Friday, December 31, 2004

still in my leopard flannel pajamas
they were a channukah gift from my mom one year. at the time, i hated them because they were too big and just kind of weird. but, now they are my favorite pjs.

today is -NEW YEAR'S EVE-. holy crap. i have to go to work today and i have a feeling that i am going to be real tired after work. i wish i didn't have to go. i should have requested off. damn.

anyway, the life aquatic was pretty good. i've talked to some friends and they liked it more than i, but i was a bit disappointed. it's definitely worth checking out, but i felt that there was something missing (perhaps owen wilson's writing?). it still has that wes anderson aesthetic which i can't get enough of and if you're into that, then you won't be disappointed. and anjelica houston and bill murray were great. you should definitely see it, snay. perhaps i was expecting too much.

ok, short post, unfortunately, but i need to run. hope everyone has a terrific new year's eve. the chant of the day??

NO MORE 2004!
NO MORE 2004!
NO MORE 2004!

and

IT'S FUN TO BE ALIVE IN 2005!
IT'S FUN TO BE ALIVE IN 2005!

something like that.... i wanted to make a t-shirt that said "no more 2004" for tonight, but i didn't get the chance. oh well.

- j.

Monday, December 27, 2004

manic monday
i spent christmas eating cookies, watching hours of trading spacies, going to the movies for a lil bit and seeing the life aquatic, coming back and watching more trading spaces (this time with chinese food) and playing games of scrabble online. i also wrapped gifts.

today i am going to philly. i was supposed to have showered and done everything by now, but i had to play just one game of literati. and blog. damn addictions.

gotta go. - j.

Friday, December 24, 2004

my noise is cold
today was an extremely busy day at work. i feel bad because i was kind of hating on one of my coworkers. she was being extremely bossy and i don't like to be bossed around. i heard her later complaining that she was being "grinch-y" because her back hurt her. well, i don't care! i don't need someone telling me what to do every five seconds when i am in the middle of actually doing stuff. grrr.

okay okay. let's forget about that. let's reflect on the old woman who tried to buy ribbon from me to wrap up the liquor she got from next door. i think she was already kind of drunk, or at least was well on her way there. i told her she could hit the hallmark 2 doors down for ribbon, since we don't actually sell it. but, she told me that they didn't accept credit. which, of course is a lie since everyone takes credit nowadays! even mcdonald's and subway take credit! for a $5 meal, no less!!!

wait wait wait. i'm still bahhumbagging. let me just say that my coworkers got me the most wonderful gifts. that was real nice. and it's nice to have off tomorrow. maybe i will have some nice dreams tonight. the last few nights, i've had some really weird ones. 3 nights ago, i dreamt i was married to a very mean and controlling indian man. he made me move with him to a very cookie cutter neighborhood. i could walk to the main part of town, but i was scared most of the time. he would force me to have sex with him. but, he was super rich and that was why i stayed. until he held a gun to my head. he shot at me, but i ducked just in time and said, "well. it was nice knowing you, but i'm leaving you now." yuck.

the next night, i had dreamt that i was in the basement when 2 robbers came into the house. i was hiding the whole time, but caught them on their way out. they stole things like televisions and stereos. i followed them to their next house and confronted them. and then i kind of dug them in this sick sort of way. and had sex with one of them? eww. i think i did. okay then, moving on.

tonight, i want to dream about bunnies and deer. bunnies and deer frollicking in the woods along with sweet wood nymphs and faeries. with trees that talk and sing and a sun that smiles all day long.................

merry xmas eve, y'all.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

the day before the day before christmas
i am so excited for christmas to come. it's that mob mentality at work, except, there isn't really a mob, although i haven't been in a mall recently. see, i just can't help get caught up in the christmas spirit. i've always loved christmas. cases in point...

growing up, i used to go over to my mom's friends' house for a little christmas tree trimming party. they would have egg nog and cakes and cookies, which i guess was a way to repay us for decorating their christmas tree. the only one that actually celebrated christmas was the owner of the tree. but, oh how i loved decorating that big old tree. and they had some of the most beautiful ornaments. and they would have boxes upon boxes upon boxes so we could choose how we wanted the tree to look.

after my night classes at my synagogue, my mom would pick me and whoever else was in the car pool that year, and take the christmas route home. meaning, she would drive through the neighborhoods with the best decorated houses. slowly we would creep along, our torah and haftarah prayers but a distant memory. one house in particular got a write up in the philadelphia inquirer year after year because it was so spectacular. you may think 34th street in hampden is nice, but they got nothin' on this house.

