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Showing posts from April, 2008

Checking In From Jamaica

This ship is great and I am having a wonderful time. And I've learned a few things too. 1.The only thing worse than a neon green Speedo is a white one - my eyes, my eyes! 2.70 sunblock will protect you to that point that not even x-rays can penetrate your skin. 3.Just because this is one of the biggest cruise ships in the world does not mean you cannot feel this sucker pitching and rolling, especially at night. 4.Caribbean rum is better than rum from the States. 5.I miss my blog buddies when I am away!!! Hope everyone is having a great week! Off to lunch and maybe the hot tub.

Blog Break

I'll be taking a blog break for a week and a half or so while I'm off cruising. I hope to be able to get internet access on the ship so hopefully I can do some blog hopping while I'm away. Thank you to my anonymous buddies McMeaty and McCheesy and Heather and Bill for house sitting and watching the girlz and kitties while I am gone! Have a great week everyone!

Pull What Out?

I was sorting through my email at work when I came across this from one of my male co-workers: Cathy, Thanks for pulling this out for me. This was followed by a few carriage returns and then the start of the next paragraph, leaving this one line fairly isolated at the top of the email. I'm not sure if I would have worded this email as such. And maybe my mind wandered into the gutter this afternoon, just for a minute or five. But at the end of a busy day, this did make me smirk a bit.

Ladies, Start Your Engines

Notes to self: 1) Get a tripod 2) Camera should point at my face, not my bottom 3) Wind is loud 4) Neighbors think I am talking to myself when filming alone - not good

Out Shopping For The Girls

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"You want me to bring you another 38F?", I hear the sales women say. In the busy dressing room another fitter is sent away to retrieve a 36DD. And then comes along my helper. "Here's the 34A", she says as she passes it around the curtain. "You sure I don't need a 36?", I question. "No, the 36 was too big, it will slide up your back", she responds confidently. Thank goodness for a little weight gain. It could have been worse if my nearly A's hadn't sprouted into full fledged ones. Bra shopping has never been my thing. And I don't think I was ever actually fitted for a bra, except maybe one time when I had to get one of those funky bras you wear under a strapless bridesmaid gown and then end up throwing away because the wire has left a permanent mark on your chest. All and all, this was a productive albeit expensive, endeavor. I ended up with five new bras, 2 white, 1 tan, 1 ivory, and 1 Bette on the L Word blue. My girls are ha

There's Nothing Plain About Jamaica Plain

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Not much of a photo I know. It's the only one I could pull from the realty web site. This is a picture of the porch on the first house I owned in Boston. The house was older, built in 1910, and needed quite a bit of work. I never really liked this house. The main reason for purchasing it was the fact that it was in a very gay neighborhood. At the time I moved in, there were 4 gay households on the street out of about 10 houses total. The surrounding streets had there share of gay folks as well. Our neighborhood had it's own contingent in the Boston Gay Pride Parade. We called ourselves BAGAL - Bourne Area Gays and Lesbians. BAGAL held monthly potlucks and threw parties for holidays and special events. We had a map of the neighborhood created with every gay or lesbian household colored in pink. There was a lot of pink. I bought this house in 1995 for 125,000. I just found out it sold in at the end of November 2007 for $427,500. Pretty amazing for a one bath, three bedroom (so

Shhh...It's A Secret

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When you were growing up, was everything a big secret? At first I thought it just the street on which I grew up, which I fondly call 'the street that time forgot'. Then I met other folks from Chicopee and they had similar experiences. I'm not talking about personal things, like how much you Dad made or whether or not your parents used to play escaped prisoner and warden's wife. But I can remember you were never supposed to talk to your friends about how much your parents paid for something, or any medical procedures anyone was having (unless it was your tonsils), or who was getting divorced. Once my parents aged however, they had no problem telling me all the details of their colonoscopy, how many times they had to use the bathroom at the Senior Center, or how well their Polident Dentu-Grip was working that day. Now that's the stuff that should be kept a secret. And by the way, that beautiful 1978 Chrysler Cordoba with the crank windows my parents had - it cost $8,0

Happy Tax Day

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I thought this cartoon may be appropriate for April 15th. For if you filed your taxes today, as I did, you may feel like you just got screwed. And not in a good way.

