Er?

I dig the bullet form I've developed lately so here it goes again.

1) Don Imus fired. Right or wrong? I'm thinking wrong cause it ain't cool that only some people can say certain words, and that should be the issue addressed. Suspended longer than two weeks? Definitely a transgression worthy of a lengthy suspension but not a firing

2) NO MORE SANJAYA!!!!

3)Rosie O'Donnell has had enough of her View

4) The Inferno is lame. Too many crazy people from recent seasons.

5) Andy the Actor was on AMC this week. Word up to him, fantastic job

6) Very first "Professional Appreciation Day". Got myself a couple of very unexpected gifts.

7) There was something that was totally on my mind that i wanted to discuss and now i cannot remember what it was. Damn I hate getting old. Shoot. Maybe I'll have to do a quick double post when I get refreshed.

Breaking News....

1) Lance Bass is gay?! Who saw that one coming?
2) Larry Birkhead is the baby daddy. Gotta say I feel bad for Howard Stern. I think he's kinda scummy, but I also think he actually believed he was the father so that's gotta suck
3) Most shocking news of all: Tori Spelling's boobs are REAL. Definitely did not see that revelation coming, but sure enough she talks about breastfeeding in last week's People. And unless her kid is on a silicone supplemented diet, that means that she has not been "enhanced" like so many, including myself, believed
4)Ran into a new snafu with my cake business. Haven't quite figured out how I would ship some items that require refrigeration. I know it is doable, I just haven't put it together in a feasible fashion for me
5)Don Imus was fired. This isn't really a good forum but I tend to think that this should not have happened. A two week suspension was not right, but neither was firing him. I do find the hypocrisy somewhat enjoyable to watch when Sharpton and Jesse Jackson get involved and people for the most forget the hurtful things that they have said about other groups. Even jumping on the bandwagon with no evidence in calling the Duke Lacrosse player rapists. Also enjoy when Oprah gets involved. Don't get me wrong, she does a lot of good. But, Lord help you if you are on her show and she disagrees with your point of view, particularly when it comes to race relations. It's like you don't exist on the show. Check out a tape of the Crash cast's visit to the Oprah show and you can watch her shut Don Cheadle and Ludacris out of the conversation because she didn't like what they had to say.

Stay tuned, sometime this week I shall have my list of company names posted.

My thoughts on the patella

This one is for you JW!

To the left is a picture of the "knee" with all the ligaments, tendons, and bones involved. It really is an intricate piece of work this part of the body. You need the lateral and medial components to work in harmony in order to be pain free. Gain too much lateral muscle strength and OUCH. Have a medial tendon that is too tight? Double OUCH OUCH.

Why do I know so much about the knee? What is my fascination? Well I started to have some patella issues when I was in high school. No one could tell me what was going on. Many theories abound and I was forced to endure some pretty humiliating treatments. Like when the trainer thought I was accident prone and insisted I wear a giant pad on my knee so when I fell it wouldn't hurt. that was dead sexay! In fact, it got so bad that the trainer I became closest too told me how proud he was that I made it through four years of athletics because he had doubts on whether I would tolerate or give in to the pain. Unfortunately, when i went to the doctor, I naturally was not experiencing any pain so he could not help. He took an X-Ray and told me to come back if the pain returned. The crunching sounds whenever I bent my knee were pretty nauseating but with a variety of therapies I muscled through. Flash forward to junior year of college. I am diligently working out on an Elliptical when I feel a popping sensation on the left side of my left knee. Finished out the work out, limping slightly. The next day I wasn't so much walking as hobbling. My parents flew me home for spring break where I had my first encounter with Doc Feel Good. He manipulated my leg causing a snap in three separate locations. Unprepared for this he proceeded to do this 4 more times. Needless to say I left in worse condition. I did the PT thing, were I increased my knowledge cause I talked to the therapists about what was going on and they liked talking to me since I was one of the few who was under the age of 65. Did the surgery thing. Did PT at school for 2 weeks and then the pain increased again. Therapist sends me home for re-evaluation. Dr. Feel Good has no clue and claims my bod is "healing funny". Therapist does not like this and sends me for second opinion in DC. Second Doc Feel Good offers to break my leg, shave it done and screw it back in place. Ummmm, no thanks. Third Doc thinks its a ligament thing and offers to begin an injection therapy to rebuild some cartilage. Something like every three months for the rest of my life....I'm 22 at this point. Again no thanks. Once again the parentals fly me home and set me up with the Doc who fixed A Wash's arm back in the day. This man is a genius!!! He takes a look at what was done before, is appalled that I was told not to move for two weeks following surgery. We do the MRI, Xray thing again and schedule surgery. While he's in there he does the same surgery as before and finds that some how my Meniscus was knicked and the scar tissue seems to have shifted everything out of place. He also discovers that because of the damage my cartilage is in a stage two deterioration state. Meaning that by the age of 24 he has told me that I need to officially limit keeping my knees in a bent state, jumping and kneeling. Werd! However, he also says that since I'm a PT master, I do not need to go back I just must begin my self therapy withing two days of surgery. End result? I am a healed woman and only feel excruciating pain when it rains and not constantly.

