Just Because...: October 2005

Monday, October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween!!

Hope that no ghosts or goblins terrorized you! Was a quiet night at the ol' homestead, 'cept for that daggone pesky dishwasher goblin - forgot to tell us that there was no detergent...

TWO More Days... and counting... 'sall gravy as the roomie would say.

Posted by Lys :: 8:29 PM :: 0 comments

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Friday, October 28, 2005

5 Days... and that's IT!

This gal will be BAHAMAS Bound in 5, count 'em 5 days... and so much to be done with so little time. I'm totally jazzed however because I wound up catching up with some long out of touch friends today - which made all the B.S. of the past weeks worth it. Sometimes it just takes a couple postive people to just spark your day, ju know??

So - I'm off to go start figuring out how to cram 6 oops.. I mean 4 days worth of clothes into a 11 x 18" bag because, as you know, a gal HAS to look cute!

And - also - thanks to Grown Up Girlie - I SO Need to get this! That along with an iPod charger, because there will BE NO LAPTOP (per Meowmix's strict instructions) on this cruise - regardless of the wireless capabilities boasted about by Carnival *sigh* so it really will be 4 days of rest and relaxation..

Whatsoever shall a gal do? ISSAC?? Captain Morgan and Diet Coke please.

Posted by Lys :: 11:53 PM :: 0 comments

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Sunday, October 23, 2005

Hurricane Wilma approaches...

Well - Sunday Night - and preparations are at hand for Hurricane Wilma. My old boss joked the other day, "Wilma?? Wonder what Fred did to make her that mad!??!?!?!" Har Har Har *insert roll eyes here*

Seriously - hurricanes are no joke and, having lived through three bad ones last year in Central Florida, I got a huge eye opener on "Hurricane Preparedness". My mother calls me on Wednesday going "I think you and the kitty need to hop on a plane and fly home TOMORROW!". Yeah, ummm.. Mom - that won't happen. She then proceeds to tell me that they are going to rate it a "Category 6" (ummm.. ok - put down the wineglass) and that we're going to get buried in water like New Orleans. New Orleans was a WHOLE different situation and while my heart goes out to those affected by Katrina and Rita, I needed to talk my mother off the ledge. My father, however, was strangely not panicking about the situation. Perhaps because he was zombiefied by the meteorologist's "Cone of Death" on Channel 6 & 9 during Rita. 24/7 he would watch the news reports so, in his opinion, if Doc & Johnny at XL 106.7 aren't panicking, then he's calm, cool and back to his Marine self.

I've come up with some tried and true tips for weathering out a hurricane in the land of the damn rat:

1) Live by Disney - that rat doesn't let anything get in the way of him and a buck. The electricity doesn't go out but, in the rare occurrence that it is knocked out, that rat has the electric company on lock to get their butts out here to get it taken care of!

2) Same for the telephone service.

3) Keep a supply of bottled water because 2 days before the storm is expected to hit, the supermarkets DO mark them up.

4) If you have to go out and buy supplies, double check the date on your canned goods - things sometimes are a tad green when they shouldn't be. Make sure to refresh every so often. Also, keep a supply of batteries because right before a hurricane, Water, Bread, Batteries, Lighters AND Alcohol are bound to be scarce. However, they always seem to have extra soda and chips on display.

5) If, god forbid, your electric DOES go off - keep the number of the electric company's outage line on your cell phone.

6) Skip getting cable - so not worth it - always goes out and those damn techs and their support service take their time to get it up and running AND forget to credit the bill. DirecTV never lets you down!! 3 hurricanes later and we still get a decent signal.

7) If the schools are closed, the courts are closed AND City Hall is closed - WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO WORK? If they Mayor won't get his azz into work, why should you?

8) If it sounds like a train is approaching outside, and you don't live near the train tracks, 9 times out of 10, that's a lovely little twister barreling its way to Kissimmee.

9) DO NOT DRIVE during a hurricane - if its too late, hunker down in a closet and wait for it to be over.

10) Most C. Florida apartment complexes SHOULD be safe - they are pretty well constructed.

11) In my case - learn how to make ice coffee. Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks don't need my $$$ that bad for them to open up. If you can't make ice coffee - crack open the bottle of Merlot that you have waiting for that "right moment" and drink!

12) Realize that before a hurricane, people suffer from that "cone" syndrome where they drive like they are in a blizzard and its sunny and bright. Realize that they are in panic mode and shortly will snap out of it - I highly suggest defensive driving 101.

