship grows stagnant as well.

I friended you, by the way. It's been really fun in the green room- there's great people in here!

I'll friend you back! I'm very excited to meet some new people in this competition.

Me too! Adding new people makes LJ Idol a win/win!

Oh, are you doing the long distance thing? My husband and I did that before we got married.

Yep...it's been distance for almost four and a half years, and even though we're getting married in December, he's going off to Basic in January, so it will STILL be long distance! :-(

We're in the same boat. We lived apart the first 9 months of our wedding, were together for three months, and we're apart again for 8 months. I see him almost every weekend though.

Good luck to you. It's rough!

Hopefully, once he's done with Basic and AIT I'll be just about done with grad school, and we can actually live together somewhere. It's going to be a very long road, but he's worth it, and I keep looking forward to the day when I'll be able to wake up next to him for the rest of my life! It can't come soon enough...

Which arm is he in and what are you studying? It sounds like you have a nice plan ahead! :)

He's going into the Army, and I'm at the amazing University of Florida in Gainesville. I'll be done with grad school classes mid-June, and will have my actual graduation in August. He should be done with all his training mid-August. Perfect timing.

Just peachy... I get to go deal with the DMV to get a duplicate title for the car we're selling to CarMax tonight. :)

I HATE HATE HATE anything having to do with paperwork, and the DMV is my own personal hell. As of right now:

1. My car's license plate is an Iowa one.
2. My driver's license is Rhode Island- an address I haven't lived at for ten years.
3. My Insurance is Connecticut
4. My registration is expired.

If I get pulled over, I'm completely screwed, but the only alternative is to deal with the DMV, which is NOT AN OPTION for me.

Yikes!

I gotta deal if I ever want rid of this car - and since it's not good for anything but parts anymore, I need to get rid of it. :)

Don't just give it away, though. I worked as a temp at an auto auction, and dead cars sell at auto auctions to junk dealers for at least $250. I'm sure you could get a good $100 for it if you called one up.

Yep - CarMax quoted us $100, which is actually better than the junk yard will give me for it. It's got some issues - needs interior and exterior cosmetic repair, has an after market engine, true mileage unknown, etc.

If you're pushy, you can also get a LOT for it as a trade in. I used my old heap as bargaining fodder with a dealer for an extra $300 off after all else was said and done.

We already bought the new car, though. ;p

Well, buy me one, then.

LOL! Only have credit/funds for the one, honey. :)

Well, just send what you have, then, and I'll take it from there. ;-)

;p~~~~~

::: sighs and gets a wet mop ::::

I friended you, BTW.

Yay!

Heh, my registration is expired, too! I didn't realize it until the other day. Oops! I have an appt next week to get that remedied...

You can make APPOINTMENTS with the DMV?

Probably not, but wouldn't that ROCK? In and out!

No, I needed an appt to get my car inspected. Local garages do that around my town. =) For my state, you can go on their website and get the registration taken care of.

Oh, that's cool. I wanna mail it in!

I had to get both mine and my husband's vehicles re-registered last month. I waited in line with a cranky 29 month old. The only reason I didn't mail it in was because I'd waited on it for so long. But I've determined that next time, it's either getting mailed in early or my husband will wait in line. I felt so bad for all the poor people in line with me, because Teddy would NOT stay still or be quiet.

Kids... lol Gotta love them.

I'm so glad we can do our renewals on line here. I can't imagine trying to wait in line with Bobby... *shudder*

Wait with Teddy was just a nightmare. I'd put his toddler harness on, hoping that the ability to walk around a little bit would be better than being stuck in the stroller. Nope. He wanted to go further away than Mama could bring him.

Toddlers and lines just REALLY don't mix! :)

LOL! I guess I'm lucky that Bobby is still so portable. (He'll be 2 months old on Sunday.) Right now, I can just stick him in his car seat - which plugs directly into his stroller - and roll him where I need to go. He's usually obliging enough to sleep while we're out, too. I'm sure he'll be a handful of mobility by April, though. :)

You can in Pinellas county. :)

Really? I didn't realize that. I should have done that while I was living in St. Pete rather than wait forever in line. Should I ever move back that way, I'll keep it in mind!

Man, these people need to NETWORK. There are SO MANY ways to do this better than the way they handle it here. I've been to the DMV on three separate occassions so far and still haven't gotten ANYTHING yet. It's like a game- see how far you can get before you die and have to reset and start over.

Or maybe you should just move to a bigger state. *sick burn!*

Here in PA, we can either mail it, web it, or go to the DMV. Our DMV has the tickets like you get at the lunchmeat counter at walmart. "Now serving 04." Luckily, they have different rooms and tickets for pictures and testing. So if you just need to renew a license or get an address change, you don't have to wait for other people who are taking their tests. A beautiful system. =) When I went for my Change of Addy thing, I only waited about 10 minutes. And that was with the waiting room full!

::: puts hand on hip and bobs head :::

Oh not you d'int!

Yeah, one of the DMVs in Rhode Island has that too. It's was still inconvenient, though, because it was 40 minutes away. I mean, I can usually at least hit the counter after an hour and a half, so why drive 40 minutes each way to try to trim that time down?

Honestly, they should just add staff. Would it kill the budget THAT MUCH?

*grin* My DMV is a good 6 minutes from my house. =) We have 5 people working there (1 photos/change of address, 1 driving tester, 1 permit testing person, and 2 who take care of general business). They're good at what they do, and they're quick.

Oh yes... Yes I did.

::: speaking in poor dubbing :::

Clearly, your karate is far stronger than mine!

::: dies :::

You can in Manatee county, too. :-)

Oh dear gods, DMV. I just resign myself to hours in an uncomfortable chair and take along a book to read. If I end up getting out in less than two hours, I feel like I've conquered the world!

Good luck with selling the car!

Thanks! There's actually a "fancy" new center not too far away, and the wait isn't nearly as long any more. We were in and out in about 30 minutes.

Oooooh! *is jealous*

*grins*

The thing that took the longest was that their credit card lines were down, so I had to run to the ATM to get cash because I forgot to put my checkbook in the diaper bag. (I hate trying to carry a diaper bag AND my purse... )

Haha! I know plenty of women who just gave up and used their diaper bag AS their purse.

That's what I've been trying to do, but I keep forgetting to put things in, and it seems like there are only 2 sizes: Quick Trip (not big enough for baby AND Mommy things) and Duffel Bag. I need to find the happy medium. :)

Cute baby in zee icon!

Yeah, I'm not sure that there's much out there as far as happy mediums. Some of those duffel-bag-type diaper bags are HUGE!

Thanks! That's my little one... who'll be 2 months old on Sunday. (Time's already flying... *sigh*) I need to update his pics, too. :)

I know. I'm going to have to work something out.

Time does go by fast. And they get so big so fast!