and, when i was about 20, i worked at frank's nursery and crafts. they actually have some of the best decorations, if you ask me. for days upon days i would ring people up and they would tell me the kind of tree they were envisioning. they bought ornaments and bows that were sparkly and white like snow or ornaments in the colors of the country they were from. as christmas neared, the percentage off got higher. and with my discount, it was like frank's was begging me to buy a little fake christmas tree of my own, complete with tiny ornaments, garland and bows. and, so i did. i thought nothing of it, really. i just wanted to decorate a tree of my own. but, boy, bringing it into the house was a whole other ordeal. no one could believe that i had bought a little tree. my brother, of all people, took it the hardest even though he wasn't religious.

i guess it is similar to this year. i brought a tree home, but the lights i had for it don't work and i could make little bows for it, but what's the point? in a matter of a few hours, i will be left alone with the tree when russell goes home. it's okay, i don't mind really. i've got an arsenal of movies ready for watching. and i'll be thinking of you all on christmas day....

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

scrabble obsessed...again
ever since thanksgiving night, when we all played a round of scrabble, i have been scrabble obsessed (again). thanks to morgan's powers of persuasion, we played a game on channukah. but, that isn't enough. the fire still burns. the need to exercise the brain...to toy with letters and toil with words has become overwhelming. so much so, that i foresee myself entering the world of online scrabble again. before i began school at goucher, i would spend my nights online playing scrabble with people all over the world. the problem was that i would undoubtedly always say, "just one more game. just one more game." i wouldn't fall asleep until the sun came up. scrabble playing online for me was the same as chasing the dragon for a drug addict. it was never enough. i was never satiated. playing with friends integrates my obsession with a dose of reality, making me realize that no one else will play 20 games in a row. so, why should i? please, my friends. save me from myself! play a game or two of scrabble with me!! before it is too late....

Monday, December 20, 2004

santa claus is coming to town
a few days ago, my boss was ready to throw out a couple of charlie brown trees. they have a very seuss look to them, if you ask me. i...the non-xmas celebrator in the house...appear to be the only one excited about the tree and into the idea of decorating it. which is what i am going to probably do in a few minutes. if i don't find myself retreating to bed and reading russell's copy of "the art of hand reading." a couple of weeks ago, i was fascinated by the difference between virginia's palm and mine. today, i looked at russell's and his blew me away as well. what do we think of palm reading? i, for one, am all about it. what mysteries are held in the palm of our hands? i don't know yet. but, i hope to find out.

is anyone interested in using these free passes that i got for club one? they make some pretty wicked cosmos. 2 of them will knock your socks off...f'real.

new years' eve is fast approaching. omg. 2005. i don't even believe it.

Sunday, December 19, 2004

uhhh...
i get hungover way too easily these days.

i have to leave for work in 2 hours. maybe i should just go back to sleep for a little bit?

damn.


Thursday, December 16, 2004

sometimes i lose touch with reality...
after work today, i came home to find russell laying on the couch and chatting with his mom on his cell. so, i clunked him on the head and drug him to blockbuster. well, actually, i mean to say that i clucked him on the head, threw him in my car, propped up his slumped over body by way of the seat belt, and drove over to blockbuster. when he regained consciousness, we chatted in the parking lot for 45 minutes as if nothing had happened and spent god only knows how much time in blockbuster. unfortunately for him, he had to hear me rant about how much i hate lindsay lohan now. i mean, have you read the entertainment weekly article on her??? jesus.

earlier today i decided that i would be more productive at work if i had a big cup of coffee. so i went over to the giant and the 5 carafes of coffee were all empty (didn't bother with the 6th since it was decaf and would have defeated the whole purpose of drinking coffee). i asked the boy that i think is cute if more coffee could be made. he told me i had to go to the deli. the guy there was so nice but i was exasperated that i even needed to ask. normally, i really wouldn't care, but i shouldn't have even left the store to get this coffee. i waited and waited and before i knew it, a coworker was on break and noticed that i was staring off into supermarket space, when really i should have been at work. this moment occurred approximately 5 minutes after telling myself i had lost touch with reality. such is life. while waiting, i entertained the thought of applying for a job at the floral center there because i thought it would be neat to learn how to arrange and care for flowers. then i thought to myself, "won't it be great when you can afford to buy flowers every week?" i'll never get to that point if i keep taking jobs to learn how to do things that really don't matter all the much.

c'est la vie-j.

