I Love The Renaissance Festival

I'm blown away by the fact that Ivy wanted a crown so bad that she actually got on that ride! There is hope for us taking her to Kennywood next year, after all. The little goofball is growing up. She had a great time on Sunday. So did we. I could spend days at the Renfest just because of the art/clothing/crafts. We ended up with another print from Delight. She's so pleasant that we always end up buying from her.

There was a booth that sells clothing where they had this handworked, purple, leather fairy costume...I should have taken a picture. It was $1500.00 and worth every last cent. The wings alone were sick enough. They were also made from leather and came to a point with these claws at the end. Oh to be rich. I would have bought it in a second. Delight told me that some heavy woman tried it on and left her granny panties on underneath it. This was a sexy, revealing outfit, mind you. I hear it was an interesting sight. Haha. Sorry i missed the show.

On Friday (going back in time here), we pulled another South Side all-nighter...and when you have to work in the AM on Sat, that is NEVER a good idea. I have a vague recollection of coming out of Dee's and devouring a Mike and Tony's gyro on some steps. Mmmmm...that's the best kind of meal. Frickin' Dee's with their 5.00 pitchers. That's devil magic there. Earlier in the night, there was this gorgeous Asian girl at Tiki who was just so starved for attention that she pretty much stripper danced all over the place all night. I am proud to have made her dance with the old drunk guy in the corner. That was classic. When I told her to do it, she actually looked at me all creeped out and said, "REALLY?" So, uhm, yeah, the hooker at the bar had standards. Of course I made her do it and it was great...particularly because he got all into it and his pants were falling down and everyone could see his tightey whiteys. Classic. I'm like a comedy coreographer.

Yesterday I went to Volant for a Tea Association meeting. The lady's shop...what was it called again???? Anyways, it was really cute. She had a tea tasting bar and a little gift shop. I MISS THE TEAROOM. Everytime I visit another one, I am reminded of how superior AntiquiTea is to all of the others. I hate to be like that, but it's the God's honest truth! It's coming along now, though. My Dad is finishing up on the plumbing, the rooms are getting painted/wallpapered/trimmed out. It's going to be so fantastic. I will miss the Masquerade, but whatever.

Yeah, I said Masquerade. And I have to touch on this before I forget about it. Chuck is gone. He got another job. It sucks so bad now because the guy replacing him for the Halloween season is an auditor for the company. He's more "by the books" than our store manager is. It's more like a real job now. Chuck and I have been friends and hanging out since I met him there a year ago. Nothing beats working with a good friend, especially when they're your boss...ESPECIALLY when they're Chuck. If I wasn't leaving after the Holiday, I would have taken his job in .02 milliseconds. And I know I could have had it. Why couldn't he have left us 6 months ago when I could have had the full-time, salaried position for a while? Ugh. Bad timing there. At any rate, it sucks that hes gone and it sucks to have this perfect job dangling in front of my face when I know I can't take it...booooooooooo!

On a lighter note, life is grand. Love it. Laters.

I Love 'I Am Legend', I Hate 'I Am Legend'

I very recently read I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. It's a great book. I was genuinely stressed while reading it, which is how I know. In Nicole's world, everything is measurable by emotions.

Last night, we sat down to watch the latest movie adaptation because Evan finished up reading the book. I knew it was going to be nothing like the book - both because everyone and their mother hinted at it and because of seeing the trailers for myself. Some changes don't bother me as long as they make sense when translating a novel to film. Of course, modernizing a story from the 1950's is a must. The typical movie-watching minds can't handle anything "old-fashioned". I don't begrudge Hollywood that. Gotta make money. But, while I understood certain changes (ie, adding the dog from the beginning just to give him someone to talk to and develop character), I am sad that they put such a respectable title on that pathetic excuse for a movie. It was loooooosely based on the novel, at best.

Am I biased? Of course I am! One of my favorite Vincent Price movies is the original movie based on Matheson's book. They called it The Last Man on Earth. While it was dissimilar from the novel in many ways, it was still far more worthy of the I Am Legend title than this Will Smith nightmare.

