Rock Haus

Dear Jesus God

I can no longer berate the boys I work with for ogling teenaged girls and making crass remarks, since this was brought to my attention, and although I was already in college when he was born, my official take on the whole thing is: GAWD DAMN.

I am officially a dirty old woman.

You're all invited to the barbeque at my country house in hell.

It is hatefully cold out. Parka continues to keep me snuggly warm, walked 3 miles in 17 degree temps and broke a sweat.

Took tonight off work since temp job extended through end of the week. I will also be returning for the entirety of next week, so far nobody has said anything about keeping me but the position I'm most interested in doesn't begin until mid February, fingers remain crossed.

Between both jobs, and my foolish idea to offer to work the superbowl at work, and my scheduled trip out to Wheaton to meet Mr and Mrs Susan's baby and give Mrs. Susan some much needed grownup time with someone who isn't related to her, and Soph's birthday and the Firsbie show, I haven't really any time in the next 10 days where I can spend the day sitting on my ass doing fuck all...which is fine, but that also means I have no time to go out and take pictures, or piss away 6 hours trying to figure out how to duplicate photo effects in photo shop, or watch my netflix (current guilty pleasure - Johnny Knoxville movies, he's just so fun to look at) or clean my house or do my launry or cook proper meals....wah wah wah.

I guess I'll take a couple of nights off and try to accomplish things..or not. Tonight I did all my dishes and took out the trash. Go go team Lis!

Feh.

Headed over to World of Wheels with Mr. and Mrs. Bridget today.

I haven't taken pictures in a while and I was looking forward to getting the ball rolling again. I took a shitload of pictures, alas, for the most part, they're garbage. I posted a few but really, blah. I'm going to see Frisbie next weekend. Hopefully I'll come up with something better. For now I leave you with a mediocre sunset shot taken at the Chinatown El stop. When Molly Goatwax visited over the summer, we discussed how sometimes as an artist you detest everything you produce. I suspect this is what is going on right now... although I am always loathe to refer to myself as an artist.

I have made my interest known in getting a permanent position at the place I've been temping, they seem to like me and have hired several people from my agency. It's not a dream job but the people are nice and I could stop worrying about getting a job (plus healthcare, regular paycheque, blah blah blah) no idea yet if they will keep me or not, but i'm working there at least for the next 3 days.

It's the little victories

After walking to work 4 nights, including one night I also walked home, and last Sunday I and Mrs. Kate walked to Miss Sarah's house for girls game night, my walking total  is up to a cumulative 18 miles in the past week. I've also been trying to not eat everything in the world, as has become my custom as late. The other night as I changed from my fancy work duds to my tatty work duds, I was delighted to discover I was able to wrench myself into my (newly dryered) jeans, *without* having to lay on the bed and grapple with them like some porcine adolescent, don't get me wrong, it still wasn't *easy* but at least this time it didn't end in tears and zipper induced stomach lacerations. So that was encouraging.

Last night in the interest of negating any good I might have done, I went out and drank obscene amounts of beer with Mrs Bridget, Misses Sarah, Alysa and Michelle, and Silent Ron. After a few rounds at Easy bar, we migrated to Gold Star so I could bat my eyes at Bartender, we then headed north to Matilda, where I met this guy who was downstairs snogging with one of my co-workers. When the ugly lights came on at 3 we went over to The Fix. I have no idea what time I got home...I was supposed to go to breakfast with Jeff from the street this morning, but he rang me around 11 to tell me he had a family thing and had to head out to Joliet last night, which although a bummer, worked out for the best because I was having a lot of problems moving without my brain threatening to leak out my ear.

8 months clean, well, ish, there was that handful of smokes in December, but seriously, if you'd been there you would have understood. 8 months tho, that blows my mind a little - who knew I could exercise willpower?

I've been lazy as all hell about taking pictures for a while now (unless myspace vanity pictures like the one above count) I've been doing a lot of mucking about with Photo Shop, I'm actually getting to the point where I'm comfortable saying I know the programme...although I shan't be answering any "photoshop guru needed" ads any time soon.

