It's pretty pathetic when I really don't have much of anything to say after posting so little for the last few weeks. I've been in a bit of a funk for the last few weeks, probably caused by my lovely job that keeps me from enjoying the weekdays and (usually) part of the weekend. You'd think that with a few years of experience and (most of) a master's degree under my belt it wouldn't be so hard to find a decent job, but it is.

Mid-post note to self: Readers want fewer complaints and more Gary Coleman references. Let's turn this around.

In happier news, my friend Kevin's wedding last weekend was a lot of fun. I knew I had way too much to drink when I found myself in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by a circle of friends, busting out my finest Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo-esque moves.

Bowling is going well. I think we may have broken into the top 10 after last week's performance, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I watched the classic Run-DMC/Fat Boys movie Krush Groove two times this week.

Jen

Sorry my blogging skills have sucked lately. You will soon realize how much more these skills suck when I only post this joke that I got in my inbox this morning! See you next week. Or Saturday when I am working again.

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. As she pays for her ticket, the bus driver says:

"That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen. Ugh!"

The woman sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me!"

The man says: "You shouldn't take that. You tell him off. Go ahead, I'll hold your monkey."

This man means business.

I have some anecdotes to share, but free time is currently unavailable. I'll return later this week.

Jen

That's when the party started as far as I know

It’s Saturday, and I’m at work again. This is the beginning of a series of weekends that I will have to come into work for. At the same time, it’s nice because I can get a lot of work done and at my own pace, but not so nice that I’m here. Also, sometimes, I don’t think that the staff realizes how much extra time I put into working here and how as a part-time employee, I can never get paid more than 30 hours. So yeah, both the negative and the positive.

Yesterday, I spent some time with the Thursday night Fizz crew, and was amazed to see exactly how quick one can chug a beer. I lead the official countdown to the races because I couldn’t drink due to the fact that I drove last night. The point about chugging is that it is temporary amusement. Let’s say that to chug a can of beer lasts 30 sec. Of course, there are arrangements to made pre-chug contest. Getting people involved, that may take between 3-5 minutes, depending on enthusiasm. Getting the beer out, passing it around, doing the whole countdown thing probably takes another 3 minutes tops. That leaves the activity with really only 30 seconds of actual action time, with a remaining 30 seconds on the congratulating the winner. Total time to chug beer: 6-8 minutes, give or take. On the grand scheme of things, it leaves a night wide open. That is unless the contest goes on past one round and then everyone starts dropping their pants. That’s another story.

Note on chugging: If you stop half way to take a quick breather, it is no longer considered an official chug. Also, if everyone else finishes and you stop because they stop and are not done with your can, then you shouldn’t be chugging.

Ok, I’m bored, can you tell? Time to do more productive work.

Mike:

It's nice to know I'm not all alone:
I've got a wedding coming up (today, in fact), but it's in Westmont instead of Malibu. It might not be as scenic, but the commute isn't nearly as bad. My friend Kevin is gettin' hitched. He's an awesome guy and one of my oldest friends, so it should be a great time. I don't know about this whole "wedding on a Friday" deal, but any excuse to take a day off from work is fine with me. Designated drivers have been found and weddding gifts have been arranged, so let the good times roll.

The work week goes by so much faster when you have something to look forward to. That 'something' is league bowling at Diversey. We were ranked 16th out of 16 teams before hitting the lanes last night, but our ragtag crew of bowling misfits gave a serious thrashing to our other friends in the league. I don't know our current ranking, but surely we're rocketed up to at least 14th place. Look out, #13, we're gunning for you.

I left my (cheap, broke-ass) bowling shoes at the alley, but didn't realize it until I was all the way home. Damn. Hopefully my friends saw them and rescued them.

I just saw the movie Singles the other day. Just had to share.

Jen

I want so badly to believe that there is truth and love is real

Sorry for the long delay in writing. I just got back from California yesterday morning, and I still feel like I'm recovering. Yesterday, I came into work for a half day and found myself unbelievably annoyed with my surroundings. That's is probably because I spent some incredibly relaxing days in Malibu at a friends place and then the next thing I know, I'm getting asked where to put the bubble wrap and where the box of Winogrand announcement cards are.

For the second time, I saw that guy from that one Jane's Addiction video - you know, the dred-locked guy with roller blades and a guitar? - in the Venice beach vacinity. You think that by now he would have moved on. Also, I had my first real celebrity spotting in the LA, which isn't really all that much of a celebrity. He's the tall mail room guy from Just Shoot Me. I'd look up his name, but this computer is too damn slow. Anyway, I saw him at this bar in Hollywood called Cat'n'fiddle. Other than that, a little bit of relaxation and, as always, a little bit of drama filled my trip.