A note about CGI. I hate it anymore. I hated the boring, screamy, annoying creatures in this movie. There was nothing interesting about them at all. I'll take those hammy looking zombie things from The Last Man on Earth anyday! Makeup and acting, please! No more shitty CGI creeps. And exactly where did the inspiration for them come from (if there was any)? Certainly not from the book.

And let's not forget about The Omega Man from the 70's. I love that movie, too. It was also loosely based on the novel, but they had the decency not to put the same name on it.

I think my bitterness against brainless entertainment is the reason I read what I read. I read classic horror and sci-fi because it is philosophical. It makes you think. On top of that, it scares you and stresses you out. Bonus. And I get irritated that many movies are so vapid. Especially when they drag respectable entertainment down with them.

I Am Legend was about mankind moving on. It was about one man's emotional roller-coaster and survival - not about monsters. They're just the dramatic and exciting backdrop that the real story is played against. It ultimately ends with Robert Neville's realization that he's the freak now, the last of his kind, the legend. Remember that Twilight Zone episode called "Eye of the Beholder?" Kinda like that. I see none of this in the movie I watched last night.

Why so pissy, Nicole? What does it matter? It doesn't. But it's what I think. Haha.

I Hate Sleep

I am eating a bowl of chicken rice soup that looks a lot like the stuff they eat in the Matrix. You know, the nastiness that comes out of the spout in the ship's kitchen, igniting a conversation about what tasty wheat tastes like? Looks aside - this is delicious! I think my mom made it. It just appeared in my fridge one day. I'm serious. Really.

On to what I really want to talk about. I have concluded that I could very easily fill all 24 hours of the day with activity. I would like to rise above the need for sleep. I sleep fine, so this is not a bitch about my quality of sleep. I just wish I didn't HAVE to do it. Unfortunately, all possible solutions to this problem are problems themselves:

I could become something unholy, like a zombie or a vampire. But I think even they need to sleep...during the day...and then their nights are pretty much shot by the need to feed and all the time it consumes. Hehe, I said consumes. No pun intended.

Doing drugs is out of the question. Caffeine is about all the stimulant I can handle and it really DOES help. Nevermind the headaches in the AM! It's only a little bit of withdrawal and I have no room to complain about that as far as real addicts are concerned. Yeah, I watch Celebrity Rehab from time to time. It teaches me things. Things like Dr. Drew is not aging. What's his secret, I wonder. Hmmm...

Anyways, there is the robot option. If there were a way to still be me (mind, self, imagination, etc.) but to be somehow superhuman, I would do it in a second. I'm telling you this right now. Consider it a living will. Robocop was still the same guy once he remembered things thanks to his feisty partner who's name escapes me. Data's brother, Lore, had emotions. He was also a major dick, but he had ambition dammit! I could be like that but more on the positive side. Now can someone tell me where to find a real-life Dr. Noonien Soong? Don't worry, nerds, I know that Data and Lore are all robot and nothing like Robocop.

I like the robot option best, but I am sure it is frought with it's own issues. Like the first time I try to pet an animal and crush it by accident. Bah.

Some reasons for my hating the need for sleep lately are:

~I work 2 jobs. This isn't really bad except that I have no semblance of a schedule. No routines for me! And they occupy much of my time. Duh, we all have jobs. I'm not complaining here because I love both jobs. I'm just outlining my reality.

~I have approximately 29,484,638,426,354,826,358,211,325 ideas for jewelry and jewelry-related projects. With the show coming up in May, I have ideas upon ideas upon ideas for things to sell, ways to display, ways to promote it..::::::STROKE:::::::::...it's ok. I'm ok. Shakin' it off. I have them all the time.

~I have a 2-year-old. She is the most amazing human being on the planet and I don't want to miss a second of her little life. I need more time for that. Especially since people steal her from me all the time. Haha. The little bugger has a more active social life than I do!

~I have a social life. 'Nuff said.

~"Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock" says the tearoom countdown clock! When AntiquiTea opens again, I might really have to look into that robot thing! No joke.

So, um, anyone else have that problem? Need more time? Little more time for what you enjoy? Little less work, little more play? Hmmm? I'm sure you do. We all feel this way. I just wonder if I let it get to me more than some. Oh well, I love my life one way or the other. I'm just being all deep and philiosophical right now.

