bumpity-bump!

oops ppls- I've missed you! Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's been so long that ppl are actually asking me to post haha! mostly things have been bumpy & I've been busy trying to smooth them out... but it will all be good in the long run :)

my school fi-nal-ly called back a teacher they laid off from our building, so my class size has been reduced to a normal size & we just have to figure out who's teaching what and we'll be fine.....
(also we've begun the after-school tutoring program and I'm working with the kids who were in my class last year - it's great to see them again!)

my gramma's out of the hospital and decided not to do chemo, so she's at home, doing well. I saw her at Thanksgiving and we had a great visit.....

I didn't dress up for Halloween, fell asleep after 1 trick-or-treater, and missed out on Thanksgiving dinner due to travel times.... let's hope Christmas is more successful! lols

congrats to Marie and Fernando on their new jobs!!!! (and congrats to Marie on a month in France - *thbbt!* lucky!!!!)

yikes, one of my brothers now has his official driver's license and the other one has begun driver's ed -- if you live around Ann Arbor - WATCH OUT :D

anybody else got news???

obvious blog post? check. still funny? check.

Good Lord! (<- click here)



I get cranky after only ______________!
(fill in the blank in the comments section...)

study week!

lots of serious school work going on this week: I'm starting the 1st chapter for my thesis, which I'll be writing this year, and my students are taking the MEAP exam. as the thesis affects my future pay, and the results of the MEAP determine our school funding, it's nerve-wracking for everybody, to say the least.

however, the good news this week is that I've noticed that my class has um.... congealed, for lack of a better term. we're now a cohesive whole, we act as one, know our routines, know each other, and best yet, still get along despite that :) this is a wonderful mile-stone - with so many students in one class, I didn't even know IF it would happen! hopefully this is the start of a wonderful, memorable year......

************

meanwhile my grandma is battling colon cancer. she is in the hospital now after a surgery and should be out in a few days :) she is asking for prayers... couldn't be for a nicer lady

the kindness of strangers....

a cheesy title I know, but listen to my story: I was desperately tired and hungry last night, when I stopped to pick up something to eat at the end of many errands..... et voila! I locked my keys in the car! (plus my cell phone was at home)

suddenly, like a ray of sunshine, the good folks at the Chicken Shack called on a AAA card and got my door popped open... for free!!

go visit the Chicken Shack, folks! (especially the one on 11 mile in Royal Oak!)

Tigers win!

yay! yesterday, I went to my 3rd Tigers game of this season and .... we won!!!!!! it was awesome, as any Tigers win is, however it had to be enjoyed purely on its own merits, as its now impossible for us to even earn the wild card berth....

but the craziest thing was I saw this guy there:

el rancho!

that means "the ranch" in spanish - and it's the name of one of many restaurants I can walk to for lunch, from my school in Mexicantown, Detroit...... that's right, you TGIF-regulars and Ham Shack junkies - I can actually eat a delicious and healthy hot meal any day of the week!!!!!

I ate at el rancho today and I had chile relleno, that's a big chili pepper stuffed with seasoned ground beef, breaded and deep-fried with rice n beans and soup and tortillas...... all for $6.13 after tax!!

only thing I forgot was, this restaurant uses some kind of big, huge, authentic, and slightly smelly chili pepper for its stuffed peppers. don't get me wrong, it tastes great, but there is an odor. but I had forgot. and when the waitress leaned over and set down the plate, I got a big old waft of it.... but I thought it was coming from her armpits!!!!!!! hahahahahahaha!! I was thinking "man, she has some serious BO for a woman!" hahahahahahaha!!!!!!

but seriously folks, the food is great.

ps-just now I punished one of my kids by making him write an essay - apparently, the reason not to curse in school is because you could get in chrabull. just thought I'd let you know, anon.

camping #2!

I went camping again this weekend at the same mini-cabin, this time with kda (the artist formerly known as k-beck). we had a great time in Nature! we hiked, we sat at a campfire, we sat on the beach, we went to a nature center, we.... watched a pirated copy of Superbad (hey, it was mostly a nature trip!)

plus, we ate at this place, which was very bougie, but I must be (finally) becoming my age, because I found myself thoroughly enjoying all the bougieness of it :)

thanks for a great weekend, kda!

BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK!BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK!BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! BJORK! AND HER AWESOME BAND!

(shoutout to kda!)
what can I say but: wow!

I've been waiting 10 years to see Bjork in concert and I can truly say that it was worth every moment of waiting!! how amazing is she??!!!!! she is so amazing that I had to oooh and ahh at her concepts & stage effects! she is so amazing that she had assembled an incredible band around her! she is so amazing that her unbelievable voice stayed unbelievable for 90 straight minutes of singing!!!

and then.......

and then there was the truly awesome moment. a spot light was shining from center stage directly out onto the audience and me. suddenly Bjork crossed the stage and ........
the shadow of Bjork fell upon me! praise Jesus!!!!!!!

what a night!

Bjork, the one and only!

wow!

God loves me!

yes folks, it's the second week of school, and we already have a ...... FREE DAY!!!! it's like a snow day, but in September. the electricity was out for several hours this morning, then it came back on right before the first bell, but by then all the parents had been informed to keep the little monsters sweet pupils home, so they just left it alone. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

anyways that allows me to rest up for my big week:

TUES- Bjork concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FRI, SAT, SUN- camping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

don't hate, players. just keep on wishing and praying you were me :)

Las Chivas!!!

I started the new school year yesterday; I have a class of bi-lingual (Mexican) fifth graders..... a TON of fifth graders!!! and they keep showing up!! yikes!!! but they seem like an intelligent, and more importantly, a cool bunch (see our chosen class name above!), so perhaps la lorider shall survive.....

stay tuned to find out.........

camping! with a photo!

here's a picture of the wonderful mini-cabin I stayed in at Metamora-Hadley state park last week! *sighz* I wish I were still there!!! I hiked everyday and read the rest of the time -- I got a whole stack of graphic novels out at the library before I went, which made for easy reading.......

however, it also made me view everything as if it were an episodic graphic with captions coming out..... my next-door campers who liked to loudly discuss the drug users of their acquaintance... the lady with two gorgeous golden retreivers who kept yelling "Stupid Dogs!" at them each time they- well, behaved like dogs..... the little girl who proudly announced "this is the 4th fish I've caught!" as she brandished a 3" bluegill that looked remarkably like the last one.... the apparantly-too-regular at the local bar engaging in the following reparte:

man: "I heard you got kicked out of XYZ bar last week."

mr. old guy who is always at the bar: "I didn't get kicked out - I walked out! and I'm not going back until I get an apology!!"

man: "did you leave your phone number?"

hahahahahaha!!!!! priceless!

