I was a teenage popstar in Canada

heartstillatwar @ 2010-03-19T12:25:00

2010-03-19T16:25:50Z

It's been a busy week.I haven't really had much an online presence for the last week - I still have catch up on the f'list, my Google reader is over 1000 unread items, I haven't been checking Twitter, and Facebook and it's assorted applications is completely out of control, but I find I'm not really missing it all too much...

I went to see Alice in Wonderland on Tuesday, which I ended up liking far more than I thought I would, considering I'm not a fan of the source material or the Disney cartoon version. I think because I liked Alice a lot more. My sense of her in both the book and the cartoon is that all she did was complain. She complains in Burton's film too, but she has more reason and there's a lot more sense of her just shutting up and eventually dealing with everything. My final reaction? I really want a Cheshire cat.

Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day and after the boring work parts of the day, I changed into my green 'I'm outdoorsy in that I like getting drunk on patios' shirt and met my family plus aunt and uncle at the Still in Timonium for a late lunch. And then my sister and I proceeded to watch my mom and aunt get progressively buzzed. It was awesome, hilarious, and slightly embarrassing all at once. I'd intended to go out with the Bel Air crew later, but a) we didn't leave until after 9, b) apparently not that many people were out, and c) I had a 9am budget meeting in the morning so I ended up being responsible and going to bed early. (Also, d) I didn't feel like paying a $10 cover.)

Budget meeting ended up being mostly pointless - essentially we were told that the only project amounts that would probably be approved were the ones designated as priority 'have to be done' jobs, of which there are only about ten. So basically, I've spent about two months pulling together tons of information that nobody cares about. Fantastic. Met my family for happy hour at Magerk's after work and then ended up being talked into driving to the PA Walmart and buying lots of gardening stuff, including hot pink lilies that I plan on planting during tomorrow's seventy degree weather.

Went to bed early (not that it helped) because I had to be up at 5am to be at work by 7am today to sit in on OSHA trainings about ladder safety and lockout procedures. Let me sum up for you: if your ladder is bent, broken, or damaged, don't use it. There. I just saved you 40 minutes and a quiz. Second, if you're working with electricity/potentially stored energy, make sure you turn everything off and no one can turn it back on before you start. The better news is that I get to leave soon and my boss will be on vacation for the next two weeks. I plan on spending this weekend soaking up the sunshine!

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2010-03-16T04:05:38Z

23:25 stupid daylight savings. been trying to fall asleep for an hour. internal clock refuses to cooperate. #

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heartstillatwar @ 2010-03-15T12:35:00

2010-03-15T16:35:07Z

Beach trip was amaaaazing. The weather wasn't as sunny as I would have preferred, but it was really neat to watch the stormy, angry waves and be surrounded by fog so thick you could barely see anything through it. We still got to do a lot of the beach staples: walked the boardwalk, played some skee-ball and mini-golf, had pizza from Doughroller and ice cream from Dumser's. Also discovered a new restaurant called The Shark on the Harbor and had one of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten. It was a really terrific break from everything.

Sadly, life must return back to normal and I'm back in the office, suffering from a bit of post-vacation let-down. Although, I'm pretty pleased I was off Friday and not on-call this weekend because tons of things went wrong and there was lots of flooding and while everyone was dealing with that, I was at the beach.

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2010-03-11T05:06:02Z

11:49 woah... is Corey Haim dead? Did I just hear that? #

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2010-03-10T05:05:57Z

09:55 incredibly perky and cheerful this morning. Must be the sunshine. #
12:19 cruising in the sun on my lunch break! #
16:14 waiting while my oil is being changed. room full of empty chairs - the woman reeking of cigarettes has to sit right next to me #

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2010-03-09T05:05:58Z

17:28 Finally home! Been sniffly and sneezing all day. Either I've developed allergies or a cold. Neither option makes me very happy. #
20:07 17 dates? I'm with Barney on this one... #
20:21 This day went by really fast. But I made yummy fried chicken for dinner and now I have cadbury eggs. Not bad for a monday. #

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2010-03-08T05:05:39Z

21:23 how did i not know John Hughes did Home Alone? #
21:54 I think Queen Latifah's dress is absolutely gorgeous. Lovely colour. #