13) Charge your cell phone ahead of time. Cingular never seems to go out of service. Thank god! Prepare for the lovely panic call from up north going "ARE YOU OKAY?" or "Did you get enough candles" or in the case of one of my friends "Are you guys drunk yet?". (Yes, in my complex, there are some that throw "hurricane parties")

14) Take anything that could be termed a "projectile" OFF of your balcony, porch etc. That includes chairs, plants, towels, wet clothes, etc. etc. etc. Take the trash to the dumpster and do not leave it out front of your door.

15) DO NOT, (and this really happened) TAKE YOUR CHILDREN OUT INTO THE HURRICANE shouting "See what happens to these Americans. Allah sends hurricanes!". Yeah, alrighty buddy - endanger your childrens' welfare for a "Praise Allah" moment. I'm all for religious teaching and tolerance, but when childrens' lives are at stake, I WILL SPEAK UP! (Yes - he moved - praise the Lord!) I still think we have an Al-Queida (??) hideout in our complex somewhere.

16) Finally - Don't overstress and panic. Listen - its a hurricane, and if you follow Jeb's guidelines, prepare and hope for the best, you should be okay.

Good luck!

Posted by Lys :: 9:53 PM :: 0 comments

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Friday, October 21, 2005

"Hating You Is Exhausting"

In Grey's Anatomy this week, Meredith said to Dr. McDreamy aka Patrick Dempsey, "Hating you is exhausting". I rarely hate anything (except olives)... but to me, disliking someone can be exhausting as well.

I'm a Scorpio - its ingrained in our brains that one can hold issues F.O.R.E.V.E.R. However, I just don't have the time, energy or wherewithal to just deal with disliking someone so immensely that its toxic poison to me.

There's one person that I'm distinctly thinking of. Not only was this person just rude, annoying, using people for his own gain, etc., but this was only a facet of his personality that I was only exposed to in the last couple years of our "friendship". Mind you, I knew this guy since I was 12, so seeing this side really bothered me. We'll call him H.

I ran into some of his family and, after the recent announcement of his getting married, I got THOSE looks and the requisite "How are YOU doing?" and "Are You Okay?". What I really wanted to shout from the rafters is "YES I'm FINE! I'm GRATEFUL that he's marrying this girl because honestly I cannot tolerate him!". I even had one person say "You almost were Mrs. So and So". How annoyed was I. If they only knew him for what I saw.

Lets get some quick background. Before I left North for the sunny land of Disney, I left my friends, family and the love of my life (we'll call him "A.") behind. At the time, I didn't acknowledge that A. was the love of my life and wouldn't even tell him those dreaded 3 little words, but, after moving down here, I saw that yes, he was the one that got away. And I left him, almost converted to another religion (don't ask) for what? For H.? A tyrannical, condescending pain in the butt leech? A. wound up marrying someone else, went through some traumatic issues, came home and got divorced. We maintain our friendship to this day, however, that nagging "What If" feeling remained and, in all honesty, I despised H. for it. H. made it known that he didn't like A. The feeling was mutual and A. called H. a "doorknob" (along with a few other choice words, but we won't go into that today). H. is not part of my life anymore, but I'm now at the point where I can be civil and say, "you know what - you do your thing, I'll do mine and, out of respect for our mutual friends, we'll be civil and call it a day".

Last night, I wound up seeing a few things that brought back a ton of memories and I just got so sick of blaming others for some of my choices. I made the choice to come down here. I made the choice to pursue what I love and work in my chosen field. Unfortunately some things got sacrificed along the way but, at the end of the day, really, I exercised my free will and made my own decisions.

I know that I'm going to see A. in the next couple of months and I'm sure we'll have "that talk" where he will question YET AGAIN why I moved down here, we'll catch up and, like always, our friendship will pick up where we left off. We've been through this merry-go-round so many times, its routine. I didn't follow the theory of Carpe Diem and, by my own choice, I reap the results. As for H. - I wish him the best, but I just am so damn exhausted from disliking him that it is so not worth it anymore. Guess I can take down the dartboard, right?

Posted by Lys :: 6:15 PM :: 0 comments

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Monday, October 17, 2005

For once, rejection can be a good thing...

The State of Florida has decided that my presence isn't necessary to be on a jury and that my duty to the state has been fulfilled for another couple of years! Well - guess there will be no catching up on the backlog of books, huh? For some reason, I'm looking forward to to go to work and tackle the mounds of paper on my desk!

No, I am not running a fever....

Posted by Lys :: 11:58 PM :: 1 comments

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Sunday, October 16, 2005

Jury Duty...