PS-so HAHA anon, I got by just fine with NO spa services!!! (until the drive back)

PPS- GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Tigers!!!

Yay! I went to the game last night with K-Beck and we .... won!!!!! How fantastic, I can't remember the last time I was at a winning game. :D it must have been my lucky tigers-colored manicure that did it -- I'll "be sure" to post a picture of it "real soon".

in other news: Happy Birthday to K-Beck, and thanks again for the best reverse birthday present I ever got! sorry that I won't be able to join you tonight for your b-day bar-hop....

folks, sit tight for more news from tha lorida, I'm heading out of town for a few days to go camping (listening all the way to my new-2-me Ipod!!!!!!!!!!!), but I'll give yous lots of more news when I get back - and of course, "lots" "more" "pix"!

HOW THA LORIDER GOT HER GROOVE BACK

wells, I guess that explains what I did last night :D

apologies, apologies to my many screaming fans who have missed me... I'm happy to say that I'll finally be getting an interneck connection at home so you alls can get semi-regular updates on la lorider's la fabulous life......

the latest, in no particular order: I have a new (old) car - thanks, Gram! I'm currently enjoying my summer vacay, soon to return to (shudder) ... teach! I'm using my vacay time to write my masters thesis. I've re-entered the dating world, to the delight of every red-blooded, unattached male in SE Michigan! and the wonderfulest of all, I got a fabulous new roomie, who is an artiste such as myself, only talented. I think that her code name for my wonderful digital memoirs will be........ Becky. cause her name's Becky. gettit?

practical/philosophical question

is there anything I can actually do to help out with Iraq, or Somalia, or Darfur, or Tibet...?

I'm getting sick of hearing about situations overseas, year after year, and always thinking vaguely that there is something I could be doing. let's consider:

1. write letters to congress or somewhere. sounds very unrewarding. I doubt that would change anything, despite what activist ppls advocate....
2. donate money. sounds unrewarding too. I know that anything I can give is a literal drop in a bucket, compared to what is needed. also, there are sooooo many places that could use donations, just thinking about it is mind-boggling.
3. pray? I heard Pope John Paul used to pray for 7 hours a day. that's a serious use of his time resources - he must have thought it to be a good use of time.
4. make carepacks with a note; just let people know that someone is thinking about them...?

I think the last one speaks to wanting to personally touch the situation, which seems to be more the point than anything for me. looking at it that way, it seems like such an american thing - the exact reason why we're so unpopular anyway, thinking we're justified in poking our noses in....... yet it sounds kind to me - hmmmmmmm.... maybe I'll check out some of the yoga ppls thoughts on this....
YIKES -boring!!!

meanwhile, I've been out shopping this weekend for plants for my classroom and Valentine's gifts for my class (I'm going to bake individual heart-shaped treats with their name on it!), trying to make it a special place for all of us. many of my kids are in pretty serious poverty; maybe just trying to create a safe and nurturing place and going around trying to get better coats for them and the suchlike that I do, is my bit of helping this planet......

any thoughts....?

the expanding o' the family

two recent baby newses:

first, I've yet to mention that my good friends Ximena and Fernando welcomed their new son, Sebastian, to the world on December 29, 2006! he's super-cute and growing like a weed. congratulations to the happy family!

meanwhile, other good friends BRITEW and Anonymous have decided to adopt a lil' kitty-cat. they're thinking of getting a grown-up, reject cat to assuage their first-world, consumptionist throw-away guilt, but I really think they should get a cute lil' kitten, like so:

















awwwwwwwwwwwww!

in other family-expansion news, Marie's wedding-planning is thrilling her SO MUCH that she has begged me for some yoga lessons so she can make it through the summer without developing a permanent one-eyed squint. happy to oblige, Marie, happy to do it.....
NOW MAKE WITH THE FOIE GRAS!!!!!!

yay! going to VT in 2 weeks!

(that's Vermont to you foreigners)

my dad and I have our winter breaks at the same time this year (yeah, you wish you were a teacher... winter break and, oh yeah, I'm at home today because -boohoo- it's too COLD for our kids to go to school.... brrrrrrr!), so I'm going to visit him, my stepma, my grandma, maybe my brother-in-law will be in town too? plus, we'll be moving my grandpa from the cape (that's Cape Cod, Massachusetts to you foreigners - near Boston, you know?). he needs to go to assisted care... :( sad to see, but it's definitely time.

only thing is, nobody's told him yet! (remember - it's in 2 weeks!!) well, he has a whole memory problem and the thinking is he'll forget what the important news is, but remember to be upset.... I dunno. seems kind of strange, but my family's thought a lot about it and is getting advice from specialists.

anyway, my dad and I'll do the move, while my stepma escorts my grandpa to Verde-mont. despite having to catch a 6:45 am flight (does time actually GO that early?) and doing the hauling, driving, & hauling, I'm looking forward to it - I always like to spend time with my Dad. I'm sure I'll learn something - he's a super-smart guy.

well folks, it's grand to be on-line; I'd love to stay and chat... but I have a kitty on my feet who neds some petting....... enjoy your day at work & ciao!

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPY BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRTTHHHHHDAAAAAAAY TOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

folks, I'm 33!
yikes!

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thanks for the flowers, D.A.D.! they're gorgeous!

I hope your Christmas was merry (even you, senor crappy)

hi everyone!

just wanted to say hi around the holidays and give this status report:
-job safe! (looks like)
-family well!
-Olga went to Cancun!
-painting begun!
-Maria continues furry!
-wireless service promised for February!!!!! so look for more-regular lorider then!!

Happy New Year!

guerilla blogger

I just saw the movie Unknown White Male. it's a documentary about a guy who got total amnesia. it started me thinking about like what I would want to do if I had just total open horizons about me. I certainly haven't thought about my life like that in a while... I've been so focused on like this job I have now, teaching, and all I have to learn to keep it, the stress as I've been under the gun of being laid-off while watching co-workers get their notices, then being assigned to a new building abruptly, how to deal with all the coworkers, some of whom are big back-stabbers and all the money I'm owing now for when I was in school and how I can never go on a holiday now or do just whatever I feel like day-to-day or even hour-to-hour, cause all the responsibilities... it's not like I regret getting my teaching degree, but it was certainly a lot more fun when I was just a sub. The stress is getting to me ... - some days I feel like I'm just treading water, barely... short-tempered and etc really. I keep making lists of things I could do to de-stress. today I added 'go tanning'... I love the smell of the lotion. okay, I feel better now.

so anyway back to the first topic, I came up with:

-learn to do aerial acrobat stuff
-go up in hot air balloons alot
-spend time with elephants
-make art
-travel in France/drink wine
-there was another one but I've forgotten it already! ohno! early onset of amnesia!!!!?????!!!!!!

anyway, I'd hate to lose/but not lose all my oldest friends like this guy did. they all didn't really know how to relate to each other anymore, and I'd miss our phone convo's brainon, esp. you shouting obcenities in spanish in the background, anon....................

so anyway, hi everybody - I miss you and I hope I get an internet connection soon......