I'm off to get my 5th pair of new glasses this year. The arm fell off of this pair. :/ But at least I've gotten a lot of other things taken care of.

Plus, it's Thursday! Only two more days of work!

Danishes, anyone?

My glasses are in terrible shape. Huge scratches, poor prescription, they're bent and the lenses fall out regularly. The only alternative I have are one-year disposable contact lenses that I've had for three years, so I'm pretty much stuck. I'd get new ones, but they're SO EXPENSIVE, and I have about 50,000 other things I desperately need to buy.

It feels like Friday. I want it to be Friday. Friday is sleep day.

I love having Fridays off. Granted, it's less money that I make, but it's great to be able to sleep in and have that time to just chill or do whatever errands need done.

I work too hard lately. The little voice in my head that says "Call in sick! Take the day off!" has been too loud and frequent lately. I've been making myself sick with exhaustion from too little sleep, and not having any free time has really been bugging me. I COMPLETELY blew off 100 pages of reading for class tonight- I think I read maybe five pages. But it's all garbage. Last week I read a chapter that outlined the keyboard. "This is the Enter Key!" "THIS IS THE RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON!" WHAT GRAD SCHOOL STUDENT DOESN'T KNOW THIS???

This week's subjects? What is bandwidth? What's a modem?

It's miserable, miserable, miserable.

Aww... *hugs*

Since my boss cut me down to three days a week (until tax season when we start making money again), I haven't needed to call in sick. It's wonderful to have a flexible schedule where I can say "Hey, I'm going to take today off. I'll work tomorrow, instead." I try to work T/W/Th so that I can recover on Mondays and have an early weekend. My boss doesn't seem to care.

I hope the class's readings get more interesting.

That's ideal! You're lucky. I'm a SAHM during the days (which NEVER gets a day off) and I work nights. I used to love my 4 nights a week that I worked, but then I took a promotion and am there 5 nights now. On top of that, while I'm scheduled 4 hours a night, I usually work closer to 6 because our numbers were so high. Lately, I've been trying to stick to the four hours and not feeling bad if I need to take a mental health day. You take what you've gotta, you know?

But I really wish I had your deal instead! :)

Wait until tax season. Then I'll be working 5 10 hour days plus maybe Saturday mornings! At least it only lasts from mid-January through mid-April. Then I'll go back to this schedule with a possible fourth or fifth day if I want them. =)

ewok = will be limited online during tax season =(

My husband, who went from blues guitarist to computer programmer to intellectual property has *billed* 200 hours this month, and there are still a few days left. He has no idea how many hours he has actually worked, since not all of his time is accounted for in their system.

I never see him anymore!

[must be why I am crazy enough to do this and NaNo at the same time]

Geez... And I thought tax season was bad. lol My boss probably works about that much time during Feb/March. She even comes in on Sundays (although we have no clients coming in that day).

Are you doing the cookie exchange too? Just another thing to add to your already crazy schedule!

I haven't let myself call in sick, but my mind is sabotaging me anyways- it's sneaky like that. I've been doing things like "accidentally" coming in a half hour late. It's rough, because no one really cares here at work, but I know it doesn't look good and won't help me get into a position of actual responsibility.

Not that I want to work in Basement Waterpoofing my whole life, but options are a good thing, know?

The class readings don't get more interesting. Fortunately, after today, there's only one more class. On class 1 the professor announced that he'd been double-scheduled for classes and instead of canceling one class he was going to cancel every other class for both classes and teach them alternately. Really, he just can't speak English and doesn't have any content he can coherently present.

If the class was a good one, I'd be ticked off about it, but since it's worthless, I'm gonna take it as two wrongs making a right.

My mom used to work for a waterproofing company. Sump pumps, concrete, the works. They did french drains. (But she worked in the office and paid the bills.)

I answer phones and try to hammer random people into coherency, along with odd jobs. I'm learning a lot about this kind of stuff, though.

That us definitely uber cool. All the freedom of being freelance with the security of a real job!

This will be my third tax season working here. During tax season, we don't take time off EVER. But during the off-season, she gives me a week's paid vacation for being her assistant. It's wonderous. I got paid to sit on the beach at Ocean City. =)

::: drooling at the thought :::

Yuck! That does sound like the most boring reading. I don't blame you for the need to take time off. I firmly believe in the need for mental health days. I think it makes you more productive in the long run. Because I don't think that weekends are enough sometimes. Particularly when you have to take the time to get everything done on the weekends that you can't get done during the week.

Here's hoping that you get a chance FOR that mental health day soon!

I can't really afford a mental health day right now, though. I've had to leave work early twice in the last couple weeks to bring the cat to the vet's and I was sick four weeks ago and had to take two days off. I'm poor from it and I'm starting to look a little flaky, methinks. When I DO take "me" time, I'm still kind of on the move, because I'm seeing my friends so in two years when I'm done with college and ready to have a life again there's still a few of them talking to me. In a month or so I'll have no class for a few weeks and I can use the afternoons to catch up on sleep and down time. for now, I sacrifice sleep so I can chill out a little more, but I pay for it. I'm NOT very productive anymore, but I'm too busy to stop.

I dunno. I've been in MUCH tougher spots before, but now it's like "Oh, man! Again? I thought I was done with this kind of stuff!"

My house is an embarassing mess. If I had a day off, I'd be cleaning.

I understand completely. I'm home all day, but my house is an embarrassing mess as well. I don't know how other moms do it, but I can't keep up with a toddler AND cleaning. Not when he comes behind me and takes everything out that I've just put away.

I need to vaccuum, clean the bathroom (especially the DISGUSTING tub and toilet), clear out the fridge, mop the floor, wash the windows inside and out, dust the ceiling fans, dust in general, change the bedsheets, wipe down the couch... you name it, it needs it.

And I imagine that a toddler gives new meaning to the term "FULL" time job.

That it does. I don't even get weekends off. But it's honestly the most rewarding job I've ever had, too. Getting paid in hugs and kisses, while it doesn't pay the bills, does wonders for the psyche.

Being a teacher in Creston, Iowa was my most rewarding job to date. Not a day goes by where I don't think about it.

Boy, I know about that! I didn't have any kind of vision insurance for years and my glasses were the same way. I lucked out this year, because my husband has good insurance and we bought breakage insurance. None of the (now 5 pairs of) glasses that I've had to get this year have cost me a dime.

You'd better believe I'm buying the same insurance next year. Plus a pair of the bendy type of frames. My kid is VERY hard on my glasses.

I will only buy mine at Sears- their warranties are the best! I've been going there for 20 years.

That's pretty rough. I haven't broken glasses that often since I was 12! The guy at Sears knew me by name!

When I first got this pair, I treated them like sacred relics- carefulyl cleaned, preserved, etc. Now as long as my cat doesn't walk on or chew them, I'm cool.

