Gillian Sans

This morning I sacrificed sleeping in (a necessary Saturday ritual) to try and get my hands on some of the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection that launched today. Just so you know, dear reader, this sort of thing is very much out of character for me. Lines? Crowds? Shopping in an actual store instead of doing it online? These are things I do not care for. Yet, the call of accessible luxury goods called to me and I picked up the line.

( Long story short: I stood in line for four hours this morning. )

You've all heard of Lollapalooza yeah? The three day music fest held annually in Chicago's Grant Park (after it was resuscitated from a touring festival that went bankrupt like so many from the touring festival heyday... Lilith Fair, anyone?) that offers indie, alternative and straight up rock acts for all the kids to come out and party to. Well, this year I went.* I saw the following bands:

The Knux
The Builders and The Butchers (the highlight of the fest for me)
Bon Iver
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
The Decemberists
Arctic Monkeys
Glasvegas
TV on the Radio
Ben Harper and Restless 7
Tool

( Onward to pictures (that my bro took)! )

*I should mention, in the interest of full disclosure, that we only attended two out of the three days. Bitches.

What's up internet? Long time no see. Well, that's not technically true. I've still been watching you like a hawk but you have not been seeing much of me. Truth is, I done got me a grown up job (yeah, so it was a year and a half ago, so what!) and, as is the theme of grown up doings, it turned out to be a lot of damn work! We are a really busy department in a company that is expanding (I know, unusual for this current economic blobbidy-bloo we’re in) which means some days I can barely carve out enough time to go pee. I'm not kidding. So while I would like to be all "I'm back! Jazz hands!" We'll see how it goes...

So what have I been up to lately you ask? Well Internet, ask and I will tell!

Internet: Been to any good shows lately?
Me: No.
Internet: Movies?
Me: Like at the theater? No. Well, when my Bro was in town for the 4th he took me to see "The Hangover" and it was pretty rad.
Internet: That's it?
Me: Well, my last three Netflix selections were "Bolt", "Doubt" and "Wonder Woman".
Internet: Any TV?
Me: Not since the season ended. I used to really like "The Closer" but I can never remember to tune into it on Monday nights so I haven't seen any of the new season. There's a show on Lifetime (television for women) that I've been watching called "Drop Dead Diva" but I'm only three episodes in and already the concept is sort of played.
Internet: I have not heard of either of those shows and I am the Internet.
Me: Oh.
Internet: Well what about reading?
Me: I read you every day.
Internet: That doesn’t count and you know it. Everyone knows that.
Me: Oh well...
Internet: That's all you've got to say for yourself? After all this time?
Me: Well, I've been busy with work! And tired after! And it is flea market season so most Sundays are busy!
Internet: Oh, have you bought anything interesting at any of these flea markets?
Me: No.
Internet: Is that no, you haven't bought anything interesting or no, you haven't bought anything really at all.
Me: I haven’t really been buying things. It seems like its slim pickings this year.
Internet: God you're a loser.
Me: Hey!

Life. Why?

Holy shit. Holy shit!

Ben Folds Five

Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit!!!

I would KILL to go to this! Seriously I would sell a kidney, some fingers, all my toes, empty my checking account, WHATEVER IT TOOK to be there! I would DO it! Because this record is one of my top five favorites of all time. Like, if someone said to me "dude, you're going to be dead in five minutes and the only thing you have time to do is pick the record that will be played at your funeral," I WOULD PICK THIS RECORD WITHOUT EVEN THINKING TWICE ABOUT IT!

The hitch is that it's in North Carolina. In two weeks. And I live in Chicago. But still. HOW AMAZING WOULD IT BEEEEEEEEE!?!?!?!!!



Also, hi! :)

I'm finally caught up on all the episodes of Supernatural season three. I know, it took a shamefully long time (there was much begging and prodding and disapproval from cadette in particular) but I think it was a good thing that I waited as long as I did to get back into it The writer's strike is over and the show will be back soon which means I've had the least amount of "hang time" before finding out what's going to happen next. Yes, I'm justifying my procrastination. Deal with it.

( Sam Winchester cries his way through sex. )

This is for cadette who is getting back from her week long vacation and sometimes, if you've really had a fun time on your vacation (plus she went to locations that are sunny and warm) it's kind of a bummer to be back. This is to cheer you up, darling... and because I was watching reruns of The Office on TBS on Tuesday and they aired this episode...

( Leprecorns and Unichauns )

No clue how it happened but it is already making my day difficult... things are so awkwardly fuzzy!

I voted. Go team USA.

We'll all be clamoring to get into Canada ten years from now.