THA LORIDA GETS ARRESTED!!! (for littering) -- UPDATED

okay! stop laughing!

what happened is, I was trying to sell my old car all last fall, but because it's a manual transmission with like 130k miles, nobody wanted it. I kept shifting it around the neighborhood, but one time (I think when I was in Cali) I didn't ask anyone to move it for me while I was away, so the cops tagged it and towed it. I figured I wasn't going to be able to sell it anyway, so I just paid the ticket and didn't collect the car. well, I don't know if they didn't record the payment correctly, but apparently I had a court date (I don't remember getting any notice of it). since I missed my court date, I've had a warrant out for my arrest SINCE MAY!!!!!

I got stopped for going 40 in a 25 (whoops) and the officer says he has to arrest me. I'm like "I've been living at the same address the whole time. is it normal that I would have no idea about any of this?" and he said yeah, he gets people who don't know all the time. he and the other guy were very cool, but they had to take me in and process me, and I had to get bailed out by (the now sainted) Marie.

so I guess I have to stop making cracks about your past, cookie!

anyway, the whole event was actually rather bland. my only worry was if they put me in a cell with unsavoury characters (I'm sure there are some even in my nice little town) but in fact, I was the only one in the entire holding area, and after a while, I wished there were someone to shoot the shit with. instead I amused myself by trying to read the jailhouse graffiti, but most of it was pretty well painted over. the only thing I could make out was an inscription on the ceiling:

"armed robbery: NOT GUILTY!"

hahaha! at least I got a laugh out of that ;D

UPDATE... tha lorider gets off (phew!)
the night before my (new) court date, I still couldn't find the confirmation number I'd received on paying my original ticket and it was way too late to get a bank statement. I was very nervous that a judge wouldn't be at all pleased with my lack of documentation, but in fact, the judge turned out to be away at an important meeting. I went against my nature and was very, very patient and polite with the court officials about the long wait, and it paid off by them making the decision to just let me sign over my bond money ($100) for the court fees and take the whole thing off the books. hurray! maybe I'll try being patient again sometime soon....

tha lorider is displaced

wow!

hi, everybody! I'm at Marie's house and she insisted I use her internet to blog, because she has nothing to read at work.... :D

for the second weekend in a row, I'm over here chez Marie et Aaron because some people are fixing up the apartment downstairs and it is incredibly noisy. it is very wholesomely traditional over here, eg: Aaron watched the U-M/Notre Dame football game while Marie and I went food shopping. actually, Marie shopped and I ate all the free samples :) hey, there was no sign that I couldn't take 16 pieces of parm-reg! mmmmm!

the strike finally ended last week (after 16 days) and I taught thursday and friday. the little ankle-biters were quite cute and I have minimal lacerations on my right ankle only. I'm looking forward to monday! however, something an old hand used to tell me about is true: for some reason, the first few weeks back are quite exhausting until your body makes the adjustment.... I slept 16 hours last night and also took a nap this afternoon!

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sing well tonight, Olga! the university choral society is singing Verdi!
happy b-day, Makini!

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I'm back!

holy god, I haven't been on the interblog in 5 days; I think a tiny piece of me died.

well, now I'm back and have I ever got a lot to catch you(z) up on.

I went for my first day of reporting as a teacher - and had a great day. I met my new co-teachers and other staff, ate a bit of lunch, walked around outside..... oh, and did I mention we're ON STRIKE!!!!?!!!!!

#*(#$^)@!@!!!! can you $*&%*@#$%">$*&%*@#$%#& believe it????? so here's what happened on my second day of work: I slipped inside to talk to the principal (after official protest hours were over, of course) to find out if she'd assigned me a classroom yet. I wanted to spend the evening making the sign for outside my door. she told me that not one parent (NOT ONE) had signed up their kid for my class. perhaps this shows good judgement, but we'll just let that pass and instead point out that I was shitting myself.

third day: principal says she's "very hopeful" I will (magically) have a class by next Tuesday. I decide this sounds very positive and go ahead and set up my classroom (again, we're allowed to do this after official strike hours. everyone kind of looks the other way, as it's obviously in the best interest of everyone to have the school set up for when the kids show up. I figure since I won't be getting paid for that time, it's quite like being on strike.)

so who knows what developments may occur by tomorrow........? stay tuned.......

picture day

it's my new haircut!!!!!!!






















whatd'ya think?

15 more hours to go!!!!!

Fri at 5:00pm, I'll be walking out that front door forever!!!

what a blissful thought!

where has tha lorider been???

sorry for the absence, folks, I've been taking somewhat of a mini vacation - that is, I have so much going on, I couldn't even think about blogging.

"why?" you ask.....

because I've been busy testing, interviewing and being hired for a NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm leaving my old job!

hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be making real money!

hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll have vacation time enough to visit my neglected family and my friends around the globe!

AND, best of all: I have a teaching position!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be teaching Spanish to little kids in an urban school! it's right up my alley - the job that is perfect for me just appeared out of the blue! I'll finally be using my certification and all my years of training, and I'll have little subjects to use for my thesis research. and then I'll have my master's degree and I'll be making even more money! hurray for tha lorider!!!!

ha ha

so busy - no time to blog - here's some pix

fat boy slim

haha, poor Olga!

as you know, my new roomie is beginning medical school this week. in the grand tradition of medical school, she had to begin disecting a cadaver on her very first day of med school. but not just any cadaver!!!! her group got the FATTEST cadaver ever - I mean, so fat that when the other med students walk by their table, they all bust out laughing.

she and her group had to dig through layers and layers of fat before even beginning their work - they were throwing it out by the handful! (oh, don't read that last bit if you're squeamish.) tough luck, Olga!! HAHAHAHAHA!

stealing rediscovering a cool idea

anonymous coworker did a neat thing a while ago where he let his readers ask him any question and he would answer it. in honor of my BLOGOVERSARY (!) I am going to afford you the same opportunity - go nuts! I promise to answer any and all queries!

1-YEAR BLOGOVERSARY SUCKERZ

yeah, that's right, it's august 8, my personal special holiday and also the blogoversary of 1209 anarchists.... *tear* I can't believe it's been a whole year.........

"Let's Look Back" at some posts this past year.......