This Tuesday I have the pleasure of going to the Courthouse for "Jury Duty". Apparently, there is little to no chance of myself being excused the night before which causes a bit of dilemma. Tomorrow, I will have to cram 2 days of work again into one, and then head over the Courthouse at 8:00 Tuesday Morning - only to have to sit there until 3:00 when they excuse those sitting for jury.

My one consolation - on my Juror Questionnaire, it asks if I have any relative or close friends that are law enforcement. My response - "Why yes - my best friend, K., my friend F. are both active police officers up north. My friend B. is a former officer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, currently involved in training our teachers in the art of "descalation" of an incident and, by the way, my childhood friend S. is a former Philadelphia police officer and is now a current FBI Agent - may I be excused?". Wonder if I tell them that at 8:00, they will send me packing.

Watch - I'll get a civil trial. Plus - in Orlando, I doubt anything can top my first trial I ever had to attend. In our Criminal Law theory class, we had to attend a trial and the one we got was a "lesbian butch hooker stabbed by a potential john with hedgeclippers". Doesn't that sound like something on Lifetime??

Instead, I will console myself by reading one of those books I SWEAR I'm going to catch up on and run to Starbucks prior to the oh-so-fun friskdown for my caffeine fix.

Posted by Lys :: 7:56 PM :: 0 comments

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Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Cruising 102....

OK - the booze situation is handled. According to some of the internet chat boards, I learned some very interesting ways to get my Captain Morgan on board undetected. However, Meowmix has informed me of the "legal" way of doing things and the unfortunate pleasantries that could befall someone that decides to go "against the rules". Therefore, there will be no smuggling of any contraband on the cruise.

I had to get a "Certified Birth Certificate". Yeah I know - where is the passport, right? Well, the only times I have been out of the good old U.S. of A. has been to Canada and that is another story for another day. I did learn that low cut blouse + customs agent = extra booze over the border. Amazing the lessons one can learn.

The biggest challenge is to fit everything in a 22" suitcase. I have this Weekender one, but after taking it to the Grammy's last year, I'm concerned. While they say it holds a lot, I have to disagree. Then again, in my defense, during the February trip, I did have to bring a formal gown, clothes for work & play, etc. With this cruise, it is a work free vacation - no clients, no calls, just fun in the sun. Watch me forget the sunscreen and turn up like a lobstah. Or buy too many souvenirs.. I heard there is a Gucci store in Nassau where it is 50% off - how intriguing is that. No more faux Grucci for me. And the thought of NOT using my cell for 3 days - heaven I say, H E A V E N!!!

One other item taken care of - who will tape CSI in my absence. Because this gal cannot go without her weekly fix of George Eads/Nick Stokes. Mr. TiVo has graciously volunteered his time to do so. How considerate, right? He still hasn't brought me my coffee. Also, Mr. TiVo still seems to think it should make my program choices for me. It recorded some Mission Impossible/La Femme Nikita show for me, "MI-5" which is a British take on the spy drama - seemed interesting. It has supplied me with a bunch of Sex & The City eps, however, those PG-13 rated (more like borderline PG) versions lose some of the important dialogue. Oh well. Thank god for DVDS. We'll see what Tuesday's "Now Playing" list seems to have...

23 days and counting..

Labels: Random Mess

Posted by Lys :: 6:09 PM :: 0 comments

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Sunday, October 09, 2005

The Wonders of TiVo...

Whoever invented TiVo should get a day in his/her honor. Seriously - thank you. Thank you for relieving SOME of the stress that could be caused by me missing yet another episode of Desperate Housewives. Gone are the days of me racing home down Rt. 535 from my shopping/coffee sunday excursions praying I set the VCR to tape DH or, by chance, I might make it in time. Gone are the days of me having to wake up at some ungodly hour on my weekend to catch Joel Osteen. Gone are the days of me having to EVER buy ANOTHER videotape AGAIN! Praise the Lord!!! Hallelujah!!!!

While it did take this former cable employee some time to install said DVR, I was comforted in the fact that DirecTV Employees were just as unsure how to install it. I had a "interesting discussion" with the technical specialist who, by her own actions, didn't seem to specialize in anything but looking for a page in her script. I somewhat felt bad for her, and felt worse for her supervisor who informed me that by me purchasing said DVR from Circuit City, that purchase meant I agreed to a 2 year ADDITIONAL contract. Never mind the fact that I've been a customer of theirs already. Whatever.. what can one do, right??

