like that friend who only calls on your birthday...

it's no secret that I've been very neglectful of this blog (kind of like that friend who only calls on your birthday). a legitimate reason for this is that my internet connection has been uber sporadic lately. I would love to complain about that, but I steal the internets so I don't think I can do that without sounding like that guy referenced in Liar Liar who was robbing that lady, fell through her skylight, landed on a knife, and then he decided to sue her and won lots of money. I digress, but what a fun movie that was.

so to sum up, I'm not sure how far back I should go to fill you in on what's been going on in my life. I will say that things have been going pretty well. I finally got to go to Charleston with my mom and Allison last month, which was a blast. that city has something about it, and I really loved it. we went on a tour of homes along the battery, and middle school Melissa (who wanted to be a realtor) was really loving that. we had some pretty fantatstic meals, saw some great art galleries and toured some really beautiful churches. I'll post some pics when I have a little bit more time.

SUBJECT CHANGE: we have our second to last softball game tonight. please wish us luck. this is most likely our best chance at winning tonight. if not, we can at least have a sno-cone at the eeeeend of the gaaaaaame! well, or an adult beverage.

I'm thinking about getting a second job pretty soon. I don't want to lose my free time, but I want to actually be able to start saving money, so I think it's time to suck it up. even though a second job might actually suck it up. any suggestions on what I should do?

FINAL SENTENCES: I've been sorting through a ton of my old CDs recently. some of the more embarrasing ones include: O-Town, Coyote Ugly soundtrack, Hanson Christmas CD, Will Smith's Big Willy Style and Joey McIntyre's Stay the Same. I'll be honest with you though, I was really pumped to listen to a few select songs from those albums. I'm about to pre-order Jennifer Knapp's new album Letting Go, coming out May 11. I hadn't listened to her older stuff in a really long time, but I'm pretty excited about the new album. I recorded Stone To the River (if that's the correct title) at her show at WorkPlay and have been listening to it a lot lately. powerful voice and lyrics...

I have harvested nothing by tearing through you/I try and I try and I try as I do/I've bloodied my fists trying to keep my own plans/oh the damage I've done to my fellow man.

alright, I promise I will increase the frequency of my posts. I'm also trying to eat more fruits and veggies, so keep me accountable with that too. it'll make my mom happy, and I know you all love her.

as Gladys says: keep on keepin' on,
mj

Happy Patrick's Jamie

I usually have the best dreams, and by “best” I mean impossible and too odd to explore. My childhood reoccurring dream was of me being chased forever until I got to a red brick wall and was stuck. My teenage and early adulthood reoccurring dream was of me at my childhood home that was being burglarized. But I would escape each time by going to our “secret room” attic closet and jumping from the roof. I would then run on all fours and almost transform into a cheetah and run super fast into the woods toward the barn. And yes, running on all fours doubles your speed. I had a really crazy dream last night and it was the last in series of weird dreams this week. Usually I can only remember the highlights of my dream, but last night’s was all highlights so I’ll share. It included the following in no particular order:

I’m at work, just for a regular day, but our IT department (which included people from SU that don’t work at SL) was acting like it was St. Patrick’s Day. I knew in the dream that it wasn’t still March, so it made it even better that they were all dressed in green clothes and hats racing by on razor scooters. As I followed them into the call center, I was surrounded by their friends…leprechauns, who were a mix between real ones and others with oompa loompa-style hair and clothes. They were all VERY happy and were singing and dancing and laughing hysterically while eating chocolate moon pies. There were some other things like midgets or kids or something that sort of hung out with the leprechauns, but I don’t remember that part. There may have been confetti; it was wild. Also, Eron had picked up smoking and was already super addicted and her fingers were turning yellow as she smoked all over everyone’s cubicle. But she left because she had to go to her after-work job at a discount Disney store at the mall, which of course was located through a tunnel from our editorial suite. Two doors down in another meeting room, the area transformed into a cozy cabin/house as Ridds invited me in. She introduced me to a few family members of a little cub scout. He looked like Augustus Gloop and his rosy round-faced family matched. Ridds wanted me to volunteer my time to helping this scout, but I kindly declined as I wondered over to the Disney store to pick up a few things.

I thought it was a great way to start off Friday. I would like to blame this dream on the creepy song from the preview of next week’s LOST. Thank you Gene Wilder!

If you are still reading, I would also like to briefly share that we went to the Jennifer Knapp concert this past Friday and it was pretty interesting. We had a nice little chat with her and she signed some stuff for us. J.Knapp has officially come back to the music world and also came out to Christianity Today. I think there was a lot of speculation around the topic and now it’s over. CNN has also posted a story about it. We had a lively discussion at work about the whole thing and I’m curious about what you think… any thoughts?

Also, I was introduced to Lala, a new music site, by a co-worker. It’s like a web-based iTunes. You can upload your music library on there and listen to it from anywhere via the Internet. You can also buy web-fed music for very cheap, and also buy real albums and mp3s cheaper than iTunes. I like the idea of it, but because I don’t have a laptop or other transportable devices, I don’t know how much I’ll use it. Does anyone use this or know more about it?

Here's to the weekend... cheers!

Voluntary Torture? Sure, I'm Game

Well well well, ladies. Look who's back to revive the blog!

In the news: We had beautiful sunny weather...which I enjoyed a bit too much and got sunburned. Never fear! no skin cancer here! (hey that rhymed) Then Old Man Winter decided to come visit and bring some t-storms, rain, sleet, and yes...snow. womp womp. GOOD news is that sunshine is back and it'll stick around for a little while.

Lollapalooza announced their lineup. While I was initially underwhelmed, the non-headliner bands look pretty sweet. Too bad I'm poor. Trying to figure out a way to get tickets.

I just bought a Groupon to get a discount for Mado. Pretty pumped about it. Going this weekend.

Bella is on a diet. she seems pretty pissed about it. hopefully she'll start slimming down soon and appreciate what I'm doing for her.

On to voluntary torture: I went to my very first Spin class yesterday. It was my first EVER spin class and I must say it totally kicked my butt. I'll probably go back, but it's tough stuff. Oh, but that's not all folks! I also decided to do a body pump express class...which is aerobic weight lifting right after spin. My body feels like it wants to give up on life. Does that mean I'm fit?? I dunno.

Sunny weather brings hope to my fitness goals, and I plan to sit outside and read a lot over the next few weeks.

When are you guys visiting again?

Ok, Martin out!