-a great post about making sandwiches
-a great post about eating out in Toronto
-a great post about non-vegetarianism
-a great post about cooking pastel de choclo
-a great post about enjoying the Detroit nightlife (and eating out)

hmmmmm, I think I detect a theme.


and now...... "Towards the Future"

what does tha lorider have in store for you in the coming year, kiddies....? well, I think it's going to be a little thing called mobile blogging, or mo-blo, or blog-mo, if you prefer. like any respectable blogger, I have become obsessed with technology and last night I purchased myself a radical new celly:






MDA, suckerz! you wish you had one!








actually, I wish I had one too, cause I'm waiting for it to come in the mail (couldn't get it at the store - a little something about always paying my bill late.... oops!).

so look for some amazing real-time posts coming at ya soon! and "thanks for your support!"

wassup?

Blogging from tha tmobile store!

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quiet weekend

I went to the play on Fri, it was good. it turned out to be just Ximena and I so we got to talk a bit, which was nice.

then I saw my brothers and my aunt and one cousin for dinner on Sat night. I gave Omari his gift for his 14th birthday - a wireless X-box controller (with camo design). he loved it!

Sun I just cleaned the house, did some food shopping and later, Olga and I worked on the cabinet - it's totally assembled and painted! we just have to flip it to touch up the bottom and then put it in place. I'll post a pic when it's up.

I'm going to Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents this weekend - it's just a quick three-day trip, but I'm really looking forward to the "vacation".....

I would love to see this:

link

meatball sub for lunch!!

suckerz!

sssssssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzzz

that is the sound of everyone in my office deflating, after all the recent heat and now today's cold spell. we are all absolutely pooped, and it's thunderstorming outside, the perfect sleeping weather. on top of that almost every single piece of equipment in the office is fubar'd, including the server. ( I saw the IT guy sitting on the carpet with the server open beside him, wrestling with a big cable.) we all just want to go home.

I slept in the dining room the last two nights - it was so hot the a/c didn't reach into my bedroom. I really hope I get a good night's sleep tonight.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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(I just saw that an environmentalist coworker of mine has a "hooters" calendar - all pictures of little owls - cute!!)


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shakespeare in the park

**today is Olga's First Day of Orientation for Medical School. hurray, Olga!!! here's hoping you get a relatively fresh cadaver when classes start!**

this is the link to the theater company I'm seeing this weekend - it's a production of shakespeare's comedy of errors set in the gold rush days in california. as I have roots in cali I expect to get a lot out of this production.... but seriously, I'm looking forward to kicking back in the park and just relaxing..... any local bloggers interested in meeting up there.....?

meanwhile, apparently brainon are going to some lame festival.
like I care.

........I'm jealous!!!!! have fun, you two!

stay cool, wittle Maria!

awwwww this post inspired me to post this new picture of Maria.
also to add this blogger to my bloglist.....
(Maria looks so kitty-wise, doesn't she!?!)

*sizzle sizzle*

omfg, it is so so hot today. .....of course, I haven't been outside since 8:30 am. so I guess the weather only affects me like... not at all..... but I hope my little kitty Maria isn't too hot at home, or Olga's little birdies. I left them all lots of water, but to be honest they seemed fine and completely unaware of the heat yesterday, so hopefully they'll be good today, too.

all I want to do lately is sit under the air conditioning and watch movies. in the past few weeks I've seen:

layer cake - awesome
son de mar - awesome
the sea is watching - okay
the (new) pink panther - made me laugh
pride and prejudice - yes, the long version

next, I have nothing to watch - it looks good, I'll let you know........ oh, yes, & I also plan to go see a play this weekend, go to a tiger's game later this month, visit my grandparents in PA next week and have my brothers over to see the dream cruise. so hopefully, I won't get stuck to the couch before then!

unveiling.......

well here it is, folks, my new and improved sidebar!!! I've added a bunch of bloggers that I love to visit... hope you enjoy visiting them too!

x-mas in July

here's a picture I never posted from my trip to cali last december:

















Santa was at the beach collecting signatures for the establishment
of a Department of Peace in the Federal government....... I never
knew Santa was a liberal!

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

hi friends! wow, it really is a gorgeous day today. I'm psyched I can enjoy it, after being a little sick for the last few days. I didn't get slowed down too much, though.... let me catch you up to speed:

on saturday, I went to the local columbian association's annual picnic. I was invited by Xi-nando (Ximena & Fernando), who are columbian and who decided to bring with them a little united nations party. we had 3 columbians, 2 indians, a cuban and 2 gringas. we stood for the columbian national anthem, listened to columbian music, talked and.... ate. and ate. but I didn't mind! we had tamales, stuffed potatoes, grilled chicken, yummy fruit drinks.... it was heavenly! then we all went to the lake in the park, rented some boats, and paddled around. it was probably the most beautiful day ever..... thanks, Xi-nando!!!

I also did a bunch of cooking over the weekend and went to the movies ("my super ex-gf" - very cute and fun). then last night, Olga and I did another push towards getting the apartment set up. we hung a lot of art and a cool clock from Olga's childhood that actually says "made in the USSR" (but in russian, of course) and then we worked on the cabinet! it is now completely assembled except for the support pieces. then it'll just be the finishing/painting. I can't wait to get home and work on it some more!

only 6 hours and 6 minutes to go!

UPDATE: 4 hours and 1 minute

UPDATE: 3 hours and 9 minutes

Olga drills!

so Olga drilled for the first time last night! (gee Olga, that sounds kinda dirty... shame on you!) actually, we decided to hang all our gorgeous handbags together in an artful arrangement by the front door. Olga drilled and drilled and drilled (erm.).... then we ran out of hooks because we have so many many beautiful handbags. I'll post a pic of our oeuvre when it's all done.

that project was precipitated by the cabinet project, which is well under way. our backyard neighbors Mike & Micki took a break from their one-year anniversary celebrations (which seemed to consist of yardwork... weird, but whatever turns you on, I guess......) to saw some planks for us. we've begun to put together the frame so far, but then we had to stop because it was time to watch "the Office." Ricky Gervais is a frickin genius.........

Olga also took a pic of me with my new haircut:

so what do you think? yeah, more mascara and tilt my head down on photos, right?


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gratuitous drill shot:

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super-post!

THA LORIDER GOES TO THE CINEMA: SUPERMAN RETURNS














recap:
so Superman's been away for 5 years and does he have some surprises waiting for him!!!

sorry it has taken me a couple weeks to post about this movie, but it was such a life-altering event (*SARCASM ALERT*) that it took me a while to gather my thoughts. upon reflection, I decided that people probably go to this movie through different motivations (yeah, I'm deep like that), so I'm splitting up my review for the different camps. *SPOILER ALERT* just highlight if you want to read the spoilers......