Missing CSI on Thursday was somewhat annoying, come Friday morning I was pleasantly surprised to see that the DVR had decided to make some television choices for me. I woke up to a brooding David Boreanez in Angel which started my day off on a much better note. I was able to set it up to tape some of my favorites and some of the new fall shows, i.e. Hot Properties (eehh..pilot episode.. don't know if it will make the cut), my normal Melrose Place (because one can never get enough of that debauchery!), DH, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, A&E's the First 48 and Boston Legal...

This weekend, while I blissfully did not stress (for once) and took my time doing everything, the DVR decided that I should watch:

New York Undercover
The Cosby Show
The Parkers
Everyday Italian
Semi Homemade Cooking
Beverly Hills 90210.

How considerate, right? If only it would bring me coffee....

Posted by Lys :: 10:41 PM :: 0 comments

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---------------oOo--------------- Questionnaire Time...

Interesting Questionnaire that I got on GrownUpGirlie.

What color is most reflective of you? I never really thought about this - I'd have to say a deep plum or burgundy. I've always loved purple since I was a child and have a penchant for those great fall colors. I'm not a pastel type of gal (well.. Sometimes ;))

How did you get the idea for your journal name? It just hit me - Out of the Blue.. I didn't want to be too silly, too pretentious, etc. Just wanted to be me :)

What time were you born? My mom says 8:21 a.m., my birth certificate says differently - 8:13 a.m. I'll go with the state's determination.

What song are you playing now, or wish you were playing? Right now I'm listening to this awesome 80's dance station: Live365-80's Dancin. Awesome dance mixes!!

Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry? Umm.. Nope - George Clooney is still alive and kickin'..

What color underwear are you wearing? Black.

Do you want a baby? Eventually, just not right now. My kitten would not take too kindly.

What does your dad do for a living? My dad is a cost accounting manager.

What does your mom do for a living? How about drive me crazy? Seriously, she's a magazine publisher, a wedding planner and also owns an ad agency.

What is your pet's name? I have one kitten, Shadow.

What color are your bedsheets? A gray and lavender print.

What are the last 3 digits of your phone number? 269

What was the last concert you attended? Locally: One of my artists but, since it was my client, it doesn't count. The one before that was an excursion to NYC and Philly to see George Lamond and a bunch of other freestyle faves.

Who was with you? My best bud, Meowmix, my friend D. and her hubby

What was the last movie you saw? Honestly, I don't know… DVD had to be Queen of the Damned. I love Stuart Townsend in that movie. DVD that's in my DVD right now is I think Sex & The City, Season 1.

Who do you dislike most at this moment? Me? Dislike someone.. Check my previous entries - it hasn't changed *LOL*

What food are you craving right now? FOOD - hell gimme an ice coffee from Starbucks. I'll be a very happy gal.

Did you dream last night? No. I don't even remember sleeping. That's how crazy it is.

What was the last tv show you watched? Hmmmm.. that would have to be a rerun of New York Undercover *LOL* - Tivo thought I "might enjoy" it. How considerate *LOL*

What is your fave piece of jewelry? These earrings I bought in Philadelphia. They are bronze chandeliers and so exotic looking.

What is to the left of you? A pile of papers I have to go through. Ugghhhhh...

What was the last thing you ate? DOH - Ice Coffee. People I'm going to start a new diet - called "Iced Coffee for Life".

Who is your best friend of the opposite sex? It's a toss up between my boy J. and my friend F.

Write a song lyric that's in your head? "Naughty Girls Need Love Too" - because that was just on that radio station a few minutes ago - I feel the need to spike my hair, toss on some big earrings, heels and jeans and dance around the living room. OK - reality check.. 80's is over...

Who last imed you? I don't really IM.

Where is your significant other right now? What significant other - I don't have time right now *LOL* and plus - I'm too picky.

Do you have a crush? Only the unattainable Georges, George Clooney & George Eads. Other than that - I'm too busy.

What shampoo do you use? Jonathan Product Volumizing Shampoo & Conditioner. It's amazing - can't rave ENOUGH about his product line, and my hair has never been in such good condition as it is now. Thanks Jonathan!

When was the last time you cut your hair? A few months ago - cutting my own bangs doesn't count, right? If that's the case, it would have been last week *LOL*

Are you on any meds? Just Advil & Skelaxin when needed…. Damn stress...

Do you have a mental disease? No - as far as I am aware. The voices in my head tell me differently.

What shirt are you wearing? Brown blouse with a black tank and those cute brown sandals. :) Hey the shirt and shoes had to coordinate. Fashionista Rule 1.3285 Check your manuals

What time is it? Late enough...

What color is your razor? Doh! Purple!

What is your fave frozen treat? Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt or Haggan Daz's Crème Brulee.