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heartstillatwar @ 2010-03-07T20:15:00

2010-03-08T01:15:30Z

It's been a long week and a too short weekend, much as it always is. My boss decided on Monday that since we have a super big company-wide inspection in May and are acquiring a new company in July, myself and my Westminster counterpart need to be in the Catonsville office with my boss all. the. time. to prepare. This is irksome, obviously, because it temporarily takes away my work-from-home option and also reduces my slacking. On the plus side, since my boss has actually been in the office, and y'know, available, I've been able to get a lot of lingering things completed. Plus, it's much easier to fob off all the people who annoy me onto him. Besides which, he'll be on vacation for the entire last 2 weeks of March and there's a good possibility he'll have mostly forgotten this plan by the time he comes back.

However, I've been a bit exhausted and cranky all week because I've been getting up earlier and getting home later. (Yes, I realize you're probably rolling your eyes, all 'poor Eva, having to actually show up to work. On time.' But I've been majorly slacking for almost a year now. It's a hard thing to get used to again.) This coming week, at least , will be short. I'm taking a little jaunt to the beach for an extended weekend and hopefully the anticipation of that will make the days pass quickly.

The weekend has been pretty low-key (see above, re: exhausted and cranky). Friday afternoon I stopped by to see my sister at school on my way home from work. We had a late lunch and she caught me up on all the college gossip. Then I came home and decided some pampering was on the agenda. I had some wine, a bubble bath, gave myself a pedicure, and basically decompressed from the week. I spent Saturday conquering the mountains of laundry I'd accumulated and watching some Netflix movies. I watched Julie & Julia, which was cute and fluffy, although I cared far more about the Julia than Julie scenes. And then I watched Up. Dear God, that movie should be rated T for 'extensive tissue use.' I'd heard that the beginning was sad, but I wasn't quite prepared for how heartwrenching it would be. And I'm suppose I'm a bit overly sensitive about these things, but throughout the whole movie there were tons of tiny little gut-punching moments that had me sniffling. I'm really glad I watched it alone.

Today was brilliantly sunny and warm(er) so I went on a little scenic drive with my mom that ended with another late lunch and beer. And during that lunch, she decided a great topic to talk about would be how we're going to divide her things up when she dies and how she's not sure what she should do with her wedding ring and do I want the string of pearls that belonged to my grandmother or the ones my father gave her. Needless to say, there was lots of desperate subject changing attempts.

And now I debate whether I feel like watching the Oscars or my final Netlfix movie Whip It and prepare for another Monday.

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2010-03-07T05:04:27Z

17:41 One of the nice things about having enough clothes to run my own boutique is I rarely run out of clean clothing. #
17:41 The downside, of course, is that now I have the Mt. Everest of laundry to do this weekend. #
19:09 watching 'Julie and Julia.' Already loving Meryl Streep as Julia Childs. #
20:05 Jane Lynch plays Julia Childs' sister. Awesome. #
22:40 watching Up. I really need the happy adventure part of this movie to start happening now #

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2010-03-06T05:05:22Z

09:24 oh man, this is going to be a long day. boss is freaking out over OSHA rules #
14:49 FREEDOM!!!! #
18:27 I think it is time for a bubble bath and wine. #

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2010-03-05T05:11:04Z

11:36 My boss is finally out of the office. Hellooooo procrastination! #
11:42 @morganashkevron well the theory is that I'll actually *care* about that job and won't be passive-aggressively attempting to be laid-off. #
12:28 and once again, our server is down. #
16:00 It is amazing how much sunshine, warmer temps, and having dinner plans with friends brightened my mood today. I'm barely homicidal at all! #
23:23 I missed the birth of the Jam baby! Thank god for hulu #

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2010-03-04T05:05:59Z

07:36 it feels like Monday all over again. blegh #
22:21 ...probably shouldn't have taken a 4 hour nap when I got home #

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2010-03-03T05:05:03Z

21:58 what the FUCK is with permissions on Win7? All I want to do is save to stuff to external hard drive. I'm too cranky to be doing this shit. #
22:01 also, it is ridiculous that iTunes STILL doesn't automatically update from your music folder. #