Well, it's mainly because I have a very destructive toddler. He loves to pull them from my face, see if he can make a straight line with them, stuff like that. The only non-Teddy related accident with my glasses was when I was in a car accident this spring and they flew from my face. It's been a really rough year.

We started going to a local eye doctor that's just down the road from us. They're getting to know me by name too. (Their warranty service is really great too. :D)

The worst thing is when a lens falls out. You have to try to wear the glasses with one lens and squint which instantly gives me a headache, or you're stuck peering around without glasses. If you're me, that means you're close to legally blind. The other day I stared long and hard in my ,s>not especially clean toilet trying to decide if having glasses was worth fishing around in there because I thought the lens had fallen in. I decided in the end "No" and flushed to end the debate. I then realized the horrible mess I'd gotten in to, stepped back, and by stepping back turned the floor mat over slightly. There, my lens sat. Many prayers were shouted out the Lord, Lord Almighty that day.

I actually lost mine on the street one day and couldn't find it again. I tried going into work the next morning but ended up with a very bad migraine from being without my glasses. I had to shell the money out for new glasses that morning, whether I wanted to or not. Luckily, Rich and I had just gotten married so I was able to get on his vision plan. Not that his grad school had a good plan, but it was better than without.

Back before I had insurance and regularly had my glasses falling apart, I got really good at deciphering the blobs on street signs. You do what you have to.

I tried driving without glasses once. I made it for about four days, then one day I turned into a sidewalk, thinking it was my turn, but it was NOWHERE NEAR ANYTHING. Very embarassing! And stupid, really, but really half the goal of driving is not hitting anything, and you can still pretty much do that.

I had my wipers break once, then the repairs cost over $300, and the new installation broke soon afterwards- I'm pretty sure it was a major ripoff all around. Anywho, I was too poor to buy another set, so I drove without wipers in the rain for a good many weeks at night on the highway. THAT wasn't bright.

:ganks a danish and runs to eat in a corner, nibbling at it and staring wide-eyed at everyone like an over-caffeinated skwerrel:

This picture just gave me a much needed chuckle!

No danishes for me. I WANT A BITE OF THAT THING OF BEAUTY AND DEATH IN YOUR ICON. ZOMG ICE CREAM!!!!!1!

Another Ice cream-aholic, I see? *hands lilerthwake a bowl of peanut butter passion* Well met!

Oooooh! *passes the raspberry/white chocolate swirl down to

adpaz* Yes, I loves ice cream. Especially when it's accompanied by brownies, hot fudge, and sprinkles!

This new slow churned stuff has my heart in chains. Edy's! Another branch of Idol mania!

I haven't tried that yet! My personal addiction is a Dove raspberry/vanilla swirl with chocolate chips and a DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE ON TOP. *dies*

I'll have to pick up some Edy's Slow Churned this weekend.

This ice cream place that used to be near my home served "Ant Hill Cluster", which was chocolate jimmies (ants), chocolate ice cream (dirt) and all sorts of random "stuff". I loved it!

That sounds awesome!

Oh, it was. I found the place over the summer- it'd been sold to the owner's son. I bought it there, but the ice cream was vanilla and the oreo cookies had been taken out. NOT COOL!

NOT COOL AT ALL! H0rz!

Oh, totally. I ruined all but the first spoonful by crying into it.

Oh, dear!

It's 6:30 AM where I am, and the only reason I would ever be awake at this ungodly hour is to cram for a test.

:gulps coffee:

... or if you still hadn't gone to bed yet.

True. But I've had better reasons for all-nighters than exams. Come to think of it, maybe staying up all night to study would have been productive. Granted, I would've gone insane by 4AM...

I haven't done an all-nighter for anything but homework since about four years ago when I went to see Rocky Horror. I can pull all-nighters fairly easily because I don't drink coffee or soda. If I want to pull an all-nighter, a single bottle of soda is enough to keep my mind racing all ngiht long with some sips to spare.

Well, maybe I've been up all night for a couple other things.

Oh, you kids.
I get up at 5:35 every morning, and it eats a little bit of my soul each time my alarm goes off.

I get up at 8:20, leave by 8:35, and am at work by 8:50. (Key: no kids, shower the night before, no make-up)

Up at 5:35, out the door by 6:45, on a bus by 6:55, on the train to the suburbs at 7:31, on the shuttle to the office by 8:05, at my desk by 8:15. LJing by 8:17.
(Key: Being urban and fabulous—every personal-preparation moment is totally worth it.)

Wake up at 7:30, snooze till 8, leave at 9 for the 5-minute shuttle, take a 20-min train ride, at the office or class by 10. (I have to have breakfast, and typically fuss with my hair for twenty minutes.)

5:30 is just harrrrd. I admire you. My alarm went off then this morning. I actually got up within 10 minutes.

10 minutes is admirable. I had a MISERABLE adjustment period when I moved to Chicago for my new job. In my last position, I went in at 10:30 or 11 a.m. with only a 35-minute commute on the train, and I could wear whatever I wanted (including my pajamas, if I felt like it). Now I start at 8 with an hour-and-change commute, and I have to be dressed up at work.
Myehhhhh I suck at being a grown-up, and it's so hard being important :P

I like to pretend that I can get ready in ten minutes. I actually posted my morning routine a couple weeks ago- here's a copy of the post:

My Morning Routine:

5:30+: Alarm goes off. No matter when I set it to go off (unless it's a day when I'm waking up early to finish a paper), I press snooze repeatedly until 6:35 or so.
6:36: I crawl out of bed and check my e-mail and read the daily comic at www.sluggy.com.
6:40: I start to slowly realize that I have ten minutes to get ready and out of the house at this point, and I start rummaging around for clothes. Hopefully, I have some, because I never really check the night before. I say hi to the cats and reread a few old comics from one of my comic books.
6:45: At around this time, I'm getting in the shower. I keep my showers so hot that I can barely stand them. I continue to read my comic book while soaping up (all my comic books have significant water damage). My total shower takes about 5 minutes.
6:51: I'm one minute late and getting out of the shower. I turn on an audio book on the radio in the kitchen, then panic and throw my clothes on. If I have to shave, I'm screwed. If possible, I skip it. Skipping cleaning my ears is NOT an option, though, because that drives me nuts.
6:54: I abort all unfinished personal hygiene and run into the kitchen barefooted. I grab whatever is around to eat in the kitchen- usually food I can just grab and stuff into a shopping bag. I try to pour a drink into a container to bring with me, but I often just grab a whole jug of water and drink it in the car. I grab something for breakfast. Sometimes, I just grab a couple slices of raisin bread and eat them in the car as is. More challenging/interesting car breakfasts: A cup of yogurt with no spoon, canned salmon mixed in a bowl with mayo and intended for sandwiches, whole roasted chicken leftovers, and cereal straight out of the box.
6:59: I calculate miracle scenarios where I could still somehow make it to work on time while desperately trying to find my keys. I turn off the audio book, which I wasn't listening to anyways.
7:02: I run out to the car with my stop and shop bag of random food and my sock and shoes in hand. I put my socks and shoes on and eat while driving to work.
7:38: Average work arrival time for 7:30 deadline.