So JW. You say that you have lateral pain when you ride the bike? You say you have a brace. My first question will be do you have the correct brace? This is important. My second question is the positioning of your feet when you pedal. You are a bit pigeon toed when you walk so you need to be sure the your feet are not bent inward on the pedal or this could cause pain. The third question is where the pain is exactly, depending on the answer to this there are exercises that you can do that may alleviate this pain. Hope that helps:)

Mo, I did not include Loki cause I was never such a big fan of his and I'm not sure where he wound up. However, I'm sure that Buddy and Samson are becoming very interesting friends.

Matzah for everyone!!!!

With the spring comes my least favorite tribal holiday...Passover. Now don't get me wrong, the story behind the holiday is pretty rad when you think of biblical epics but I'm not down with the cardboard aka Matzah. A huge part of the holiday is called the Seder, this is when everyone gathers together over dinner and recounts the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Like I said, a very deep and meaningful story. This year, like all years in recent memory, we went to our good friend's the Mo's house. The Mo's are like family to me and I was thrilled to hear that the newest Mo would be brining her family cause they are all great folk too. Good times and good eats and even the people I don't have a liking for were relatively well behaved.
I brought a dessert for all to enjoy. A hard feat during this holiday because of the dietary restrictions related to the holiday. For all you goyem out there. Since my people were fleeing from Egypt there was no time to bake or cook food to prepare for the trip. In remembrance of this, we do not partake of anything leavened, no flour, no grains...etc. Thus baking typically involves many many many eggs and many many many visions of a heart attack on a plate. To avoid this, i make a cheesecake with low fat products and make a crust out of coconut macaroons. Nice lil cheat, don't ya think? Anywho, during dessert Jen once again mentioned that I could sell my wares. Now given that i'm not entirely thrilled with my latest career path, I have seriously started thinking about this. I priced out some shipping materials and decorating things while frame shopping at Michaels and AC Moore and i think it is totally doable. Now all i need is a name. Suggestions are welcome and when I have a list of 10 I shall post it and allow the voting to commence. Then the world shall be able to enjoy Taryn's Tasty Treats :)

The other thing I couldn't help but notice at Seder were the wedding pictures all around the house. I felt very proud that several of the framed and prominently placed were pictures were ones that I had personally taken! Very flattering. The next time I get some unexpected cash, I think i'll finally go and get that SLR camera I've been wanting and take a class. I keep getting emails from digital photography courses that I had contacted about new classes and locations and it could be very convenient once I get my act together.

Today is Easter. I know this is a big deal to the Christian world but I guess I still don't understand why it is that the only two days that everything is closed fall on the holiest of Christian holidays. Surely, there are enough employees of non-Christian faith that could keep the shoppes up and running. Ah well, guess that just forces me into doing some hard core cleaning that I've been avoiding for weeks.

Got an email from this GS Breeder today. He is desperately trying to sell his last male puppy before another litter arrives. This new litter's arrival is imminent. So soon that dude has already knocked off $700 from the first quote he gave me. Sounds somewhat fishy to me, but i guess the cold weather prevented people from grabbing them all. Of course the last time we got the last pup left in a litter it worked out very well, but the price is still a bit over what i'm willing to spend right now. Plus, i'm still not entirely sure i'm ready

I have finally caught up in my movie watching. I'm not so capable of Karpian reviews though so I will not attempt to provide a review because I'd bore you all to tears. At least those of you that are still reading...but now I have seen The Departed, Blood Diamond, Rocky Balboa, and The Holiday.