Superman "freaks":
definitely go see this movie - I thought it rocked!!! sorry, it didn't alter my life, but I'm sure it will for you. you plan to play the Superman theme at your wedding????!! actually, me too. and also the Death Star theme.

"analytical" & "deep" people:
in this movie, Superman once again proves that he is an alien from another planet by failing to undergo any yucky, human-ish character development, despite the fact that the director was apparently trying for it, and planning for it based on his constantly dangling the hope of said character development before us like tasty, tasty meat dangled before wolves (I feel cheated & somewhat cheap-no comments pls, anon) however, the formulaic-ness and going nowhere-after-all-ness of the plot was rather soothing to my media-blitzed american brain, so I wouldn't discount this movie just on account of that.

nerds:
the CGI was absolutely great (unlike other movies I could mention *cough-LOTR-cough*). the f-X (as we say in tha "biz") and camerawork made the action parts of the movie truly fantastic - I was literally on the edge of my seat a few times, and certainly didn't notice the movie was 17 hrs long till I left the theater.

poncy-actory concerns:
kevin spacey and parker posey were super! (haha - get it?)

people-who-just-watch-movies-for-the-plot:
SUPERMAN HAS A KID!!!!!!! but Lois is still going to stay with her husband (not Clark/Superman - long story. omg did I just give away that CLARK KENT IS ACTUALLY SUPERMAN?????? my bad.)

people-who-just-think-Superman-is-hot:
the new superman guy is pretty hot (also, he vaguely reminded me of jebus, I don't know if that was a coincidence or a "subtle" theme that was repeately pounded into my head, through imagery, visuals, dialogue, etc, over & over &overokay Bryan I get it jeez I'm not retarded!!!!!):

so go see it!

************************
*NERD ALERT!* after the movie.....

...plain-old nerds will want to read this as a follow-up:
link

...science nerds will want to read this:
link

...psychology nerds will want to read this:
link

...nerds who think Superman is sexy will want to read this:
link

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quick update

-I got a tent over the weekend. I'm going camping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-I had Indian buffet for lunch! yum. I had all four food groups and several animals: mmmmm veggies, mmmm carbies, mmmmm animals, mmmmmm indian desserts......

-only 15 min to go at work - hurray!

haircut!!

well, I got my hair chopped last week, about 5 inches taken off. it falls to just above my shoulders now - no more long pony, although I can pull it back. I was tired already of being mistaken for a high-school student and getting carded for ordering a flippin' shandy!

I'm going to post a pic and get your opinions - I'm not sure exactly how long or what shape it should be, in the end.

this weekend it was my downstairs neighbors' moving sale , so I cleaned up on some art supplies and stuff from mama artiste. I got a bunch of mostly full tubes of acrylic paint, plus some mini-canvases. now.... to create !!!!!

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ps - forgot to wish you frenchies a happy bastille day last week ;)


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now..........

too true. too true.
(thanks, britew!!!!!)

and then.............

seeing those little kids playing in that photo brought back some memories of when I was a kid in Philly. we had a neighbor, a single guy. we knew him a bit and became friendlier when he took in an alley cat that was preggers. our parents (two women in that household, not lesbians, no we weren't related, long story) decided to let my lil brother and me get a kitten from the litter.

so we would go over this guy's house and torture the kittens, trying to decide which one was the "toughest." a little black cat with white socks bit and clawed us the hardest when mauled, so we chose him and (almost named him "Michael Jackson"- it was the days of "The Making of Thriller" movie.... he was cool then!) named him Whack-Attack (you know, he had those kitty fits... he could even run along a wall horizontally).

good old Whack-Attack. my mom moved to the country later and Whack, the morning after arriving, meowed and clawed at the door. my mom goes, "oh, he must be adjusted to being here already," and opens the door. he runs about 10 feet out the door and looks up.... at the wide-open sky above him. we had come from some very-urban neighborhoods, and I don't think he'd ever been in an open space before - certainly not one that wasn't covered with asphalt and basketball hoops. his eyes just about popped out of his head and he flattened down to the ground, looked around wildly for a couple of seconds, and then fled back inside. I don't think he went out again for about 8 weeks.

but eventually he adjusted and became quite a hunter. he used to bring my mom bits of voles, moles, mice (of course), birds, snakes and many other living beings that are supposedly critical to the ecosystem, but we seemed to do fine without them.

but that's getting away from the point of my story. that neighborhood, in addition to supplying us with a faithful kitty, also is the location of many fond memories:

*popping and breakdancing on pieces of cardboard on the sidewalk.
*making bike ramps (out of cardboard & milk crates) on the sidewalk.
*imitating the WWF by swinging on the pipes in the basement and landing on each other while rolling about on..... you guessed it, pieces of cardboard (but also an old mattress sometimes).
*learning to use the washer and dryer: Mom - "This is the washer. It has three settings. This is the dryer. It has two settings. Enjoy."
*Saturday morning chores and watching the Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, the Cosby show and Night Court every Thursday night.
*that creepy abandoned old jail down the block that I had to walk past on my way to and from school, which was overrun with stray cats and where we let go of our gerbils after they got to be around 30 of them.

oh - and a favorite memory: this one always makes me laugh. this neighborhood was black and hispanic - except for our family, and that one neighbor, remember him? so nobody really expected to see a white kid walking around. so I was walking down the block with my next door neighbor, Rudine. this albino guy from around the way was over across the avenue and he yelled to Rudine "HEY! Hey, Rudine! Hi! Hey, is she albino?" apparently referring to me as though I couldn't talk for myself, because I was obviously either albino or white, in either case a total freak. so she shouts back "No! She's not! She's white!" he goes, "OH! Okay!" and walks away!

and that was it people! from then on everyone in my neighborhood knew I was white and I got..... treated differently! (okay, that last part is not true. I think my neighbors had already caught on that I was white.) my point: I was INVISIBLE, people!!! he wouldn't even talk to me to my face! that's racism!!!! but I think I turned out alright.

anyway, that neighborhood is really turned around now. I went by there to see the old house the last time I was in Philly, and there are stores and cafes on the main avenue, where there used to be a dank and scary general store and a bunch of empty store fronts. the crackheads seem to be gone, and there's even a dog park (a dog park, for cryin out loud, people) along the side of the old jail. they even cleaned up the jail and give tours there now. I think it was too expensive to tear down, so finally they decided it was old enough to be historic and got rid of all the cats.

but anyway, back to my original point: that guy, our neighbor, remember? his phone number was (215) BEA-MONK.

get it? be a monk!!!! hahahahahahahahahahaha!

fun with floods: Manila edition

god, remember being a little brat (anon) and just having fun
no matter what was happening?? :)

Bastone-y Tuesday, Little Tree Wednesday

God, I'm popular!!

you all have heard about Bastone, but I don't think I've ever mentioned yummy Little Tree. I went there last night, it's also in Royal Oak. They have a Japanese, Filipino & Thai menu, plus a great sushi bar. I went with my friend Susan, a fellow teacher. she's an art teacher who I used to substitute for, and the person who convinced me to go into teaching..... thanks, Susan! we sat outside and it was lovely, afterwards we walked around Royal Oak. (btw, we are def going to check out that Paris antique shop, so britew, let me know if you're in)

Tuesday at Bastone was super-fun, as always. (shoutout to brainon, indie barkeep, and forestiere pizza!) the only fly in the ointment was that the damn pregame show for the AllStar game was like 3 hours, so we actually left during the top of the first inning - lame, I know!

the attack of the forks

okay, why are there plastic forks and spoons sprouting out of
my neighbor's lawn????? any ideas?