Hey now... I'm definitely in rural life. No subways, no commuter trains... We're lucky to have highways. (And as said above, no dunkin donuts. Or quizno's, olive garden, white castle, jack in the box, waffle house...) The only thing we have is a plane crash site from 9/11.

Hurrah Western PA!

See? THAT'S what keeps you so trim!

Good luck on the test!

I just made a spreadsheet of all the contestants who have posted links back to their own journal so far.

81

(If anyone cares)

*starts chanting* That is awesome! *clap clap clapclapclap*

Wow, it just keeps growing.

I was thinking of doing the same thing. It's going to be a GOOD season, I think. Lots of great writers in the group!

Wow! I wonder how many more will sign up before the cut off date.

I care! And I think your organization skills are utterly adorable. First the email notifications in Thunderbird. Now a SPREADSHEET of contestants. I want to pinch your adorable little cheeks.

*blush*

Hee!

Students swarming...must get CAFFEINE!!!!
::rasp of soda can opening, then several swallows::

Having a lovely morning now, thank you!

Pepsi is my drink of choice in the mornings, if I need it. I can't drink coffee...I've tried.

Any kind of cola soda is my Great Friend in the morning.

I've tried coffee, and unless it's a flavoring, rather than a base, I dislike it intensely.

(with the exception of chocolate covered coffee beans which affect me rather like giving Mac from "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" any kind of sugar)

Yeah, what is that? Coffee as a flavoring is GREAT! What meeting was it where they decided to do it that way?

I'm with you on the coffee. It does evil things to my body. My drink of choice is Dr. Pepper. I've got a nice large cup of it this morning.

Dr. Pepper is my vice. I've been an addict since my teens. I've tried to go diet to cut down on the calories, but always go back to the real thing.

So have I. There was a time that I had a strange allergy to it - it caused me to have asthma attacks whenever I'd drink it. Luckily, whatever it was that screwed me up fixed itself so I can drink it again. Pepsi, however, still causes asthma attacks. Yeppers, I'm weird!

It would suck to be allergic to Dr. Pepper. But then it would be a way to stop the cravings.

Actually, it makes it worse. Because there's no way to stop the cravings by having some. I jonesed for Dr. Pepper for years. Sometimes, I'd actually take the asthma attack, knowing that I had an inhaler at the ready, just so I could have a Dr. Pepper.

That's intense. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have Pepsi...it keeps me going. I call it my elixer of life. :-)

I'm chipper this morning. And biting my nails over the announcement. What will it be? Any guesses?

I've got an idea, though I don't know if it's right. Do you have any ideas?

I hope it isn't a pre-game elimination challenge, but I wonder. What do you think?

I was thinking the group would be split into two and having them going on at the same time. Then when you've got the winners from each group, it would be a face off between the two. I don't see Gary as the type to eliminate people before things actually started.

Well, that would make it more managable!

I know. And Gary DOES go for manageable in a lot of things.

Of course, I also wouldn't surprise me if his surprise was that we have to wait another week for the surprise. THAT is a Gary thing!

NooOOOOoooooOOOO!

" I don't see Gary as the type to eliminate people before things actually started."

You mean I wouldn't pull a Surivor:Palau... interesting theory.*g*

I often have interesting theories.

But I've also known you for 10 years. (Which means that I know you'd do something like that just to prove me wrong. :))

I know, what I find funny is that ALL of those ideas have been on the plate at one point or another during my thought process between seasons.

Gary sends us all cookies in the mail before the competition starts. That would be awesome.

I would think maybe posting the first topic on Monday. And possibly an immunity for the winner. And HALF the list goes home the first week. (j/k)

The first two WOULD be a good plan. I can use the chance to write a bit!

The last... just evil!

Maybe we'll have to pick a partner for the first round? He did something similar last game.

Oh, yeah! but we had already had a chance to get to know each others' writing by then.

I am sure it will be something bleak like "24 hours to write your introduction."

Mostly superficially, and only the people who I'm getting to know are the ones participating extensively in here, not the other....oh... 35 that probably haven't posted more than one or two comments. I want to know them too!

24 hours? I could swing it! Bring it!

::: starts swinging fists :::

It's worrying me too. Gary is teh EVAL!

Gary = tard. I mean that in the nicest way, too.

And since he's always pointing out I'm a granny, I second.

Also meant in the nicest way. ;)

Naturally.

And he kicks hippies, so I'm sure Penny will agree, too.

I'm sure she would. :)

For making us wait!

Yeah, he does have that evil gene. This is when I wish I had more short distance time machine!

Your time machine is only long distance? :)

Yep. Didn't I tell you that I found out who Jack the Ripper actually was from my trip back to 1888? :p

No! Apparently I've been missing out. Was Patricia Cornwall right about the artist?

Nope. They were actually all different killers. Patricia Cornwall was completely off base.

Man, that was one of the worst books I ever read.

Same here. I got to the part where she was comparing men who liked women with shaved pussies to pedophiles and couldn't pick the book back up.

She needs to stick to fiction.

::: eye twitch- librarian here ::::

::: grasps chair and fights a terrible, raging internal battle :::

::: loses :::

CornWELL. WELL, not WALL!

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A time TV would suffice.

Another day,
Another dream.
Another chance
To make life mean.

it's 11:20pm and i'm desperately trying to finish jasper fforde's first among sequels....

lucky tomorrow is work free friday or i'd be asleep at my desk at this rate...

I love Japer Fforde!

me too... i was so happy when i found this one...

i keep reading it and thinking about nanowrimo and wondering whether there's a story plot for me in the well of lost plots.

first annual lj idol bake and swap (http://gnomeangel.livejournal.com/376838.html)

MY TONGUE HURTS, y'all. Like. It's swollen like I bit in on both sides, and it's making the enjoyment of my pumpkin muffin and coffee from Dunkin' Donuts a little more difficult than I'd like.

They CLOSED the D/D in my town. How horrible is that?! Now I have to drive an hour out of my way if I want donuts from there. It's a disgrace. Dunkin Donuts should be EVERYWHERE!!!

But… But… American RUNS on Dunkin'!
Has your town completely shut down?!

We have a donut connection... plus Krispy Kreme comes to our local gas station/convenience stores.

Did you ever see the movie "All the Right Moves" or "Slapshot?"

I <3 Krispy Kreme! We don't have a Dunkin around here, either (at least, not that I know of...) but we do Have a Krispy Kreme. Mmmm...