The wedding, which seems like ages ago now, was actually a great time. I DID, however, have to wake up at 6:00 am to have my hair done. I had this hairstyle until probably 1 or 2 at night, so you can only imagine how much styling prodcut was in my hair. I have short hair, and the woman managed to use 40 bobby pins to hold up what little hair I have. That was the worse part.

The nice part came when Jen finally walked down the aisle. I was such a sweet and sincere moment that I know I could never write about properly without sounding too sappy or just plain ruining it. Everthing looked so flawless, little did they know how much hard work and tears came before the ceremony. I'm happy it's over, but really, more happy for Jen and Jason. What a great couple.

Otherwise, I'm faced with a horrible dilema and I keep changing my mind. Well, not really. I know what I want right? Do I lose a friend over it? Is our friendship a healthy one to begin with? Too many questions and I'm not ready to confront them.

That is about all. I spent some time after work trying to scam a U-Pass out of the Columbia College System. I'm done so I'm outta here.

I watched Lost in Translation and a documentary about mullets this weekend. Go me!

Have fun at the wedding, Jen. I'll actually be at a birthday party instead of Crapple tomorrow night, so we'll all be missing out. It's not like weddings and birthday parties aren't cool, but they just don't compare to the feeling of winning 150 pipe cleaners. Maybe we can work out some other get-together one of these days.

Joke of the day:
Kevin Costner's career over the last decade

Jen

you're damn right there is, but we can't talk about it now.

Last night, god. . . I feel horrible. I didn't want to lose my friend because of this whole thing. I don't want to talk about this really, so I won't.

I'll talk about the other thing on my mind at the moment. Tomorrow is the "big day". Not for me that is, but it sure as hell feels like it. I've been excited about my friend's wedding since I found out about it, but now, I feel like there is too much stress involved. Someone remind me this please if I am to ever get married: Do not make it complicated.

Tonight, at 4:30, I have to be at the reception hall/place of marriage, for the wedding rehersal. At first I was a little upset that I had to take off work early, but I'm over that now. The thing that I don't like is that I have to drag my bridesmaid dress all over this godforsaken town with me. See, I don't need it tonight, but I won't have time to pick it up at all between now and 6 am when I am supposed toi be getting my hair down at the Hyatt downtown. So, I'm taking all my shit with me all day and then to the hotel this evening. I really can't understand why I need to get my hair done at 6 in the morning when the wedding is not until 5:30 pm that night. Can anyone explain this to me? please?

I am excited for the wedding, but I'm going to be relieved that it's over. I'm relieved that a lot of things are over.

Mike, I would love to join in on "Crapple" because it sounds awesome. Unfortunately, I have to do this wedding thing tomorrow eve and I kinda can't miss it.

The strangest thing happened last friday - a bird flew into the window of our living room. It fell two stories. Nathan and I went to check on it, and it was still breathing. I called a bunch of vet's and shelters to see if they could help me. With no luck, we went back down and it had died. We buried it in our backyard.

That was sad. Anyone have any good jokes? Funny stories? Let's not end Thursday like this!

Who's up for some drinking in Lakeview on Friday? There's this great bar just east of Lincoln Ave on Wellington that has a monthly event called "Crapple." They raffle off miscellaneous crap like ugly Sox shirts, toilet brushes, spotlights, and unpopular board games. My friends and I won a giant inflatable monkey last month. It is truly the greatest event of all time.

Jen

Your etiquette
Your rules on interaction
What are you waiting for?

What a crappy day. First thing to suck about today is that we can no longer eat food at work. We can't eat at our desk. We can't eat down in the prep room. NO FOOD.

And of course, to every action, there is a reaction. Peter quit today, which leaves us with three new openings here. I was upset when Meagan quit last week, and not so shocked when Joy quit too, but it sucks losing Peter. I see a lot of Peter since he moved into my place, but he's a great worker here and replacing him won't be easy. I've called 3 people for interviews, so I'm hoping one of them will be responsible enough to hire.

I think what pisses me off the most about today's events is that it's breaking up the little community we have formed. Anyone who has spent time with us as a group know that we are a tightly knit bunch of people and the first way to break that up is take away our lunch time together. It even further separates the part time staff from the full time staff. That lunch room gave everyone a chance to communicate and get to know one another.

It just feels like we are being treated like children. It's like we are not responsible enough to eat food here or be social without acting like a preschool playgroup. It breaks the morale. No one wants to work where you don't feel like an equal, or at least, like a responsible adult.

I'm feeling emotional today, so this is really hurting my feelings. What a load of bullshit.