Blah blah blah and a yakkity scmakkity.

I Hate Feeling Blah

My brain chose to continue working today. Thank God for small favors. A random smattering of my thoughts from the day is in order.

"Diamond rope silver chain
Pretty noose is pretty pain"
~from PRETTY NOOSE by Soundgarden~
THOUGHT: That is one swell way to say that you can't polish a turd. Kudos.

Public Restrooms:
THOUGHT: I have a slight mental dilemma each and every time I try to decide between the large, handicapped stall or the regular sized one. I suppose it depends on if I want to feel snug and cozy or if I just need my space.

Post Office:
THOUGHT(S): I have no problems with turning a flat rate box inside-out and not paying the higher flat-rate fee one effing time! Even though - as the bitch pointed out to me - THEY provided the box and therefore I should pay the appropriate fee. That's what I get for making small talk, during which I told her what I did because I needed the box in a pinch. I have never done that before, so they need to shut the hell up and eat the 2 cents it cost for that box. I spend a lot of money there. Pisses me right off. I took it to another one and made no chit-chat. Guess they couldn't tell after all, bitch face! Yeah, she tried to say she would have known. Pshhhhhhhh. Doubtful.

Thrift Stores:
THOUGHT(s): I find so many uncanny things. For example, I was just telling Evan about the "people movie version" of Alice in Wonderland. I had not thought about it in years! Then today, I am going through a small box of DVDs and I find it. *miracle* Also, I get brand names for less...less than it costs to buy a beer. Beat that, TJ MAXX.

Stevie Wonder
THOUGHT: I really need to listen to more Stevie. The dude is amazing. And Eddie Murphy will sum it up for you here:

I Hate Missing Myspace

I deleted my Myspace account, which is depressing me. I loved Myspace. Yes, I am 15 years old at heart. Haha. Meh, as much as I hated to do it, I had to. I just need to start using my time on the computer for more constructive things! I'm focusing a lot of my energy on jewelry right now. I still have the Freshwater Designs Myspace. Check it out and pass it on. I would love it if you'd add me as a friend, since I lost so many with the deleting of my personal profile.

I'm gladly rekindling my relationship with The Bead Hive. This is an eBay group I have belonged to for a long time. It is comprised of the best damned jewelry and bead makers on eBay (or anywhere online, in my opinion). Sadly, my mindset over the past year has kept me from enjoying many of the things that I love and take pride in. I need to get back to what I know. The best news is that I "rejoined" just in time for them to move the group off of eBay and onto Aimoo. This means one major thing to me...I can finally talk about my frickin' frackin' Etsy site! On an eBay group, you can't even whisper the name "Etsy." *shhhhhhhhh* Not even in a private group, just between members. Nope. For those of us who no longer sell on eBay, it makes such a group far less useful.

Uhm, yeah, I made my signature 2008 holiday piece this past week. With any luck, it will sell at the Old Allegheny Marketplace in mid-December. I'd buy it. Haha.



Oker-dokers. I have to pry myself from the computer because Evan and Ivy are on the way home with feeeeeewd for me. Num-num-num.

I Hate The Real ID!

And I've ALWAYS hated it! And I always WILL hate it!

Real ID

It's mind-numbing.

I Hate I Hate I Hate ( I Love Ranting)

It's been an interesting (and annoying) couple of days. I donned my "hat of neighborhood pride" to attend a West View planning meeting last night. Today, I spent 8 hours in a food safety class, bored out of my skull. Both have only added more fuel to the Libertarian fire that is Nicole.

I have a business in West View. It's a lovely little town with a lot of heart and history. They're in need of certain appearance "upgrades." This is what the meeting was about. The hired architects made their presentation to the few of us business owners (very few) and residents (even fewer) who bothered to show up. It was nothing but good ideas. Not a surprise there, since this was a private business trying to please a client in the ultimate attempt to get paid. That's always a good dynamic that I stand behind.