Friday and Saturday I minded a store at the Mart and was relentlessly reminded that I will never have a 75k kitchen. I'm okay with that. What galls me no end is people who HAVE 75k kitchens, for no reason other than impressing other people with their pretty kitchen, since they don't actually cook. HOW can you have a kitchen like that and not be just overwhelmed by the compulsion to cook? how? HOW??? I don't need limestone floors or beveled Italian marble counters or custom cabinetry (don't get me wrong, it would be really effing nice) but if one day I could have one of these, I would be completely content. Throw in one of these and I die happy...My god, the dinner parties I would have. 

Long winded link addled entry wherein I actually talk of little of any real importance unless you like Jarvis Cocker or are in the Market for a really cozy parka

I cannot fucking sleep. I walked 6 miles today, and still, I cannot fucking sleep.

Getting a little more temp work despite snarking by bitch trixie. Last weekend I babysat a store at the Mart, and got to meet this guy. At 90 years old he still likes to come to his store and talk to people about wood floors, and his floors are something to see. Seriously, absolutely gorgeous - art you can walk on. If I ever by some fluke become obscenely wealthy I will have one of his cobbleblock floors. On Friday and Saturday I will be babysitting another showroom where I will be tortured by exquisite cabinetry and marble kitchen counters I will never have...sigh. Next week I return to the place I was working before Xmas to help with a filing project. Since they've worked with me before and are aware of my pre-existing working knowledge of the English language, hopefully the project actually will take a few days as they have predicted.

Fortunately, given current sleeping predicament, I am not working tomorrow. That said, Murphys law dictates that my phone will ring at 8:00, and my current bank account dictates that I will drag my tired achy under-rested body out into the cold and go  to work. Yes I know lots of people do that EVERY DAY. *THEY* however, are nowhere near as special as *I* am, and it's really only due to some kind of cruel cosmic glitch that I have to work at all. I was, after all SUPPOSED to be a bored millionairess.

Anyway.

Why is it every time I turn on the telly today people are talking about the fucking Wiggles - what the fuck is up with the wiggles all of a sudden? Was one of them found to be a serial killer? Please say yes.

As I mentioned, with a mind towards my "stop being such a lardass" initiative,  I walked 6 miles today. To and from work. It's in the 20's but the parka mum got me for Xmas does what it was made to do - Granted, I look like I weigh about 400 lbs in it, but frankly when the temperature dips below freezing I could really give a flying rats ass what I look like so long as I'm not cold. I was nothing even resembling cold, this thing rocks. I will at the very least walk to work tomorrow, if not both to and from.

I am *awfully* excited to read that my beloved Jarvis has recorded a solo album which if the reviews are anything to go by, is excellent...and who cares if it isn't? I would happily listen to Jarvis Cocker read the phone book...so long as he did it slowly...with a saucy tone...

I am also very excited to try inkjet transfer. Perhaps this weekend.

Apparently, even with nothing to report I can go on at great length. Lucky you.

Okay, I'm off to bed.

Will miracles never cease..

I'm working today, just drinking my tea and getting ready to put on my smilin' pants - don't want to scare anybody else (pah! I say!!! PAH!!!) Anyway. I *thought* my alarm was set last night, turns out I was mistaken...anyway - for no particular reason, I just sort of woke up at 6. huh.

One particularly kind and compassionate agency has called me in for Monday...who can say if they can actually get me work...but they're willing to talk to me...so that's nice...it's a start.

If I can continue to eat the way I did yesterday I will definitely achieve my birthday goal. If I keep getting paid the way I did today that should be no problem.

Above you see what happens when tarted up drunks have digital cameras to play with.

Doesn't play well with others

This is my boss Chris' dog Ziggy - isn't he cute? Ziggy is well behaved and a delight to be around. Ziggy plays just fine with others, in the headline I'm talking about me.

So the other day my temp agency sent me on an assignment at a law firm. Run of the mill filing, they figured it would take a few days.  Aparently, when they called to request a temp they assumed that who(whom?)ever the agency sent over would first have to learn the alphabet and have at least a loose grasp on reading English. I was done by 4:30, and asked the chick I was working under if she had anything else for me. She said no, as she signed off on my timesheet we made idle chit chat about her pet ferret, who was prominently displayed in several pictures around her office.