Are you sexy? My acting professor once told me that my role was of a grandmother in I think it was A Glass Menagerie. When I was done with my performance, he yelled at me and said "You are supposed to act OLD, you still have this whole sexy vibe going on. Stop!". I never forgot that. So, I think I have my moments, like everyone else does.

What's your favorite shopping store? For Shoes - Nine West - For Makeup - Sephora. I absolutely love Newport-News, but I also am starting to like some of the fashions I have found at Lane Bryant, Target and of course Spiegel!

Are you thirsty? Right now I'm imagining a nice tall cold ICE COFFEE! Wonder if I can run to Starbucks.. Hmmm..

Can you imagine yourself ever getting married? I n due time I guess. I escaped being married to someone we'll just say, it wasn't worth it. How I stayed with him as long as I did I don't know, but we're both different people and have moved on. Maybe the right one is out there, just haven't run into him yet ;)

Your Turn!! :)

Posted by Lys :: 12:21 AM :: 0 comments

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Friday, October 07, 2005

Cruising 101…

27 days people.. 27 days until I'm floating out into the realm of Jaws. Being that I have never cruised and my only exposure to boating was zipping around the lake in back of my family's cottage in my uncle's speedboat driving like a mad-gal at the tender age of 8. Me and sailing - don't know if it will work.

This week my "travel agent" aka best bud tells me "We're on the Riviera deck" and, dontcha know, that day I didn't have the boat flyer in the office. It was in the car. So, that evening, the first thing I do is go to look at the flyer, locate the Riviera Deck and promptly call her going "You know we're in the bowels of Hell, right?" I then proceed to say that while I'm thrilled that we're paying homage to our Irish ancestors trapped in the lowest decks of the Titanic, however, with my heels, I foresee a slight problem and promptly change the name of "Not 35 Yet Dammit" cruise to "Dante's Inferno" cruise *LOL*

Then the thought strikes.. We're ocean view - am I going to wake up one morning only to see Jaws peeping through my window? This greatly concerned me and, being ever so conscientious, decided to call Carnival just to "verify". In other words - nasty nightmares until I called them. I spoke with a great sales rep who, after hearing my concerns about Jaws' morality, laughed and informed me that "No, the Riviera deck is 80 feet ABOVE the ocean". Phew - load off my mind, right? WRONG! My friend at work then tells me "Well you might see Dolphins jumping through the water alongside the ship." Ummm.. Okay - Flipper's eyes better stay in front of him and not peep where they don't belong. I might have a nice tuna can for him to jump into if he doesn't behave.

So, right now I'm trying to figure out how to smuggle the requisite booze on board the ship so that I can be sufficiently "incoherent" before we start throwing confetti off the side of the ship ala the "Love Boat". Now someone please tell Issac that I will be requiring LOTS of Captain Morgan...

Posted by Lys :: 6:29 PM :: 0 comments

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Monday, October 03, 2005

Who says "Thou Shall Not Covet"?

I am coveting this new bag... *insert sigh here* I'm putting this on my "Santa please" list since Spiegel won't be able to ship until 11/14.

And re: Cruises - how much does one need to pack, honestly? I can't seem to find anything on line that's a guide for a shopaholic overpacker like moi.

Posted by Lys :: 6:54 PM :: 0 comments

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---------------oOo--------------- Be Still My Heart...

Isn't this just GORGEOUS? I'm not sure if it's "cruise worthy" but it merits another look.

I am finding myself "looking" for new "discoveries" more often, in anticipation for the cruise. I bought new sandals at Nine West for what I thought was a bargain. I then walked through Macy's and lo and behold, there are my sandals 25% off that price. I absolutely LOVED the sandals and had to have them in the brown. So this week, this gal is returning first pair and keeping the Macy's bargain. Wonder if their bronze bag is on sale, because "bronze is the new black" according to the tabloids ;)

I'm starting to get excited. Exactly 1 month from today, this gal will be floating to the Bahamas sipping a decadent drink on the Lido deck and catching a sun[burn]tan. With my irish/indian blood, it’s a whole turn into a lobster issue, before I'm a beautiful shade of bronze. And, may I add, the bronze is short-lived before the spray tan in a bottle starts to be utilized again. Being that I live in Florida, how sad is it that my schedule is so packed that I'm a perpetual ringer for Casper the friendly ghost?

Ahhhh... Let the countdown begin!

Posted by Lys :: 6:54 PM :: 0 comments

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Just Because...

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Tuesday, October 11, 2005

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Friday, October 07, 2005

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