when the levee breaks
seriously, best song to listen to on the elliptical machine. i mean, i know led zeppelin may not be the first thing you think of when you want perfect music for the gym. madonna's new album was top on my list for a while, until i tried good old led zep, and...bam!!!...i'm in a whole new state of working out. totally awesome.

so, the funny thing about this weekend, was the fact that i found myself on two dates without even realizing it...and on the same night. man, how does one get to be so naive at my age? i make these assumptions that hanging out with a guy is hanging out with a guy, until you find that he's in a button down shirt with nice pants and even nicer shoes and you're in your tried and true blue jeans and the shirt you wear when you want to look nice and be super comfortable. and the next thing you know, he's buying you your drinks and giving you those tell tale signals of shoulder and waist touching and you're like, "what is happening here??" i'd get into more detail about the second date scene, but that's a whole other scenario i am still trying to piece together. i mean, i don't even know where to start, except for the fact that we would make the oddest pairing. grad student that totally has his shit together in the sort of way that makes you realize that you need to start reevaluating your own life and...oh, i don't even want to think about it.

mmmm....the smell of home cooked meal is bringing me back to the fact that i am at a friend's house. the most wonderful meal has been prepared.....mushroom risotto, pesto chicken, with ceasar salad. how perfect! while grating the parmasean cheese, i mentioned the whole zeppelin at the gym thing and since then, we have been listening nothing else but. it turns out, when the levee breaks is perfect for grating as well!!

okay, time to go. bye bye internet!

what is it about posting in the libary?
something about being sandwiched between people, the gentle pitterpatter of emails being written and hardcore fantasy gaming. it reminds me of the time i was in france and my friend jessica and i went to a cybercafe. it was probably the most surreal experience as the teenagers all came to play these shoot em up games amidst stale coffee and black light. curses abound as players were killed across the room from each other. sitting next to one, you fell somewhere in between of being in awe of the technology and annoyance at the waste of young life wasting away hours on absurdity. to read more, click http://iheart.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_iheart_archive.html#107348958231495164

in search of that post, i found another one written a little more than a year ago.
http://iheart.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_iheart_archive.html#110719711311181542
why is it that things haven't changed much? how can i be more like madonna when she says, "There's only so much you can learn in one place. The more that I wait, the more time that I waste" strong words, right? almost as good as, "i don't like cities, but i like new york, other places make me feel like a dork." but, getting back to that first quote, i really do feel like i am stuck in one place. i have been in baltimore now for quite some time, liking it, maybe loving it, but never feeling like it's my home. when i go back to philly, my heart comes to life and i feel energized. but, the problem is that i have sentenced myself to one more year at the job. 51 weeks left of this. something in me has died while working there, and i have no idea what it is. but, sometimes i think it's not necessarily the job, but just the whole working thing in general. does anyone out there REALLY love their 9 to 5? i mean, REALLY???

i have 4 minutes left and so i should go. i can't wait until i sort this whole laptop thing out and can do my blogging elsewhere......

near-death experience
coming out of the tiny alleyway next to my work, inching my way into the bustling street, i see a car coming straight at me. closer now, i can see the driver has a strange grin on his face and at that moment, i see my impending death, just as he nearly misses me and disappears around the corner. as my heart races in fear, i turn to see that the car that has just missed me, jumped the curb, and astoundedly, does not crash into the store front nor scrapes the car parked on the street, said car, belonging to my boss. car touching neither brick nor metal, the driver miraculously (and i mean this in every sense of the word) saves himself and his passengers from crashing straight into a wall or window and misses not one but two cars. what was the reason for all of this chaos? turns out, the brakes had given out on the driver. if it wasn't for his superior driving skills, there would certainly have been more than a few scratches on a few bodies today.

here comes your man
listening to the pixies on my new ipod nano at the towson library. i'm here to do a little research on used cars and laptops. i bought the nano on a whim and i love it, though i am already past 700 songs and it can only hold 1000. but it's so tiny and light and is so perfect for the gym and fits so easily and weightlessly in my purse.

the used car bit is kind of scary. i've got a nice car now, but i made arrangements with my mom that i would let her have this one when her car breaks down or doesn't pass inspection and it appears that we are at that point so i am looking into getting an old volvo or saab. consumer reports doesn't give these 2 cars too high of a rating, but volvo and saab owners seem to be so happy with their cars. maybe i should start looking into something else instead. i don't know. and the laptop, well, that's years of missed channukah gifts getting cashed in.

the problem with all the above is that i can never make any decisions. i have to research everything to the fullest until i feel totally satisfied that i'm making the best choice possible. i don't really know anyone else like this. most people just pick out what they like, but not me. i'm still looking at digital cameras since they appeared on the market and still haven't found one that i like.

anyway, i better go. this is my day off and yet work just called on the cell phone. ugh.

coffee house b*tches
i go to this coffee house near my work from time to time to get myself a little breakfast and coffee, both of which are usually quite good. the irritation of this morning ritual stems from the two girls who run the shop, who will not pay attention to you unless you ooze money and are a big tipper or are young, handsome, and male. it's particularly disgusting the way they flirt with the men that come in. i mean, really pathetic. especially when it's within a minute of them practically flinging my coffee cup at me. now and then, i see them talk to young women in work attire and they usually know them and so they're nice to them. but there is this sort of twinge of animosity that they always bestow upon these patrons, a twinge of jealousy in their eyes when they ask, "so, what are you doing now? ohhhh, you're still at that job. huh, i thought you left that." is their only reason for working in this coffee shop to drool over hot guys and berate people like me for not knowing where i can pick up my biscotti? i refuse to feel guilty that i actually have a job other than serving coffee. and truthfully, and i really mean this, i don't think there is anything wrong with working in a coffee shop. i think it's the perfect place if you're a writer/musician/artist/adjunt teacher/whatever job requires flexibility. i think working in a coffee shop is cool, a la bridget fonda in singles. in any case, if i had one tip for these girls, i would say don't treat me like crap because i am female. or because i do the 9-5. or because i can't leave you big wads of cash. just respect me for who i am and i'll totally respect you. instead of sitting here and blogging about it.