***********************
hey! this blogger has written some fun plays! let's get together
and act them out. anon, you can be Funkiller. I want to be
Princess Tofu!

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wah! tha lorider is sooooooo old!!!!! 15 year reunion!!!!!!!!

Message from classmates.com:

"Dear XXXXXXXXX tha lorider,

You've been invited to join your friends at the Philadelphia High School for Girls Class of 1991 Reunion. Check out the event details now. If you haven't RSVP'd for this event, do so today to let others know that you'll be attending—your name will appear on the RSVP list for other invitees to see. I hope to see you at the Philadelphia High School for Girls Class of 1991 Reunion!

Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXX (I remember her name!)
Reunion Group Contact"

holy crap! I must be like....... oh yeah, I am 32. anyway, I'm not going
:( .... (too bad, a cheesesteak would go down good right about now!)

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happy conquerer's day!


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art attack

well, I don't know about you, but I was very successful yesterday at BEing HAPPY! I was so happy I was moved to Create Art. this is a digital approximation of what I made:
















this is basically not at all what the painting looks like, because it turns out that I'm a terrible artist in microsoft word (the gray area is supposed to represent where I slapped/mixed some black paint onto the edge of some white paint), but anyway I'm happy with the actual painting . I used acrylic paint, as this was kind of a sketch; I think I'll try to use oil next time so I get a more lumpy effect......


*******************************
thanks brainon, for inspiring me to do art!





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happiness.....

who is this girl? I don't know. the picture came from this blog; I don't even know if she is the writer of the blog or a friend or what.... I don't speak german. hopefully, she doesn't mind having her nice photo on my blog.

I put this picture on here because this girl looks HAPPY! where does happiness come from? who knows, from her face it seems you can just have a good day and it bubbles up from inside.

people, I am inspired! my message to everyone today is BE HAPPY! britew, I know somebody just smashed your car and you feel a bit blech, but still, I hope you can be HAPPY!

and that goes for the rest of you, too! I hope you're having a great day :)


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I must say, all the kids on this blog look happy.......
hurrah for happy german kids!!!!


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hoping you had a fun 4th of July!

just on time for Wednesday.......

as requested, here are some time-wasting sites. I have decided to categorize them according to sexism..... enjoy!

♀:
kittenwar
dresses!
gossip
famous girly blogger xiaxue


♂:
masamania
world cup results and predictions
detroit tigers
this guy's myspace


♀∩♂:
calvin n hobbes n lots of other cartoons
dr. mcninja
used wigs comedic clearinghouse
sudoku
jinx t-shirts

(3 out of) 4 day weekend coming up! ?!

yes, that's right, la pauvre lorider has to work on the monday before independence day, isn't that silly? how am I supposed to feel patriotic when I have work distracting me in the middle!!!!! shoot, I was planning on watching the following movies to get me in the mood... now I'll probably have to watch them twice!

1. Independence Day
2. Born on the Fourth of July
3. Independence
4. Magoo's Glorious Fourth
5. and the ever american Superman in Superman Returns


************************
then I'll go watch my little bros set off fireworks.......
boom, BOOm, BOOM!!!!!!!
;P

happy birthday, Dad!
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woohoo! Violeine is in the paper!!

here's an article that came out in a local paper about Vi and her new furniture store! Marie commented that the quotes in the article "really sound like Vi" - it's true! I can really picture her saying those things.... :)

Congrats, Vi & meilleurs voeux!

double dinner weekend

on Friday, I cooked dinner and Marie came over (thanks for helping me with my resume, Marie!!!! you rock!!), and Olga joined us.... then on Saturday, Olga made dinner for some friends and I joined them. both dinners were awesome and so fun! I'm almost re-thinking my plan of becoming a hermit..... anyway, we ate out in the backyard, it's super-relaxing back there. we also met our behind-us neighbors- I stood on a chair to see over the fence and Olga hopped up and down and said: "(hop) hi! (hop) I'm (hop) Olga!"

Saturday morning, we went to the local farmer's market (I think the Sunday headline read: "3-year Royal Oak resident and self-proclaimed 'environmentalist' finally makes it to farmer's market that is 1 mile from her house"). I bought some lettuce plants, basil plants and yellow pear tomato plants... all for a whopping $4.

Olga got one (1!) grape tomato plant, and is fearful she may be overcommitting herself (haha, now I know what to get her for her birthday...!! *evil smirk*)

after we plant our little balcony-garden, the next project will be to make a kitchen shelving-unit, so we can have a bit more storage.... I designed it yesterday, now we just have to get wood and screws and paint, and convince some unsuspecting neighbor to help us cut the lumber with their circular saw (hence the recent fence-hopping)...... wish us luck.......

oh, and I also made a cherry pie for my uncle Bernard, who has been sick, so all in all, it has been a very home-y weekend....

*************************
(brainon, I'm so glad you're back! let's get drunk!
*in my head, that phrase sounds like owen wilson.
but it comes from my heart....)

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happy solstice (before)

oops, I totally forgot to wish everyone a happy solstice!

more cowbell, baby!

should I get some free lawn tickets to Blue Oyster Cult next week?

wednesdays with Lord Chesterfield

why not? it's been a while.....

The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort
of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.
-Lord Chesterfield

update: wow, dad and britew, I'm thinking you might
just love this website: "LibraryThing is ... often
described as "MySpace for books..." I guess it's where
books post risqué photos of themselves and engage in
chats with other books that are much too old for them.....


(welcome home, britew!! I want to hear
everything! you'll be so proud- while you've
been away, I've been reading War & Peace)

I like it when it rains...

quick hits: I'm going to the doctor today, so I'll just throw down a few thoughts...

#1 - there's a great solo-guitar blues by Ronnie Earl called "I like it when it rains." I really like the piece, and I also really do like it when it rains. it's absolutely pouring right now and there are little thunder-rumbles every few minues - I love it!