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2010-03-02T05:08:40Z

08:49 fyi: outloop of 695 all lanes closed after exit 7. #
09:48 @morganashkevron and it gets better. We have a huge inspection in June so my boss wants us working on it non-stop, 5 days a week. #
09:49 @morganashkevron so i can't work from home for a while, and he wants me to start coming in at 7am. I may be quitting on Friday... #
11:54 @morganashkevron Why won't they lay me off already? It's ridic. #
11:58 @morganashkevron I don't know if that's sadder for me or my coworkers... #
12:09 @morganashkevron honestly, it's a company wide problem. Morale is terrible - you can tell no one really gives a damn. #
12:15 @morganashkevron Yeah, that movie isn't nearly as funny when you live it. #
12:20 @morganashkevron terribly, depressingly accurate. #
15:56 so hungry i could eat my freaking hand. stupid boss wouldnt break for lunch :( #
16:37 @morganashkevron the problem is that he and the other guy always work through lunch, so I feel weird taking that break #
18:11 I sincerely hope the rest of the week is much improved. Please. #

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heartstillatwar @ 2010-03-01T18:40:00

2010-03-01T23:40:31Z

Today sucked. Not holding out a whole lot of hope for the rest of the week either. So, I'm either going to take a nap or a very long bubble bath.

While I'm gone, you can check out Slaughterhouse 90210. Pop culture and literary quotes. Two great tastes that taste great together. Some of them are incredibly spot-on and wickedly amusing. Enjoy.

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2010-03-01T05:08:30Z

17:11 @morganashkevron @magilicious I'm just sleepy. I haven't stayed up until 4am in a while. #
17:43 These P&G Olympic Mom commercials make me teary every. single. time. #
22:02 oh Sunday night ennui, I think I hate you the most. #

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heartstillatwar @ 2010-03-01T00:08:00

2010-03-01T05:07:45Z

And just like that, it's almost Monday again. The weekend was good, but far too short. I spent most of it being terribly lazy, fooling around with my new laptop, watching the final Olympics coverage, Bones, and Food network. I also went out last night for some amusing hijinx at our favorite bar and have been incredibly exhausted from that all day. It's sad, really.

I'm having a really hard time writing anything of consequence here tonight. I have quite a few different things buzzing around my head, mostly all introspective, mostly career related, and while it's taking up most of my mental energies, it's not really all the interesting to write about, as it turns out. At least, not in a way that doesn't sound incredibly self-indulgent and pitying.

And I am really going to regret going to bed this late in about six hours, so I should probably be trundling off to bed.

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2010-02-28T05:08:03Z

13:40 @morganashkevron it's on #
13:47 @morganashkevron sounds good. #
13:53 @morganashkevron Friday's would be good. Haven't been there in a while. #
23:11 note to self: pony - ginuwine #

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2010-02-27T05:05:24Z

13:30 so... I have a brand new laptop. it's so *shiny* #
13:44 @morganashkevron acer aspire, suprisingly. but it had th 17" screen and i3 processor #
13:49 Now I need to name it... #
13:51 @morganashkevron yeah, i couldnt get the specs i wanted for a reasonable price in pink. I figure I can always get a pink skin/case #
14:25 oh man, windows 7 is going to take some learning #
14:32 @morganashkevron that's what i hear. I'm liking it so far, it's just... different #
17:26 @magilicious heard about that. Not sure if I'm a fan or not... #
22:46 I need to stop watching the Food Network late at night. It makes me hungry. #

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oooh shiny!

2010-02-27T04:20:04Z

So... I have a new laptop! It happened a bit unexpectedly and quickly. Last night I came across a rather spectacular deal for a Dell studio laptop in pink. I was going to order it this morning, but somehow it didn't feel quite right. It had a 4GB RAM and 500 GB hard drive, and the processor was a dual core, which I thought I'd be good with, but now that the iCore3, 5, and 7 processors are out, suddenly that wasn't good enough. Also, it was supposed to come with MS Office and a LED backlit display, yet those weren't listed in the final specs. Plus, it wouldn't even ship until mid-March. So I did some more searching, to see if I could find something similar or slightly better around the same price range. And I found the computer destined to become mine - the Acer Aspire 7740-5691. It has a 17" screen, HDMI output, i3 Core processor, 4GB RAM, 320 GB (I figure I could settle for less hard drive space, since I still have room on my external and plan on asking for a 1TB external for my birthday), MS Office, bluetooth,and for $50 bucks less than the Dell. Plus, it was available at my local Staples, so I could get it today.