I GOT INTO A CAR ACCIDENT TODAY! Today, when the weather is clear and the roads were in excellent condition. Today, after driving to and from work for the past two days when everything was treacherous and I was chanting to myself the whole time "no accidents, no accidents..." Today. Today! ARGH! And it was my fault! I was leisurely driving down a row of parked cars by my bank and this woman was backing out of a parking space and she didn't see me and I didn't see her until she just appeared in-front of me and I jammed on the brakes but it was too little too late and I hit her. And it's just like, fuck. FUCK! Like I don't have enough to deal with right now and how much is this going to cost and what an inconvenience! The woman was really nice and we were both insured (by the same company, no less) but I felt shitty afterward because you always feel shitty after doing something shitty and ruining someone else's day. She told me that she had just gotten her car back from the body shop after getting a new bumper. Well, lady, thanks to me you're getting another one.

The entirety of the Chicago-land area is currently under a foot (or so) of snow so that means a snow day for all most! I actually struggled to get all the way to work this morning only to find out that they had officially closed the building about twenty minutes before I got there so I had to turn around and go home. Yeah, I was kinda pissed off about that especially since halfway through my commute I wanted to turn around and go home (I got stuck on Main Street in the next town over, there was some ice under the snow and I was just spinning my wheels with three cars lined up behind me waiting for me to go. Finally, I put on my warning lights so they would go around me and l could back up and try to go forward again but once the cars started going around me, THEY started to get stuck. Fortunately some nice lady walking her dog stopped the cars in the intersection behind me so I could back all the way down the street, into the intersection so I could then turn around and find a different street to take. I'm just patting myself on the back that I a) did not panic, b) did not cry and c) did not call my Dad, who would have been all "what do you expect me to do about it" anyway) because the roads were so terrible... but I stopped for a donut (or two) on the way home to ease my commuting pain. But now, hey, three day weekend! Woo hoo! I can do all of my non-driving related Saturday chores (like washing the majority of my work wardrobe) today! I could balance my checkbook! My W-2's came this week; I could pay my taxes! I could... totally not do any of those things! I choose that option! My afternoon today will consist of concocting the biggest mug of hot chocolate I can find and watching three episodes of "Supernatural" back-to-back-to-back. It will be glorious.

I watched Michael Moore's "Sicko" on Friday which was a pretty bad idea because now all I can think about is the high cost of health care in America and how we're all basically screwed if we get cancer. The thing about Moore, though, is that he's not really a very good documentarian. Can we even call him that? His opinions are so obvious (and biased) that he's really only telling HIS side of a story. He also managed to mention 9/11, his anti-war stance and his hatred for all things George W. Bush several times. I also don't think, by making this movie, Moore is going to have any impact on America changing the current system. There's too much money changing hands for medicine to really go socialized. Plus, when people see movies like this (and like "An Inconvenient Truth") they get all enraged and so on, but then time passes and they forget about their anger and it's back to the status quo. Moore stated that 50 million Americans are currently uninsured, which leaves 250 million covered. Those numbers are going to have to be flipped before change happens.

Sidebar: Neither Obama or Clinton support or have plans for socializing medicine in this country. Both candidates talk about "modernizing" our current system which means keeping it as is, with money exchanging hands, and just making premiums more "affordable" and mandating that all Americans be eligible for coverage regardless of illness or pre-existing conditions. In my opinion, this is the biggest load of bull shit ever. It will totally not fix anything. The bottom line is that insurance companies don't want to pay to cover sick people because that is not profitable, so even if the government requires them to cover everybody, they can still deny coverage for life saving treatments and procedures. The only candidate who wanted to make healthcare free for all, and coincidentally was the only candidate that I liked, was Dennis Kucinich. Dude is totally unelectable because he's for everything that is fair and good and is riddled with common sense. See, this is why I don't like to talk about politics. It just angers up the blood.

On Saturday I had awesome pizza for dinner (I have the last leftover slice with me for lunch today, yum) but I burned the hell out of the inside of my mouth on it. There was a hidden pocket of sauce that was heated to molten temperatures and when it bit into it, I actually got tears in my eyes. On Sunday the inside of my mouth felt like sandpaper. This morning it's feeling more mouth-like. I also saw a woman in the restaurant that I used to work with. I think she recognized me too because we did that thing where we both looked at each other and then looked away really quickly. Why do people do that? It's so weird.

To bring this pointless post full-circle and bring up healthcare again, on Sunday my Dad got the shingles! I know I shouldn't find it amusing because it can be a really terrible and painful and have lasting side effects but when my Mom told me that the anti-viral medication he was prescribed was Valtrex (which is commonly used to suppress the herpes virus) I couldn't help but laugh!

Ben Folds Five "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner." No other album makes me dance, sing and cry. Play this at my funeral.

Winter is officially here in the Midwest. Now is the time of year where my nose is permanently cold and all my pants have ugly salt stains on the hems. Also, I'd just like to put it out there that I have done no Xmas shopping, made no headway on Xmas cards, or even thought about what I want for Xmas. So there. What have I been thinking about? Poorly scripted man candy. Behold!