Monday, December 13, 2004

jaimedawg - is this funny to you??
sometime a few weeks ago at work, while listening to snoop dogg's "drop it like it's hot," i was munchin' on my lunch and getting down to the jizam when co-worker donald said, "you're a regular j.d."
"what, a jaime dawg?"
"no, you fool! a juveniule delinquent!!"

isn't it funny that the things that happen at work or in life will never be as funny when you retell them? maybe because they weren't that funny to begin with.

who knows?

anyway, to philly phil, thanks for tagging your love about the city. it is true, isn't it? philly pride sticks to your bones, no matter where you go.

as for my life the past week, busy working and when i haven't been, i've been reading "memoirs of a geisha." i'm nearly done so if anyone has a good book to recommend, tag it. also, attempted to go out to the le tigre show. after running around after work, showering, eating, driving to westminster and then to sonar...le tigre was a no show due to illness. instead, nishi and i just hung out a bit and danced and watched the lesbians on ecstasy to show which was so wack... lilith fair-esque covers dressed up in electro-punk. nuts, huh?

but, in the past few days, i have come up with a couple of inventions. they're all kind of silly, but i think useful. one is a life-like ear. when people come into the store, they want to try earrings on, but we have a policy against that. wouldn't it be great to put the earring into the fake ear and hold the ear up to your own? that way you can see how it looks on you, not how the earring looks on your ear, with a couple of your fingers next to it.

the other, was a back massager. built like an empty frame with rollers on one side that you would just roll up and down your back. i am sure there must be something already out there like this, but i haven't seen to many of them. i discovered this one by absentmindedly using a frame to massage my back.

one i've forgotten, and the last one is a real masterpiece and i would never dare post it on the internet because it is too cool.

that's it for now. time to hop in the car and hope i get to hear ciara's new cut "1, 2 step" on the way to fell's point. damn, i love that song! it's always reminded me of the dance jams that they would play at the rollerskating rink. and, i just saw the video and, lookie there! there are some dudes doing some old-school rollerskating moves! i wonder if ciara was a rollergirl, like me?

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

happy channukah, everyone!!
tonight, i ran into a superfresh on south street to buy channukah candles, gelt (chocolate coins), potato latke mix, and sour cream. the woman behind me saw all of my gelt and decided she wanted some too. we talked about the prices of the gelt and candles and a guy behind us shouted, "hurry it up folks! no reason for chatting! let's get on with this. no need for conversation!" and really, he was very upset and it made me sad that he was being so mean to this woman, and myself as well. i said under my breath, "he's not being very nice." mind you, he didn't let up, really. and, i know we were in the 10 or less line. but, can't two people chat for a moment to connect and reflect on this joyous holiday? people can really make me sad sometimes.

another holiday story: i lit the candles tonight in my mom's new apartment. but, first, we had to search through boxes upon boxes to get to the menorah (channukiah, really). and, i had to recite the prayer from memory because i didn't have a prayer book. but, the occassion seemed special, nonetheless and i feel like we added a little bit of warmth and good energy into the place. tonight, she will sleep there for the first time.

but, as a whole, my visit in philly was quite delightful. now that my mom has moved out of northeast philadelphia, i feel like i can finally close that chapter of my life. i have no connections to that neighborhood anymore. no house to come home to. and my visits to her will now be at 19th and JFK, in the heart of the city (literally...since it is 4 blocks from city hall). i am so happy for her, i feel like i could cry. and actually, as we were driving around the city (i was getting lost on purpose, just so that i could drive around and check on things), i did feel like i was going to cry because my heart felt so much love for my favorite city, my hometown. i love baltimore, it is true. but, there is something so electric about philadelphia. i know one day, i will return. hopefully, i will be able to convert others to come with me because i would hate to leave any of my beloved friends.

that's all for now. until next time - j.

Sunday, December 05, 2004

pixies
last night i saw the pixies. even thinking about this makes me shudder. last night...i...saw...the pixies. i just can't belive it. but, what i really can't believe was how amazingly good they were. they sounded terrific, the set was extremely tight and oh so long and i enjoyed every minute of it. they even sounded awesome when i went to the bathroom and they were being piped in through the elevator-like speakers they have in there. we were 6 rows from the stage. i don't think i have ever had such close seats before. but, at the beginning, i was one person from the actual stage itself. but, security made us all go back. being so close, i got to turn around and check out the crowd, which i did often. i love watching people at shows, but i love to see what the band sees. and that sea of humanity behind us was just fantastic. i just wish i saw more moving bodies. i don't know how you could just stand still and just watch the pixies play. i mean, the music would move you, obviously, but the idea of seeing them, the excitement and exhileration should be enough to get your body movin', if for just a bit.

the ride up and back was super fun. now, it's time to go to work and perhaps ride back to philly tonight, if i am not too tired. if not tonight, tomorrow then.

- j.