We just get them delivered to the local gas stations (Sheetz). The Donut Connection is even nasty cuz it's all stinky like cigarettes... and the donuts taste like stale cigarettes. Ewwness.

I have to drive to SOMERSET to get DUNKIN donuts. 30 minutes one way! *weep*

As for ATRM and Slapshot, they were filmed here in my town. =)

I'm no doctor, but I know the feeling. Chances are you did bite your tongue in your sleep, like you were chewing on it on both sides. Happens to me all the time when I take a nap. Unless it's INSANELY red, it'll probably go away in an hour or two.

Yeah, if by "an hour or two" you mean "it's been five days now, WTF" then I'm going to keep waiting it out! AHHH. It hurts so bad.

:kerblink: Whaaa? What did you do!? That is some serious wtf. Is anybody you know sick with anything weird?

Well, my boyfriend has the very rare but serious tongue plague… But I didn't think that would be a problem…………

;)

No idea. I'm a persistent medical enigma.

that happens to me every once in awhile when i wake up! do you maybe grind your teeth? i apparently do according to anyone who's heard me sleep, and sometimes i think i must chew on my tongue while i do it. i do, also, have a large tongue, which might help.

I think I have been lately. I'm doing a lot of adjusting to this new life, so maybe life's making me eat my own mouth.

Probably. Life can be obnoxious about things like that!

I think your body just goes through moments when things start getting rough. Whenever I push my limits too far and am about to drop, I start getting inexplicable ailments.

I go to D/D about once every six months- last night was the most recent visit. I bought hash browns. They were HORRIBLE. I bought ~~sugar~~ iced tea- it had this huge, disgusting mound of sugar at the bottom, I won't be going back for at least six months.

They have hash browns? Are you lying?
Why on earth would you get anything that wasn't doughnuts or coffee? We need to talk, Jacques.

I was hungry and it was late, so I didn't want anything sweet. Oh, what a mistake it was.

And yeah, words need to be said. It's a shame I didn't know you better when you were in NY- I could have signed up for Competency Training Courses.

It's cold and raining again today... Hurrah for getting to wear long-sleeved t-shirts to work since it's not tax season!

I'm leaving after work today to go to Harrisburg. We have good friends down there, and we try to visit them at least once a month. So 3 hours in the car to see my favorite "nephews" (okay, not related, but practically family). We even bought them toys to spoil them. Hehe. And maybe a trip to Hersheypark for their halloween events. =) CHOCOLATE WORLD, HERE I COME!!!

*breaks out some raspberry and cheese danishes and starts cutting*

Coffee and danish, anyone?

Ooh! That sounds like a lot of fun. Spoiling nephews (whether blood or not) is always a blast. Teddy gets spoiled by his "aunts" and "uncles" all the time.

Have a great weekend!

Their parents are really good friends of ours (John and Russ are practically brothers), so the kids are our nephews since we don't have any blood nephews or nieces. Rusty and Jake are the cutest little boys... Just wanna pick them up and cuddle them.

They watch "Steewer fooball" with their dad. They even have miniature terrible towels that they wave!

(They're getting Tonka trucks. They don't make noise, but they are huge and do all kinds of cool stuff. Therefore mom doesn't hate us and the boys love us. Win win situation.)

And we might hit up Hershey Park while we're there! Chocolate world, here I come!

Those are the kind of toys I love getting for Teddy. He's got plenty that make noise already. Though to be honest, his favorite "toys" are the things we don't want him to have - like the "mote" (remote) and "keys" and "phone" (my cell, mainly). It's a double edged sword - on the one hand, we can give him old remotes, keys that go to nothing, etc. On the other, he doesn't know the difference between his and ours

I haven't gotten him to say either "Go Bucs" or "Go Noles" yet, but I'm trying. He's only 20 months old, so he's still between babbling and actual talking. How old are Rusty and Jake?

Enjoy Hershey Park! I kept wanting to get over there when I lived in Philly, but it never quite happened. I'd be in so much trouble. Like I need more chocolate to go directly to my hips! :D

Rusty just turned 4 last month... Jake will be 3 in December. Cutest nepherews ever! They have their own (broken) PS2 controllers so that they can play Madden with daddy. They even have their own wrestling tag team belts because they decided that they like to do flipping jumps (swantans) off their bunkbed.

I haven't been there in a few years, and John has NEVER been there. (What a sin, only living 3 hours away.) You should definitely try to go sometime. And even if you don't go into the park, CHOCOLATE WORLD IS FREE!!! With a free miniature candy bar at the end of the ride!

Just give me the yummy crusty stuff on the top- that dried out flaky pastry crap? Keep it. Raspberry cheese danish, please.

Doing much better then yesterday. The boyfriend had his root canal and is at home on some good pain killers so no pain going on there, I am back at work (meh...but it's o.k.) to play catch up on what I missed yesterday, debating if I want to skip out on class tonight to play catch up with ALL the homework that I need to get my butt in gear with and also work on some convention planning stuff...and a million other things.

The bonus is the weather is suppose to be great here, like 65 and sunny so that makes me happy. I heard next week is a cold front is suppose to be coming in, which if that is it and no snow, I will be happy. The other bonus is I get to go pick up the new Phoenix Wright game for the DS that came out yesterday.

*puts out some coffee and muffins* to share

so yeah...today is a better day.

I'm glad to read that you're having a better day today. Root canals are (no pun intended) a pain. But at least you have good weather. We just got through a week of much needed rain. It's brought the temps down into the high 50s, so I'm enjoying pulling out the warmer clothing.

Enjoy your Thursday!

They most definitely are a pain.

I like the fall weather we are having. It's not to hot but not to cold. We had tons of rain last week and I am glad it's cleared up.

Thanks! you too:)

my c-section incision is itching like a mother. I'm seriously climbing the walls.

OH and I'm trying to win the dubious honor as posting queen on the message board forum that i frequent.

Wow, I'm hella lame.

Itching is better than hurting, yesno?

thats definately a yes, it was hurting the other day. I tends to ache when it rains which is strange.

That is strange. My mood just turns to crap when it rains, but I think that's less unusual :)

I get really sleepy on days like this. =( Too bad I came to work today so that I could be off tomorrow!

Maybe it'll be nice tomorrow when you're off!

Yeah, and be jumped on by my "nephews" at 6am. *grins* But I think we're going to hit up Hershey Park tomorrow, so that will be completely worth it.

I'll try not to eat all of the Reese's cups.

Kelly = lame-o

I'm surprised the "kids" aren't driving you up the walls.

OMG! You have a weiner icon TOO! *weiners unite*

Did you just have a baby or does the scar just spontaneously itch, years later?

Yep! In honor of my mini Mercedes!

I just had my baby 6 weeks ago so thinks in that general area are still weird.