Giving Mickey The Finger

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Mickey's head fell off. Then I dropped him for a second time and his nose popped off. No problem I said to myself. I'll just super glue him back together, quick as a wink. Apparently it is much easier to glue epidermis to porcelain than it is porcelain to porcelain. Just when I thought it was safe to let go of the body, it decided not to let go of me. And taking the time to hunt around for my phone so I could take a picture was probably not the best idea since it gave the glue more time to become one with my skin. Mickey still looks like he spent some time at The Tower Of London. And I still have super glue on two fingers and a thumb. At least I have removed the offending mouse. My deep thought for the day is this. If you are going to glue something to yourself it should be something useful like a wine glass, not a headless cartoon character. Since it was attached to my middle finger however, maybe I should have left it there. It could have come in handy when driving in Boston

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

I'm thinking about applying for another job. Not that I don't love my current job. I am working on a contract that is set to expire the end of June. Renewal is a certainly a possibility but I want to put out some feelers just in case. I had this same job when I lived in Boston. I had to give up full time employee status when I moved to due a residency rule. One of the driving forces behind my move was a multi-unit condo development that was slated to be built on the property that abutted my house in Boston. I had just added a sunroom onto the house and the thought of a building less than 35 feet away that housed people who would be able to stare down upon me was quite disturbing. The neighborhood fought like crazy to stop the development but lost. Anyway, the condos are still yet to be built and the fancy restaurant that the development group owns has just shut it doors. Thanks a lot Mayo. Enough ranting - back to the job. So, seeing how I feel so fortunate to have a job I re

What's A Girl To Do About Packing?

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Salsa Shark I'm going on vacation in a few weeks to some place warm. Thought it might be a good idea today to try on my shorts. All of them, except for four pairs, somehow shrunk in my drawer over the winter. So off to the mall I went. I picked up a few pairs of shorts, along with a big new suitcase. Can somebody please tell me when a suitcase started costing between $200 and $350? Who needs ballistic nylon encasing their bathing suit and suntan lotion? Apparently a lot of folks do because the suitcases I saw could withstand any sort of attack, foreign or domestic. Nice to know if, God forbid, the plane goes down, my underwear will remain intact inside my Samsonite. I better be careful what I pack. Somethings are better not found. I finished off my evening with dinner at a Mexican restaurant. That's when the Salsa Shark appeared. If only I had handy my new suitcase that doubles as a shark cage. Oh well, maybe I can try that feature while on vacation.

Puddin' Pants

I've received the email below from three different people. I no more believe it is for a school project than I believe Bill Gates is going to send me a dollar if I forward a particular chain email that mentions Microsoft. The first time I received it they almost had me. But by the time the second one arrived, I was just starting to get annoyed. Sorry, guys, it's quick and for a kid's school project! (And you are the ones I thought might follow through - either because you have kids you like science, or you're just plain nice.) This is for a science fair project. If you could do this I would appreciate it! DON'T ASK, JUST PLAY! Copy and paste this entire letter into a new e-mail (PLEASE do NOT hit FORWARD), then read the list of names below. If your name is on the list put a star* next to it. If not, then add your name (in alphabetical order), and do not put in a star. Send it to ten people and send it back to the person who sent it to you. Put your name in the subje

You Haven't Changed A Bit

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I over-heard someone at my 25th high school reunion last week say they thought I was one of the folks who hadn't really changed. I'm not sure if that is a compliment. My hair, although longer, is still the same color thanks to my hairdresser. I know I weigh a little bit more. And I know I don't wear quite as many layers as I used to, unless it is a very cold day outside. Speaking of layers, I wonder why I didn't throw on a cardigan or a second oxford for my picture. Surely I could have fit one more article of clothing either underneath or on top of my sweater. What was I thinking?

One Minute And Counting

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Parking isn't cheap in Boston. So when I met up with my niece last week after work, I told her I had to be back to the garage by 7:00 PM in order to qualify for the early bird parking rate of $17.00 (as opposed to the late bird rate of $30.00). Too late to walk, we were still in the cab at 6:55, approaching the street on which the garage was located. It was one-way, which meant we had to jump out of the cab and make a run for it. After almost plowing over some tourists waiting for a bus at the Hard Rock Cafe, we made it to the garage. "Wait here", I said as I ran up the ramp to the stairwell. Just two flights up and I would be at the car. Panting and feeling chest pains, I arrived at the car, threw my bag in the back seat, and drove as fast as I could back down the ramp. For some reason I felt compelled to stop to throw my niece in the car before proceeding to the booth. I pulled her in and headed for the shortest line. She started whining about her foot being caught in

I See London, I See France

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Not sure how true this is, but I received an email the other day that said these skirts, which are not see-thru but actually have prints on the backside to make them look as such, are all the rage in Japan. I don't wear skirts, so I guess I am going to be out of luck when this style hits the U.S. I'd want the option to have the print done on jeans or a pair of work-out shorts with big white granny panties however. Now that would be hot.