I made some observations:

These improvements to the town will be pricey. The only hope of securing funds is to apply for government grants. This is sickening to me, as this money should have remained in the town to begin with. Taxes are paid to the Federal government and so these things become a government concern. But why should they care about the little town of West View? No reason, which is why they don't. But we will jump through these hoops and beg them for our money anyway, because the money is no longer in the hands of those that know how to use it. If I am not allowed to take my neighbor's money and make him beg me to have it back, then why is the government allowed to do it? Someone please explain it to me. I'm dying for an answer that I know doesn't exist.

The architect kept making references to "ordinances and codes." To make the town look better, maybe we need to "tighten up" on these things. This was his suggestion. He repeated the sentiment several times throughout his presentation. My curiosity is simple. If the current ordinances and codes aren't cutting it, then what in the world would make anyone think that "tightening them up" will make a difference? They aren't respected now, and they won't be respected even after tons of taxpayer money is dumped into this suggested "tightening." My suggestion? If we are so annoyed with these run down properties, why don't we go and offer to help fix them up or raise money to buy them? It's worth a try, right? It's called personal responsibility. Not much left, anymore.

When people are paying taxes, they expect action for the things that THEY care about. While this is understandable, it is rarely a reality. Uncle Sam is a poor businessman who cares little for customer service. One fellow at the meeting was irritated that one of his neighbors was letting some property go to shit. He voiced this to one official who proceeded to squirm while working up a satisfactory response. The government man explained all of the procedures and all of the paperwork to the resident. The resident became agitated and suggested that MORE needed to be done. Why doesn't this resident offer to help his neighbor? Because he is required by law to pay his government to take care of it. And it doesn't get taken care of. What is going on here? It's simple, but I don't think too many people get it. If you're not following me by now, you are hopeless.

Next subject:

The Allegheny County Health Department requires businesses like my AntiquiTea to certify members of their staff in food safety. Why? Well, I learned the pathetic and laughable reasons today in my 8 hours of hell! Only 8 hours more to go next Friday.

I learned a statistic today. 5000 people in the US die from food borne illness each year. This statistic was presented to me in such a way that it should strike fear into my heart. My reaction was a simple, "So what?" That's called nature, people! Many of those unfortunates were probably elderly or had weakened immune systems to begin with (they were on their way out). Sorry, I lack compassion. Whatever. People die. There are worse ways to go than from food poisoning.

I also learned something else. Outbreaks are on the increase. There have been several recent bacterial outbreaks caused by foods that were once considered harmless. What does this say to me? It says I don't need to be sitting there all day wasting my time! It says that all of their attempts at educating us for prevention have amounted to nothing! Bad things are going to happen, whether we try to avoid them or not. Accept it and move on.

I sat and listened to a couple of freaky, germophobic health inspectors tell me anecdotes about how they are screwing up their children in their war against bacteria. One told a story about how she overheard her son ask if he could lick the batter bowl from some cookies and, remembering that they used several raw eggs (*gasp*) in the recipe, she ran full speed, dropping a half-changed baby on her husband, to prevent her son from eating the batter. She was proud to realize that her son now has an aversion to eating cookies of any type. Stupid government puppet.

I prayed for deadly food poisoning while I ate my lunch.

The moral of this story is that I don't need the government to tell me any of the following things:
~Washing my hands is a good idea.
~Cleaning food before using it in my resturaunt is a good idea.
~Storing food at safe temps is a good idea.
~Wearing seatbelts is a good idea.
~Not wearing helmets is stupid.
~Driving drunk or recklessly is a bad idea.
~Smoking is a stupid thing to do to your lungs and it annoys others.
~Drugs are bad, mmm'kay?

Jesus Christ in a water bottle, I fucking hate people!

I Hate Waiting

I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored.

I am sick of sitting here! I know like 5 people (at least) are coming over, but I am sick of waiting. Somebody call me a waaaaaaaahmbulance.

Been sitting here all day - doing laundry, dishes, cleaning, entertaining Ivy, watching Sesame Street, rescuing a giant groundhog from my mad dogs. You know, the usual. Now I need some beer and some company - in that order. Is that too much to ask? Hehe.