Well congrats on your new little person! Several of my friends have had C-sections recently, one with a lot of complications, so I am sending good vibes your way.

One of these days, I'm going to come and steal your dog. Has she given up her "alpha female" habit yet?

my c-section incision is itching like a mother.

What else should a c-section incision itch like? ;) Great pun, intended or no!

Congrats on having a new baby!

Today sucks. Rainy, muggy, I'm still quite tired, and I have to work in a half-hour. :(

I like oatmeal / raisin cookies. If I thought this cookie giveaway were actually real,...

Oh, it's real.

*clicks heels three times*

*looks around*

Damn.

No, seriously. Go to gnomeangel's page. She started one!

Gary, your killing me. No really you are. Being the insanely curious person I am, not knowing is making my brain do back flips. :p

Anybody else wondering what glorious surprises Gary has up his sleeve?

I am extra curious being this is all so new to me.

And with Gary, anything is possible.

I competed last time, but had to drop out early.

I am curious and excited to play and see what's up his sleeve.

Why did you drop out, if you don't mind my asking?

I dropped out due to stress, not having internet access, ect.

After the INTERNET DRAMA of 2006, I decided to disconnect for awhile. I was keeping up with entries via trips to the library. After awhile, I didn't have time to go to the library so, I had to drop out of the competition.

That's a little scary- how so many people that have done this before talk on and on about the stress. You're about the fifth to say something like that to me. I hope I dodge that bullet.

*giggles*

It wasn't stress caused by the contest. It was the real life variety. The contest was fun!

Well, that's a relief! I wasn't really paying attention to the contest as much last year- I just read the entries and voted when I had a little time. I'm still learning a lot about how this goes!

it's not the stress that gets ya - it's the finding time to write...

i got sick last season and was booted for missing a topic - it sucked the big one... so i'm vulking up on vitamin c, garlic and horseradish!!!

I always thought it was the "omg I am not getting enough votes to make this round's cut off."

But, perhaps I obsess about the wrong things.

never stress about the votes - there's always ways to (honestly) get more votes!

I imagine getting votes wouldn't be so hard for you in the first few rounds, Ms. Spirit!

Shhhh...

I was cusp-ish more than once.

But I thank you for your confidence in me.

[and my bragging]

I have total confidence- you're going to far outlast me in this game, my good woman!

How critical are the first rounds? I mean, does the top ranker get three votes or anything crazy like that? What was it like?

I just wrote... and did not really pay attention to the first few rounds, other than to see how close I got to being cut.

You can go back and read how things went down. This link was chosen because it demonstrates how the "powers" might be used.

http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/?skip=40&tag=season+three

Keep going backwards and you will find when they were earned.

I asked Welfy, and she said she didn't even really do the Green Room. I guess everyone has much different styles with this kind of thing! I'm here to make a few friends among about seven other different reasons, so if nothing else, I've already won in that field. I sit and really read every entry I see, so I can only take on so many LJ friends anyways.

Thanks for the link- I'll definitely check it out. I don't think I'll be reading my way through last season, though- that sounds like too much of a hassle.

Yeah, that would cheese my gourd too. I'd have to be pretty sick to not have anything, though! I'm sorry about that!

I'm going to be SO BAD this entire season! In between topics, I'll be chomping at the bit!

I friended you, BTW. Hope that's ok!

No that's cool! I am always up for meeting new people and making new friends. Will friend you back in just a moment.

I'm pretty complicated- it'll take a while. Just be patient with it- I post the good, the bad and the ugly about me when I'm on there.

O.k. sounds good.
I post the good, the bad, the boring, all things work related, school related, sci fi convention planning related.

All in all a mixed bag.

I can live with that! Where do you go to school?

I go to the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. I am working on my masters degree. When I am done I will have a license to teach grades 5 through 12 Social Studies and grades K-6 with a 5-8 Social Studies endorsement.

Oh, well that's pretty cool! I was a middle school English teacher for a year- it's an extremely rewarding age group.

Cool. I am thinking middle school but wanted to get an additional license to make myself a little more marketable. Social studies teachers aren't in high demand right now in Minnesota.

I was STAUNCHLY set on High School, but I found that my middle school kids were heaps better to work with.

Teachers are in very high demand anywhere in Connecticut. If relocating isn't a problem, check out www.ctreap.com and see the job scene. They're ALWAYS looking.

Thank you for the information. I have lived in Minnesota my whole life so I am open to relocating.

I would love to try living elsewhere.

I moved down to Iowa for a year to teach, and it was an amazing experience. I've gotta tell you, I would have stayed if I'd had some family and old friends there- there's a lot in that area that I don't think they know they had.

*raises hand*

I'm not alone!

*icon love*

Nope, not alone.

Thanks! It's a stock photo I got in some chain email and converted to an icon. I just love kitty icons.

i *love* the kitten soup icon!!!

i'm going to have to go over and check out your icon collection me thinks...

Go for it!

i love dead like me too!!!

i think my favourite is "you got to be you-nique" - i adore rubber ducks and the message! v.cute

i had never heard of claude theberge - so i found a new artist i like! and some new homemade icons...

is the tattoo yours???

there's just so many good ones!

I like that Odie icon you used!

Yes, Dead Like Me is SO COOL. The "You gotta be you-nique" is another photo I got in an email and thought it was so cute I made it into an icon. My friend

blueb00d loves Claude Theberge and made a TON of icons with his paintings. Yes, the phoenix tattoo is mine.

I'm glad you found lotsa ones you like. If you're gonna take any, make sure to credit the makers (on the ones that have a maker credited).

I've been trying to pry it out of him for weeks. He won't talk. But he's getting really giddy. Doesn't think he can wait until Monday!

Gary = tard. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

We should riot until he gives us our topic!

Or at Least overload his voicemail box with our protests!

Do you think he's immune to tears or do they rip him apart? Maybe if we give him sad, crying puppy faces, he'll give us the surprise early!

I think cookies may be his only weakness.

I doubt tears would do it.

We could hold all the cookies in the world hostage.

YES! THAT'S IT!

*takes platters of cookies off the tables and hides them*

Get all of the cookies! Take no cakes prisoner!

*dies*

Read my journal. =)

Mind if I friend you? Then I can share the cookies with you.

*friends back*

Yay cookies!

=) Yay keeping cookies from Gary!

I wonder what he'll do when he finds out we're staging the Cookie Caper.

*gathers the troops*

"The Great Cookie Caper" by ewok_626 and shay_writes.

Illustrations by spydielives

Published by LJ_Idol Green Room.

"It was a dreary late October day... Gary went to grab a cookie out of the jar and found that they had all been taken!"

He thought it was strange since he remembered filling the jar the night before.
"oh well," he thought to himself. "I still have my Girl Scout stash in the freezer."