So I braved the sometimes whiteout conditions this afternoon (oh yeah, I didn't go in to work today because when I woke up it was so windy and snowy that I could barely see out my window), bought Lily, and have been tinkering with her her (dirty!) ever since. I'm slowly getting used to Windows 7, which I'm liking (virtual post-it notes!), and I am practically giddy over the speed and the super large screen. It's not pink (although my tool bars, browser, and desktop are...) but it turns out speed was far more important to me. Plus, there's still the skin/shell option.

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2010-02-26T05:06:17Z

09:00 Where the hell is my snow? I have been betrayed by mother nature :( #
09:05 @morganashkevron that is so not good enough. I want this 'paralyzing snowicane' that is going to be terrorizing our nothern neighbors. #
09:26 @morganashkevron blegh. I have no use for winter if it's not going to snow. #
11:39 Snow! Now snow harder, dammit! #
23:32 woah. Quite a night in figure skating! #

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2010-02-25T05:07:11Z

12:28 hard to believe we may be in for another snow storm - it's so gorgeous right now! #
17:24 I love that news services keep inventing new words for impending snow storms. The newest is 'SNOWICANE.' Apparently 'blizzard' is passe. #

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heartstillatwar @ 2010-02-24T14:28:00

2010-02-24T19:27:56Z

Things that are making me happy:

it's going to snow tonight/tomorrow! And if the storm decides to come in a bit more south of us, we might get another 12+ inches.
my computer problems appear to be resolved! (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc, etc.) I'm still not sure if it was the internet or my computer. I ran a registry cleaner and ran a different virus scan that turned up a few things, but then yesterday out internet was down almost all day. And now that it's back up and I reset the router and updated my connections, everything is working well.
this week is almost over! And there are hijinx and a social experiment planned for this weekend.
Cadbury creme eggs are available! And I have some!
I have new recipes and cooking supplies, and I plan on trying them out this weekend.
I get paid on Friday and I plan on buying myself something pretty and spring-like and getting my nails done!

Things that are making me unhappy:

Nothing!

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2010-02-24T05:05:49Z

08:45 I'm really ready to wear flipflops now... #
09:59 @magilicious @sudokubear Hey, that happens to me too! Am I superior as well? #
19:06 Never saw or heard from my boss today... kinda odd since we were supposed to prep for tomorrow's meeting... #
19:07 On the plus side, I got to leave early and took a nap. #
23:39 Internet has been down since I've come home.. am going through withdrawal. #

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I'm sorry, Axl

2010-02-23T17:10:45Z

But nothing is more dreary or depressing than February rain. Especially when it should have been snow. And if it's not going to snow, than I am way past ready for spring. I really, really want to be wearing flipflops now. And be able to take a shower in the morning without freezing.

I had an epiphany this morning. I was at work and getting frustrated, per usual, because the technicians had turned in a number of invoices/receipts improperly, so now I would have to go through and try to sort them out and match them up properly. This is my problem - I want things done right and I don't want to submit things late, so I just fix whatever is handed in to me, muttering to myself about people who can't follow simple instructions. And then I realized, why? Whenever I submit something improperly, or don't do it exactly the way A/P wants it done, they have no problem sending it back to me and refusing to process it. So I gathered up every single incomplete, improperly coded receipt and put them back in the tech's mailboxes. And it felt awesome. This new coping technique of simply not dealing with people's bullshit is helping a bit. And I must admit, I'm rather curious as to how much slacking off it would take to get me laid off...

My next two days are full of meetings, which is annoying, but means I get to sleep in and not deal with Catonsville traffic for two days, so at least that's something. If things don't change soon, I'm asking my boss to move my office to Timonium. And if he refuses, well... that will be interesting.