( Clowns?!?! Seriously!?! This is how you're following up a 'dramatic season premiere' that features character death; with a friggin' clown?!?! Way to suck, SPN. )

I finished watching season one of "Supernatural" Tuesday night and didn't even realize it. I didn't know that there were only two episodes on the last disc instead of what I thought would be the usual four. I watched two episodes before bed and then stopped the DVD at the credits. If I had continued on I would have seen the warning screen and would have known that that was how they decided to end the season. That was how they decided to end the season. SERIOUSLY?!?!?!!

( There was nothing to do last night except watch the gag reel and go to bed. )

Lastly, have some thoughts on last night's episode of Project Runway: ( Season premiere, bitches! )

I got a speeding ticket on my way to work this morning.

How is it better to start? With a long-suffering sigh or a string of curse words that jumble together to the point where it doesn't even sound like English anymore?

Why is it not lunchtime yet?! Usually when you get to the office earlier (and yet still thirty minutes later than you needed to be there) than usual, doesn't that usually make the day fly by? I'm going to blame it on my shoes. I'm wearing the worst shoes ever today. There was an episode of "Friends" where Monica had a girly moment and bought a really expensive pair of boots, promising Chandler that it was not an indulgence because she'd love them and wear them forever and never take them off. After wearing them one time, she confessed to Rachel that they were horribly uncomfortable, the worst pain ever, and that "the person who made these shoes hates feet!" My shoes hate my feet! Too bad, they are really cute shoes and I needed to wear them today to "class up" my outfit because I have a meeting after work today. These are the shoes I bought for my cousin's wedding and if I had a classier top in my closet that I could have worn instead of this sorta nice but kinda old turtleneck sweater, I probably could have worn a pair of my trusty 'ol flats. Alas, I had to bust out the uncomfortable, LOUD, but stylin', black patent leather 3.5 inch wedges. I hate society! I hate liking cute things! I hate linoleum! My feet hurt and EVERYONE in the office knows when I'm going to the bathroom or getting tea!

This never would have happened if Target weren't so sluggish with delivering online orders. I ordered a pair of patent leather high heeled Mary Jane’s WEEKS AGO that have RUBBER SOLES which means I can be fashionable while maintaining stealthly bathroom and tea-drinking habits. Though, cheap shoes also tend to be uncomfortable but if there's room for a Dr. Scholl's comfort insole, you can't go wrong! That's another problem with these shoes. I did get gel insoles for them but discovered that there was not room enough in the shoe for them AND my foot, but I needed them for the wedding... damnit. Seriously, who designed these things and why are they not being punished for perpetrating crimes against feet?

Ok, I didn't post anything for the entire month of October. Ouch, but really, there's nothing much going on. To post would be to complain about the same three things over and over again and even I'm sick of hearing about it.

Here's basically my October: on the 9th or the 10th my senile 91 year-old grandmother, who is pretty much the meanest person I have the privilege of being related to, fell on her face in her kitchen and laid there for two days until one of her neighbors decided to check in on her and called for an ambulance. Since then my father has gotten his longtime wish of forcing her into a "retirement community" and he and my mother have made two trips to where she lives in St. Louis to facilitate the transition. Now my Dad is trying to sell her house out from under her. He basically wants to have it on the market by Christmas without even asking her. My parents are arguing about it because the house needs a lot of work before it's even remotely sellable and the market blows right now AND the holiday season is rapidly approaching which, as you can imagine, is probably not the best time to be selling a house. Basically a lot of childish behavior happening, and it always amazes me how adults can get away with that kind of crap and actual kids can't. While I agree that she can't live all by herself anymore, I don't necessarily agree with the way my Dad is handling this whole situation and I'm sort of glad that when the time comes for yours truly to be put into a home, he'll be long dead and will have no say in arranging for my care. Also he gave that bitch my TV. I was storing my TV, along with a ton of other crap, in my parent's basement since I don't really need it in my current living situation and now I'm mad that I listened to my Dad in the first place and stored my stuff in their basement ("c'mon, it's free!" lesson learned: nothing is free) instead of renting a unit because those things are "a waste of money". Yeah, that may be, but at least I'd still have my damn TV. Now, should my situation change, I'll have to drop a grand on a new fancy-pants one because all your major retailers have stopped selling analog TVs in anticipation of the great entertainment switch to digital in 2009.

Family blows.

But speaking of TV, the only thing I'm going to say about last night's episode of The Office is this: Jim in a fake mustache. Ok, and maybe Jim trying to be the class clown of the Finer Things Society:

Toby: Jim, did you read the book? Who's the main character?
Jim: Angela. No, ashes...?