Gary opened the freezer door and instead of it being filled with his beloved cookies, it was empty. He stuck his hand in the cold cavern, feeling around to make sure. He was rewarded with a damp piece of paper.

He unfolded the paper to find a ransom note.

"We have taken all cookies hostage. You are withholding valuable information from us. Give us the correct information that we are seeking to get your precious cookies back. And if you fail to give us the information by 12am Monday, your cookies shall meet an untimely, ugly death. Think milk and coffee.

Sincerely,
~The Great Cookie Thieves"

Gary couldn't believe his eyes. They stole his cookies?! His precious cookies? Now what was he going to have for breakfast?

Sighing, he wondered what secret he knew that the cookie thieves didn't know. Hell, who were these cookie thieves?!

Gary locked his apartment door and headed toward the bus stop. He might as well go on to work. With any luck, there would be a few left over cookies from yesterday's office party.

He barely took three steps away from his building, when a large man tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me? Are you Gary?" He asked, forcing the words threw clenched teeth. Gary looked at the man, noting the crazed look in his eyes and his muscle bound arms straining the limits of his plaid work shirt.

"Maybe," he replied. "It depends on who's asking."

"Don't try to be cute with me. We know YOU are the reason there are no cookies."

"We?" Gary asked.

"Yeah," the man answered gesturing behind him at the growing mob behind him.

more - more - more

what happens next???

I gotta catch up on my illustrations.

Anyone got a good "photo" for Gary? [besides a chocolate chip cookie]

what about the cookie monster???

What if his eyes get too puffy and sad for him to see the comptuer screen?

No, it's definitely too risky.

*icon love*

he's immune to tears, tantrums and tiaras!

*snap fingers*

Let's boycott the Green Room until he tells me.

Who is with me?!?!

He can take our sanity, but he will never take... our KEYBOARDS!

Us. I mean tells "US."

(oh boy)

THAT was a Freudian if I ever heard one, hahahaha!

Just a small technicality. No big deal.

GARY, TELL US OR WE RIOT!!

I'm so it. I'm a college student...we're all about protesting and rioting! :-)

Ha...that would be IN, not it. We're not playing tag. Or are we? ;-)

We're focusing on rioting because Gary won't give us information. We've even resorted to stealing all of the cookies in the world. That will make him crack.

We're not gonna protest! We're not gonna protest!

Yeah, because a paltry 1200 comments in three days ain't nuthin! He'll buckle for sure!

My point, exactly!

Sure could me in!

He can take our sanity, but he will never take... our KEYBOARDS! very true...I love that line

Why, thank you.

*blushes*

I wish I could write gems like that all the time.

GOOD IDEA!

::: starts screaming and throwing things all over the room, causing mass destruction :::

::: calms down after a while and thinks a bit :::

Uhh... aren't riots suppose to be in one location? And generally, aren't the rioters supposed to all be there simultaneously?

We could SCHEDULE a riot somewhere!

::: checks calender :::

How's..... Friday at 7pm? Is that good for everyone here?

Ohhh, can't.

I have something scheduled for then. [Personal life outside of LJ, most here would not understand...]

(what has gotten into me? I am *never* like this)

Never like what? A rabble rouser? Or unable to participate in rabble rousing?

Never like what? A rabble rouser? Or unable to participate in rabble rousing?

Um... both?

*ducks*

In the words of the great Batman, "Expect the unexpected"!

How bad can it be? He has to set us up for something introductory to start with, yes?

How long have you known Gary? hehehhehehhee

::: checks watch :::

I guess a couple of days. Why, do we seem like kindred spirits?

::: watches

shay_writes's reaction like a hawk :::

LOL!

There's no telling what is evil mind has in store for us.

There's only one thing we can be ABSOLUTELY sure of:

There will be cookies.

If you are bored [or have some time], would you mind coming over to my journal and comment on this post about LJ Idol demographics (http://spydielives.livejournal.com/1582525.html), please?

I don't want to tie up a thread here, and it will be easier for me to keep track of comments if they are made over there.

Thanks!

Great balls of fire! 87 comments in less than three hours? I'm so behind. *headdesk*

I'm doing well, thank you. Weekend (complete with Halloween party at the boyfriend's house, woo hoo!) starts tomorrow, yay!

Me too!

I should be sleeping since I have to work tonight.

I can tell you are most definitely NOT sleeping since you're still bouncing around in the green room. Who needs to be rested and refreshed for work anyway? It's only work, after all. Not real life like the internet.

LOL!

I finally gave up the idea of sleep and gave in to the internet completely.

(oh and I'm going to run a few errands as well.)

Ah, you've joined the dark side. No shame in that ;-)

That's what it's going to take!

I am currently sitting on livejournal when I should be getting in my car to go to one of my client's homes. I dont want to go to her house, because she's been difficult lately, and she has this little chihuahua that I want to kill.

I'm not a dog killer! It makes me sad that I hate a dog. I love dogs! This dog, though? She gets nothing. No love.

So that's my day. Whining about my clients. Until later, when the premiere of the last season of Scrubs is on! Thursday night si one of my awesome tv show nights. The Office, Scrubs.. ok that's it, but that hour is good enough for me.

I am anxious to see Scrubs!

Me too! The season finale definitely left me holding my breath. I dont even know if I like JD and Elliot together, but still! though I am kind of disappointed that The Office will only be a half hour again. I was enjoying the extra thirty minutes very much!

Same here.

I really need to start watching The Office. Just to many shows on Thursday nights.

Those are the only two I watch on Thursdays! Though I'm very picky about my shows. Lost, Heroes, The Office, Scrubs, South Park, and the Daily Show are pretty much all I watch. Except for now--Halloween season means AMC is on all day!

I really don't watch a lot of TV but on Thursdays I watch CSI, Supernatural and Scrubs.

Beyond that on other days of week, it's Law & Order SVU and House. If I remember it's on I will try and catch Drawn Together.

Then there is my guilty pleasure of Days of Our Lives.

Heros is another show meant to start watching when it started but never did.

I used to watch Supernatural! I kind of forgot about that. I also used to be quite a Smallville addict, but that's on Thursday nights, so Scrubs and The Office won!

I just started Heroes this season because the boy loves it. I still need to watch the first season and catch up! It hasn't been hard to follow, though.

I will have to jump in on Heros and see if I can figure out what's happening.

I got started on Supernatural due the boyfriend.

seriously! I wish it was an hour long. Actually I wish the season was already out on dvd so I could have another marathon!*g*

As for Scrubs - REALLY looking forward to it. (last season comes out on dvd next week) I'm not crazy about the whole JD and Eliot thing, but I trust TPTB, or I'm trying to at any rate...

The Office marathons are the best! Nothing cracks me up quite like that. And this season has been top-notch so far!
"Come in... did you have another nightmare?" Dwight's B&B killed me.