Yesterday I was talking to the chick at my temp agency who sends me on assignments, and she asked me what the deal was with that job, I told her it was a simple filing job and I didn't understand why they thought it would take so long...she then went on to tell me that the lawfirm called her after I left and asked her to send someone else. She asked if there was a problem and it was reported that I "seemed really pissed off" and "scared people". WHAT. THE. FUCK.

I know that those of you who know me in the real world are laughing their asses off right now, it's true, I am NOT a cheerleader, but I also understand basic social skills, and am more than capable of making nice if the situation requires. I was NOT pissed off, I was not rude, I went in there, I was polite, I got to work and did the job that needed doing in less than half the time alloted, and I left. I'm really fucking sorry if I didn't give girly girl a hug on the way out, perhaps invite her out for drinks at Tequila Roadhouse and tell her we were now totally bff. cow.

I would like to note that temp agency chick asked law firm chick "well, did she do a good job?" - the response to which was "yes, definitely, she was outstanding". Temp agency chick thought it was silly, said not to worry about it and they simply won't send me back there. Gave me an assignment for Friday and also mentioned that the place I worked before Xmas might have me back next week. Fingers crossed.

I have sent out a rather large volume of resumes to crative staffing agencies this week, so far no bites. Next week I begin the phone assualt. Frankly right now I haven't the energy to cope with the rejection, which I readily anticipate, considering most of these agencies want you to have all this fancy stuff I don't have, like "experience"...whatever. Can't hurt to try.

In other news, Iam attempting to re-shape my diet so that by my birthday I can slide comfortably back into my jeans fresh out of the dryer rather than lay on the bed and wrestle myself into them and spend the duration of the experience intensely uncomfortable and looking not unlike the Michellin man. Yeah I don't smoke any more but I am now a big fat lardass. Well done me.

Happy New Year

Okay, so I'm nearly 10 days late with the new year tidings, but as you might have noticed I've gotten a little lax with the posting these days.

<bile and venom>I'm happy 2006 is over, it was pretty much a shit year for me. I began it involved with a sneaky coward, whom I allowed to slowly pick apart my psyche until April, then there was Dad's "stroke warning" then came Mum's stroke, which was dovetailed with me losing yet another job, I gained a shitload of weight and well, yeah...essentially, 2006 can bite me.</bile and venom>

On the flip side, 2006 was a fantastic year for many of my friends. Chris and Bridget, as well as Spot and Wendy got hitched, Erica and Matt welcomed Ben, Kathy and Jeff welcomed JJ, Sherri and Aaron had Noah, Rob and Kate had Fiona, and just in time for  Christmas,  Sue and  Rick added Ryan to the party.

So all the wonderful happening to my friends leads me to believe that the world isn't total arse, and I need to go get some wonderful of my own (for the record this sunshiny prose has me getting a little bit sick in my mouth but I'm bound and determined that this year will NOT suck a big bag of dick so I forge ahead) SInce my "good things happen to those who wait" MO hasn't panned out, I'm just gonna have to go out and get it my damn self.

Looking towards the positive - I did quit smoking last year. I think I can finally say I stopped. A minor parental induced setback over Xmas, I'm back on the wagon. I have finally cobbled together a portfolio of sorts, I'm not posting it here but if anyone wants to see it let me know and i'll send you a link. I've already started sending letters of inquiry to creative staffing agencies, and I'm hoping to score at least one interview by weeks end. SO...quitting smoking and assembling a portfolio - 2 major obstacles done. Now I need paying work, I need to move (hopefully into Rob and Kates place) lose the 30lbs I somehow gained in the past 3 years....renew my passport(s)...yep - I've got a lot of work to do. Fingers crossed.

In other news, here are some pictures from my New Years Eve. Today, for the first time in about 9 years,  I talked to the lovely and talented Louis DeAngelis, who after years of stalking, I finally found on MySpace...seems there was something else, can't remember what it was...

I'll get back to you on that one....