I Love Doing Things

Haha, whatever. I'm bored and lazy right now. I have nothing interesting to write about.

All I've been doing is working here, working there, and working everywhere. I did another hard labor mission at the tearoom. Finished up some painting that needed done. Boring. I spent hours by myself in a little cubby-hole that is going to be as a server station. My dad gave me lessons in painting and sanding door trim. My dad is hilarious. He's the most insane perfectionist I know. I love going out there and working with him.

Evan and I went up to Nunny's (future Moon Run party central) yesterday after deciding to hold off on the Renaissance Festival until next weekend. Eff you, rain!!! I grabbed a hammer and started an obsessive nail pulling tornado. I must have cleaned out thousands of them. I love that sort of mindless, repetative work. My hands be hurtin' today. Evan finished ripping out the walls in what will be our bedroom. There was so much soot underneath that we looked like dirty little kids. It was pretty hilarious. The shower water was black, needless to say. Now I totally understand the concept of "lather, rinse, repeat...as needed." I'm not afraid to get dirty. And no one had ever accuse me of being a girly-girl after all the times I have had to deal with sewage backups in this curret house of mine.

But dammit I was looking forward to the Renfest since we missed it last year. Last year at this time, my life was a nightmare. Now that things are back to normal (sort of), doing things like that is almost purifying. Plus, the Freshes bought our tickets. Sweet. Free is my favorite 4 letter F-word.

And speaking of what a rotten NERD I am...I got a Halloween costume for Ivy. It's a dragon. It is the cutest thing ever. I decided not to spend a lot of time or money on hers this year since she is so picky about what she wears. I got the costume at work for nothing and she loves it. She was running around in it the other day and going, "roar roar roar roar roar." Hehe, she's the best kid. She said, "Thank you so much for my costume, Mommy. Thanks for buying it for me." She's not even 3 and she has better manners than I do.

I have much work to do on mine and Evan's costumes for this year. I can't wait! Halloween was such a draaaaaaaaag last year thanks to my head being up my ass. I had fun at the party I went to, but it was lacking Evan and that sucks. I look forward to making up for it this year.

Meh, I guess it's time to get off of my ass and do something...

I Love Sexy Purses

Damn, this is hot. Num num num.

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 Love Robocop (And Unicorns)

This is a pretty good representation of how my mind works.

I Love Flash Gordon

Uhm, everyone should see this movie. I made no mistake by watching it the other night. It's free on demand, people! What's better than a football fight? Seriously? No, seriously!

"Are your men on the right pills?"



Respectfully submitted,

Nicole Freshwater

I Love The Randomizer

I can't remember exactly what "The Randomizer" does, but I'll be damned if I don't want to play some Toejam & Earl right now to find out. I dare the Nerd Herd to try and run me over tonight!

I CONQUERED my food safety class test today. Who studies? Bite me, ACHD.

The Monterey Pub is a nice place to meet Phillipino guys named Michael who can be both hyper-intelligent and a fellow fan of the movie, "Mean Girls."

I love the peaceful feeling I get on the Mexican War Streets. That is, I will until I get shot there.

I am growing closer to becoming farther from my wisdom teeth. Joy.

I totally forgot about the deaf chick, Linda, from Sesame Street.

Heart is still one of my favorite bands. While I prefer 70's Heart to 80's Heart, I really can't argue with "Never" or "Alone."

I miss the old Phishin days. Friends, drugs, makeshift tents, naked people making grilled cheese outside of their school bus, feeling like the whole concert was a giant spaceship destined to return me to my home planet - all gold, my loves, all gold!

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is the finest new kids cartoon. I love adventure! And candy!

I now feel the need to join my husband, brother-and-law, and my BFF on the back porch to hear what battle of male wits is taking place out there.

I grok that beer is goodness.

Goodnight.

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.