I wonder why?

#2 - this has been going around the inter-tron... it reminds me of a series of posters called la mutation d'une ville that my mom gave to me when I was little. it's about 10 posters and it shows the development of a French town over the course of about 25 years. it's kind of like those "find the difference" puzzles, but it's an artistic creation, so it's very beautiful and very intricate. there are a hundred or more stories in each poster.... so cool.....

me love TV. me hate commercials.

honestly, I HATE advertising. this is what a typical commercial sounds like to me:

"are you insecure &/or want to have (more) sex?! well, why not try american consumerism/pharmaceuticals? for example, did you know that (lie) and (lie), ...Lease Pull-Ahead Program (large dollar amount), (lie)! we CAN MATCH your kitchen tiles... get yours today!"

I either change channels or mute during commercials. this article (via mr brown) explains about P2P & BitTorrent & the future of television watching. I'm so excited to be able to access anything, anytime & sans commercials (as soon as I get my inter-doodle hooked up at home). I think the author makes a great point that TV has trained us to expect free and immediate entertainment gratification, so they better find ways to go along with the technology that takes those principles that to a whole new level now.

if, as according to his theory, the 'bug' becomes the advertising method (you know, that station id thing they now show in the corner the whole time?), honestly, I can live with that. I'll just stick a post-it over it.

************************
ah..... tha family feud.....


****************************************

Bastone-y

the extra -y at the end indicates how much I lurve ma lil Bastone! I realized I've never posted any photos of my fav hangout, so here's a few, depicting the great points about Bastone..........




outdoor seating!









cool people hang out here! (they're so cool, they can throw signs while holding a beer!! wow!)









yummy bière!






great food! (oops - I was so excited to eat my mussels, I forgot to take a pic.) read about the food here instead.

ma's b-day

I had a fun time this weekend. Saturday was my mom's birthday (53, and still getting mistaken for a 25-year-old). we met at ChinaTown buffet in Dearborn - my mom, me, my two brothers, two of their friends who are also 13 & 14, and my mom's co-worker, Ameena, who is a riot. Ameena is a real purse-and-bargain lover, like myself, so we swapped tips about local stores. (by the way - my roomie said that my habit of carrying nice purse is very ladylike. so HAHA suckers, I'm A LADY!!!)

my mom liked her gift and we had a great dinner. the boys are so fun to watch, they are independent and had their own conversation going. when their friend Sanjay opened his fortune cookie, he read "'you will share a surprise with loved ones'.... I'm pregnant!" haha they're so quick and funny, and also very sweet.

oh noes!!

I just found out that our downstairs neighbors got campus housing (mrs. downstairs neighbor teaches at a ritzy private school near us) and they'll be moving out this summer! this is excellent news for them, but now the new-neighbor lottery is on! I hope we get 1st prize!!!

it's important to me, because we'll share a lot of things, like the basement, the washer/dryer, the water bill, and a floor/ceiling. these guys have been aces, so I'll be really sorry to see them go. hopefully, they'll invite me to their new house to eat cookies alot. in honor of my wonderful neighbors, here's a pic of the littlest neighbor when we went to the zoo last month:














cute! as you can see, today is photo-posting day, so be sure to visit tha bloggie photo album. laterz!

Ides of Blog: tha lorider saves you money at weddings....

hi! are you broke? do you have friends who you want to treat to a fab gift on their wedding, but you're also trying to figure out how to make your student loan payment this month? well, then follow tha lorider as I give you a tour of the gift-solution mecca otherwise known as: TJ Maxx!

I highly recommend TJ Maxx for gifts with one caveat: all Maxxes are not created equally. the majority (at least in my area) appear to be poorly managed warehouses with trod-upon merchandise scattered all around the store. invest your time in a three-minute stroll around each store near you and you will save yourself a lot of heartache. if you find a good one (in metro Detroit, it's the one at Southfield & 13 Mile), you will find untold gift-giving riches in the housewares section.

there is all sorts of cookware like Cuisinart and Le Creuset and other good stuff, picture frames, plates, serving platters, vases, chic storage containers, gourmet spices, cookbooks, garden furniture, etc, etc. but the best part is that these really nice things are affordable!!! I got a lovely ceramic platter for a wedding gift that I think my friend will love for.... well, she reads this blog, so I'll just say that the first number is 1 and the last is 0 and there are no other numbers. I can't really post a picture, either, for the same reason, but I'll add it after I give it to her.......

happy shopping! you can thank me later by getting me something nice for my wedding - I dreamed twice this week that I was getting married, so it must be coming up soon! wish me luck! :0


update: here's the platter.... (she liked it!)

graduation and pancakes weekend

update: the handsome graduate!!! that's our aunt on the right - she's a teacher, can you tell?

so... friday was Omari's graduation. now we officially have two high-schoolers in the family! the graduation ceremony was somewhat fun; I was excited when Omari walked across the stage, but it definitely went well beyond the hour and 15 minutes it was supposed to run. many of the 250 13-year-olds who crossed the stage seemed to have borrowed their outfit from Lil Kim, so it was kind of fun to see what the next kid would wear. also noteworthy were the guest speakers, who were way better than last year, and the jazz band, who did a very decent rendition of "Watermelon Man." then the kids got to go out onto the athletic fields for the rest of the day for games and cakes.

as to the gift..... ummm, no, cookie, it wasn't that amazing. I got him an MLB key-ring, he's a fan of the Red Sox... he can get a big gift from me when he graduates from high school. but my mom got him an aluminum frame 21-speed mountain bike, and he's totally psyched about that.

then over the weekend, I made buckwheat pancakes, ate at Inn Season - a local veg restaurant, and went for a long walk with Olga in our neighborhood. oh yeah, and I napped.

************************
have fun in Colorodo, brainon!!!!!


****************************************

my brother graduated from 8th grade!!

I'll tell you about the graduation on Monday. over the weekend, why not check out this clip of neenja kittens? enjoyz.

************************
meanwhile, I'll be getting some pancakes.


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CONTEST: name that pet! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

oh dear, I've gone and done it -- I adopted another pet!!! but don't worry, Maria won't have to learn to get along with this one.... it's an adorable lil digital tiger cub who will live at the bottom of this page - awwwwwwwww! :)

(ruh-roh, I think I may hear tha lorider's street-cred eroding)

anyway, feel free to visit the little guy - you can pet him, play with him and feed him steaks! as you get to know him better, please do suggest a name for tha little kitty-witty in the comments section - whoever's name is chosen will win a 1209 anarchists tee-shirt!!

it was a tough decision, but here goes.....

britew, you are the lucky winner of the 'name that pet' contest ..... congratulations!!! tha little tiger shall be heretofore known as:

"leonard p. lorider, 12o9 mascot"

anon, that means you're off the hook, mascot-wise. I'm sure I can find some chores around here for you, though....

britew, since you already have a 1209 anarchists tee-shirt, you will win a fabulous 12o9 anarchists mug!!!! enjoyz!

nobody visits my blog on Thursdays, I can probably get away with this...

okay! it's like a riddle.....