I dont know why JD and Eliot make me so uncomfortable! I want to like them. I think it's because they're both kind of annoying when it all comes down to it. I am a Dr Cox girl myself.. he's my favorite character on television ever.

I want one of the Shrute Farm sweatshirts they are selling at NBC. Well that and the Rabies Funwalk for the Cure shirts... and well, ok, the Dunder Mifflin shirts as well!*g*

I've heard some people say that this season got off to a slow start, but I really think they are just coming into their own. The weird thing is that they have now gone beyond the BBC source material! So there is literally no telling where the storylines are going to go from here!

JD is probably the most unlikeable character on tv - and yet you end up sympathizing with him from time to time anyway! They've set the show up to start as a drama with funny bits, and moving it more and more to a sitcom with dramatic bits. I imagine the final season is going to be pretty much sitcom style - which accounts for JD and Elliot getting back together (if that is indeed where we are going to start out tonight!)

Dr Cox - yeah, I don't know if I've ever thought about who my favorite character on television is, but he would be on the list of candidates.

I would have pegged you for a "House" fan.

Nope. Not into House at all actually. I can't look at him without thinking "Percy from Blackadder"!*g*

Oh man... I had that completely blocked from my conscious mind until you said it.

Thanks a lot.

Really.

*sigh*

Wow. I had completely forgotten about that. Holy cow.

Oh, the little pups can be reeeeally annoying!!

What do you do?

That dog drives me absolutely bonkers!

I'm a TSS. I do wraparound services with kids who have autism or behavioral disorders. Sometimes it's in school, sometimes it's at the home. It's really a pretty fun job; I just complain about it a lot! I hate all the running around.

Thank you for doing that job! I have autistic people in my life that I love dearly. ;D

They are such fantastic people to be around! It's so hard sometimes, but it's such small things that let you know you're getting through. No matter what happens in my day, there's always at least one thing that makes it completely worthwhile.

I looked at your info and it made me want to add you very, very much! Would you mind?

Not at all! I'll do likewise! :D

ewok_626 and myself are kidnapping all the cookies in the world till Gary tells us of his EVAL plan.

Who's with us?

Join the Cookie Revolution! Convince Gary to give up the information!

Vive la revolucion! I will hold back the No-Bake Oatmeal front, if you guard the Grasshoppers and Thin mints!

Finally, someone who knows what "no-bakes" are! Hooray!

*guards all girl scout cookies*

Gary, you know how ruthless I was in the LJ_Fights! I WILL BRING YOU DOWN!

I don't like 'em, but my hubby sure does...that's why they are safe with me. The girl scout cookies? NOT SAFE.

I was a girl scout. So I know how to get around their goodness. (Put thin mints in the freezer! Yum!)

I adore no-bakes and so does my boyfriend. They're not safe in my house.

Me too! I was a Brownie. I still wear my Junior-crossing rainbow badge on my army coat. :D

I started in brownies and made it to juniors... I think my vests/sashes are still at my parents' house. =) I loved how they made all of the patches different shapes (Brownies were triangles, juniors were circles, and juniors rectangles)...

I got the soft baked!

YES! JOIN US! I even posted about it in my LJ!!

Count me in!

Dibs on building an underground lair!

::: runs to get his shovel :::

Weeeeelll...my car broke down, and that sucks, but it is raining, and that is FREAKING AWESOME! I'm eating a nummy sandwich, turkey and dill Havarti and cheddar and tomato slices on toasted foccacia bread, and THAT is pretty darn cool.

:D What's going on in y'all's world?

Oh, that sandwich just sounds really yummy. I love havarti.

I need to go stumbling through my fridge to see what kind of sandwiches to make for the Button and I this morning.

aw...the Button! :D Cute name...I'm Babycakes still to my mama.

I like havarti all right, but only as an ingredient. It is too creamy for snacking, in my opinion. But as I said yesterday, I'm totally a cheese snob! :D

He's been Button for a few months now. He's got a fascination with anything with buttons. He knows how to call people on my cell, turn the TV on and off, change the channels and the volume (both on the TV and the remote). He's a precocious little kid (in my opinion).

I don't mind snacking on havarti every once in awhile, but I prefer swiss or mozzarella. Particularly fresh mozzarella. Mmmm... and, when it comes to cheese on burgers, there's nothing like port wine cheese.

I am such a sew-er (not sewer as some have called me)... I kept thinking "Buttons? I love buttons! Covered, metal, plastic, sea shell, jewel-encrusted... I collect them all."

*grin*

Well, he IS covered at the moment. I just don't think he'd look too good sewn on a shirt. :p

Sittin at work on the internet cuz I'm done with my work already. =)

Oh, and we're starting a cookie revolution. Gary must give us information!

Viva la cookie revolution!

Sorry to hear about the car.

Just sitting at work...really slow day so spending time on LJ.

Thinking about having lunch.

Lunch is a good time waster! ;D I have stuff I probably SHOULD be doing, but ya know. I'm not.

LJ is my worst addiction!

yes it is!

Same here, the work day doesn't start until I am done checking out the flist and stuff.

Same here, the work day doesn't start until I am done checking out the flist and stuff.</>

*blinks*

D-done? What is this "Done" you mention?

*goes and refreshes AGAIN*

oops....I should have said done reading it in the morning, then oh like a half hour later get back on and see what I have missed.

*runs to go check now....checks watch, it's about time to*

OMG! I'm not the only one who does this?!

I refresh all day long to keep up with the news, but do concentrate on my work, too. And having days off is extra awesome cuz then I can go on whenever I want. =)

I am mastered multitasking since finding LJ:)
It's the whole when I am in class thing that gets me....then I can't read the old flist:(

Reading my Flist takes precedence over sleep. I have incredible people on there and I try to respect the effort they make for me by reciprocating.

Same here.
I love my flist dearly and want to keep up with everything that happens. When I don't I feel horrible...

I think I have gotten to the point where my friends on LJ know more about me and understand me more then those IRL friends.

Oh, definitely. As a matter of fact, writing it on LJ gets it out of my system half the time, so if you don't read it, you don't tend to find out unless it fundamentally altered my life and there's no way around it.

I can't do anything in the morning until I check my e-mail. It's become an obsession.

My routine...is get up in the am, turn on computer, make coffee, go back to the computer...check email, etc...

....and I wonder why I can't seem to get out of the house on time anymore.

Sounds like me, sans coffee. Somewhere in there a shower happens too.

doin great, excited, eating stromboli for lunch, thanks for asking!

nummy!

We are up to 83 86 contestants as of

wildcatwrites unless I missed someone.

Wow.

Just.

Wow.

very impressive.

HOLY CRAP!

*goes back to making fried chicken and rigatoni for dinner*

WHOO!

Pre-Show Green Room - Day 3

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