I Love Sterilizing My Body

Bring on those sweet, sweet antibiotics! I have another huge infection in my gums. As a result, I have taken far too much ibuprofen lately and caused myself some gastritis, or a wearing on my stomach lining. That's what caused my "food poisoning." Shut up! I'm not a doctor, ok? At least I know enough anatomy to realize that the problems were in my stomach. At this point, I can't even take a tylenol without major discomfort. So, it's no pain relief for me while my face is on fire. I will be very cheerful tomorrow as I hand over my most recent Keflex prescription. Eating is pretty much one of my favorite things in the world and these wisdom teeth have sucked all the joy out of it. Wah!

How many days are left until September 4th? I can't count that high.

I Hate Annoying Pains

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with me. Yesterday, my stomach started to cramp. Constant, annoying, nagging, pissing-me-the-hell-off pain. Except after I eat anything. Then I feel glorious. This has happened to me before. It was a while ago, but not long enough ago. That time, I almost took myself to the hospital. After about 3 days, it passed. Is it food poisoning of some kind? The world may never know, because unless I'm dying, you can bet I am not going to wait hours at the ER. Maybe, just maybe, I will go to the doctor tomorrow. Maybe not. I don't even know who the hell to go to. It's been so long.

To make matters worse, one of my blasted wisdom teeth is making a valiant effort to go where it is not wanted. Hehe, actually I want them to get to where they should be, but the other teeth are saying, "Sorry fellas, no more room. It's crowded enough in here already." I'm stuck with them kinda half in and trying to muscle themselves all the way into the party. I had an infection about a month or so ago. I half expect that this is another one. Perhaps I will be lucky and it will die down like it usually does. Everytime this happens, it hurts like HELL. I can't shut my mouth all the way, or open it up very far. So annoying. I have to make it until September 4th before my insurance will cover the extractions. Stupid 4 month waiting period that I didn't know about. Yeah, I'm an idiot and didn't add dental insurance to our plan until it got to the unbearable point. When the waiting is over, I will be waiting outside of the surgeon's office wearing a party hat and blowing on noisemakers. I'm thinking of wearing this T-shirt to the surgery:

I Love Moving

I got another notch in the ole' moving belt today. This was a legitimate move, too. I'm used to moving people from Crafton to Crafton, or from Crafton to Crafton Heights. Today we moved Robb and Toni from Morningside to Greentree. One may wonder why they lived in Morningside at all. Blame their being in grad school at Pitt and not being from Pittsburgh at all. I forgive them and so should you.

The move was easy peasy. It would especially seem so to two seasoned veterans like myself and Jen. Jen moved like 10 times in 2 years I think! Haha, no not really, but it seemed like it. And her most recent move was up a mountain of steps. She literally called all of her male friends for permission to move there. Classic.

Punk-ass Evan got to skip the move because he has a hernia. Waaaaaah! He spent his day grilling food at a birthday party for one of his deck hockey buds. What a jerk. I want a hernia. Eh, but I can't really complain about a move where we started drinking well before noon and were completely done with everything by 3. I was drunk, hungover, and sleeping it off all before the evening and now I'm feeling fine.

Evan, Ivy, and Jen should be here any time for round 2! Yeah, Ivy can really put them away. I'm just being silly and bored right now. I suppose I should go glue some earrings together that I have been working on. Yes, yes, that sounds productive.

OVER

I Hate Housework

I did the dishes! There! Now can I go out and play?

I hate doing dishes, doing laundry, food-shopping, cooking, cleaning, and every other thankless, fruitless, wifely/motherly duty that I feel a responsibility to perform! I want to go to the pool with my books. I want to go see some movies. I want to make jewelry. I want to drink beer-and often do while muddling through the aforementioned shit jobs.

I always feel like other women do these things happily and with pride. It's bullshit, but they are faking it so well! How do they do it? How do they make me feel like I should WANT to clean and take care of people? I'm always wishing to find some joy in it, but I never do.

Truth is, I have far too many colorful interests and I am never satisfied with my accomplishments in any of them. I'm always looking to the next project and how I can improve upon the current. Whether it be something for the tearoom, a jewelry idea, or just decorating a room in my house, I constantly strive to outdo myself. It's borderline OCD. I admit it.

This about sums it up...