I've been surfing around the net lately, and... I dunno - maybe it's just me... but everywhere I go, there seems to be a common theme. does anyone else see a common theme in these posts?

#1 office etiquette story

#2 marriage decision story

# 3 birthday cake story

IKEA is coming, IKEA is coming!!!!!

oh. my. god. people are losing their minds in Southeast Michigan - IKEA is opening tomorrow in Canton and people have been camping out in their parking lot since yesterday! apparently, they'll give away an $80 chair (unassembled, mind) to the first 100 people.

I mean, I was kinda excited when I first heard that IKEA was coming. I do love tha meatballs and tha lingonberry! and I used to go to IKEA with my Dad, so I got a warm fuzzy feeling remembering... plus, goodness knows, they have great furniture and it's better priced than any other store.

but excuse me. to get that excited about the opening of a store - in the USA. where we already have access to absolutely anything we could possibly need at any time of the day or night...? and then dedicate 48 hours of your life to it? (ps - I don't care what kind of job you have, I'll bet you can earn $80 within 48 hours....)

so whatever, anyway. live and let live, right? I guess I'm cool with people being excited over a chain store, even if I think it's stupid. it's a free country and I'm glad about that.....

but then. I was listening to the radio this morning and the station sent somebody over to talk to these people. they woke up the lady who's first in line, and she tried to get flip with the radio guy and she's all, "hey, you know, you're laughing but we're all out here together and it's wonderful and it's like Woodstock." WOODSTOCK!!!!

I know that everyone was not raised around hippies and Leninists and Trotskyists and Gray Panthers, like me. but wtf?! how in the hell can someone think that buying furniture from a multinational corporation is anything like Woodstock? I wanted to cry. people have no f***ing clue anymore. 6-6-06 indeed.

my 1 political post for the month: don't worry, it's shorter than this title.

wow. just wow. the status of democracy in Bagdad.

it's just falafel!

(via Ivan the Terrible)

tha lorider's pals - unmasked!!!

(don't worry, it's not you, anon.)

two of my inner circle have agreed to have their identities revealed on this blog......

#1. my new roommate! whose actual name is ..... Olga (gasp!). she is a med student at Wayne State University, the same University at which tha lorider endlessly pursues her master's degree...... Olga is actually going to earn a combined degree (MD/PhD), so she is incredibly smart! she plans to specialize in OB/Gyn (I know, I know, anon, why didn't you think of that???) and she's doing research in embryo implantation this summer. in her spare time, she is a member of the University Choral Union. hello, she won a grammy in 2004! (do you know anyone who has won a grammy??? well, I do! HA HA!) this weekend, in between trips to the lab, she sang Mahler's Third with the DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA! this girl is the shit! and, guys, she's single!!!

#2. next to be revealed is....... my new pal Violeine. I met her through my other Frenchie friend, Marie. Vi was the other witness at Marie's civil marriage ceremony a couple of weeks ago. Vi is an entrepreneur who recently opened an awesome furniture store in Ferndale, MI. it's called um.... UPDATE: Beautiful Home. (thanks, M!) it's on Woodward six doors north of the nightclub, Boogie Fever. it's all hand-made wood furniture, very nice pieces from the Ivory Coast. I'll link to it as soon as she has her website up. she's the shit, too (starting her yoga practice!) and hot, hot, hot! but sorry guys, she's off the market, married to the lucky Ryan......

I'll add some pics in the bloggie photo album soon....

verlet rocks!

Dad, I thought you especially would like to see this verlet integration demo. it's made by the guy who designed my new pet tiger. for the rest of you non-techies, it's a really fun toy:






guess what animal it's for.......

all new! girls, girls, girls!

now that I've got your attention, let me say that the ides of blog is officially dead. I'm not a champion-surfer, so I'm not going to try to show a monthly selection of amazing sites anymore; plenty of other people do that better than me. so what is tha lorider's talent, her special skill she can share with the masses.... something she has mastered through years of practice.....?

yes, that's right, as my friends and family already know: it's eating. but I realized that I'll get too hungry at work if I'm always typing about food. so I'm going to focus on my other skill: being cheap. as the saying goes, I know how how pinch a nickel until the indian rides the buffalo (sorry to any indians or buffalo who read my blog.) what can I do? I'm of Scottish extraction (sorry to any Scots.) as of today, I'm going to start sharing my special tips and tricks with you, my adoring public... no, no, please, hold your applause, folks :D so here's my first installment, wherein:

tha lorider saves you money.... at fuddruckers!

if you've ever been to fuddruckers, you know that it is a restaurant. to all you foreigners, it is more specifically a restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers.... but not any hamburgers - expensive hamburgers! I thought I'd like a burger the other day and was shocked by a prominantly displayed banner just inside the entrance. the gist of it was that you can get a 1/2 pound burger combo on special for only..... $8.88! hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! why the hell would I spend $8.88 when I can get a burger combo at Wendy's for about $4.40?

apparently because at Wendy's, I have to simply sit in my car and list off what I want on my burger, whereas at fuddruckers, I have the added entertainment value of being able to pick up my burger at the counter and then walk to the 3 different condiment tables to put what I want on it.....? what? wait, that sounds like less service for more money.... or am I missing something?

anyhoo, I got a 1/3 pound burger, picked up some fries at Wendy's and then went home and got a soda out of the pantry, so right there, I saved a few dollars. however, they did get me to spend an extra dollar over what was strictly necessary, and this is what I'm going to clue you in on today, cause that extra dollar turned out to be a total waste.

money-saving part:
it sounded so good - 50¢ for grilled onions (yum!!) and 50¢ for cheese - pricey, but come on, how can you turn down grilled onions and cheese? well, next time I will (the burger was good enough for return visits, but definitely $trictly for $pecial occasion$). the onions were doused in black pepper and some other taste I couldn't identify but was was yucky, and were undercooked so that there was no sweet taste, which is the whole point of grilled onions. so save your money on that. also, when I picked up the burger, I noticed that there is a hot-cheese machine for putting on your fries, but I could have used that instead of ordering 50¢ cheese.

and that's it, folks... that's how you save a dollar, or several, at fuddruckers. you can thank me later by talking me out for a burger!

:( now I'm hungry.