Lastly, once again I was not the lucky lotto winner so I must continue working at my job and probably not be able to blog as regularly. Partly because the site is blocked and partly cause I don't have as much free time at work as I used to. I'll try to keep it up better than I have been.

4 weeks til san fran

Everything I need to know I learned from my perro

So first of all, I would like to thank people for extending their sadness over the loss of Samson. I know he wasn't the most popular dog in the neighborhood, but he meant a lot to me and my family and he it means a lot that people can understand that.

I understand that there are five stages of grief. In fact, the OC this season apparently did a funny episode about these stages as one character mourned the death of her bff. Well, I can definitely say that I saw myself moving through three of these stages.
1) Denial: Denial is more than a river in Egypt as they like to say. I cannot count for you the number of times that I have returned home and expected to see my furry greeter awaiting me on the top of the steps or how many times i've taken an absurdly large leap out of my bed to avoid my furry roommate sleeping beside my bed.
2) Anger: Boy was I angry. I was angry at our local vet for not catching the heart defect. I was angry that she led me to believe that he would be okay and was suzy sunshine instead of adequately preparing me for the more distressing possibility that an 11 year old dog in respiratory distress was probably not a good thing. anyone that encountered me on the road can probably attest to my anger level which was hovering at a code blood red for a few days.
3)Acceptance: I have accepted that I shall not see Samson for a long time. I have accepted that he is now frolicking in doggie heaven with Shayna and Muffin and I'm curious which one of them has established themselves as alpha dog. I have also accepted that he will always be watching over me and shall continue our pact to keep me safe.

So in moving forward with my sadness I have chosen to remember the things that Samson taught me. You may remember that I once wrote of the unconditional love of a puppy. That was the first gift from Samson. You can never love too much or too hard. Second, anything that can come out of the digestive tract can go in it without worry. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs. Says who? Samson had good taste and would grab Godiva chocolates whenever he could. No ill effects. He also ate a brillo pad with no effect except a very interesting shade of elimination for a few days. Thirdly, if you have gas don't sweat it. Let it out discreetly and then be the first to accuse someone else of having done it and walk out of the room in disgust. Fourth, it is perfectly reasonable to be picky about your associates. Furthermore, it is perfectly okay to not associate yourself with everyone and anyone. It is better to have a few close friends that you truly like than be "nice" to everyone and their mother and not like any of them :) Fifth, it is okay to ask for and take help when you need it. In his golden age, samson realized that he was not the young pup he used to be. He was willing, despite his better judgment, to take help from me in helping him up the stairs or tending to his wounds or even take care of his smelly accidents that required some baby wipes. It is not a sign of weakness to need help. This is one of the most crucial lessons he taught me. Lastly, the world can be your toilet as long as you take care to be discreet about it.

I went to Buddy Dog to visit my friend Titus and was instead taken aback. I was petting my buddy when I heard footsteps behind me. I had not seen a dog in the run across from Titus. I slowly turned my head and there was a Black German Shepherd staring back at me. A friendly reminder from my baby that he was still watching me.

So while my inner and outer wounds are not healed completely, I am on my way and thats all you can ask for.


PS: My brackets are complete crap this year. Thanks a lot DJ Strawberry.

RIP

Samson Washkowitz
March 1996-March 2007

Apparently we did not have as much time left together as I had thought. I'll be peacing out of the blog scene while I grieve a loss that most will not understand.

Sell Out

I hate to admit it, but I have finally sold out. I was offered a permanent position at the company I've been temping at. Based on the concept of benefits and a guaranteed salary, I caved to this offer. I must say that I've been second guessing myself ever sense. I have less than zero interest in this field nor do I see myself getting a spark of inspiration. This "training" week has stressed me out more than I can ever remember being. I do not stress over this kind of thing easily. Case in point? Brother JW and wife Yan have a wedding in March while I was in grad school. No biggie you say, spring break. Alas, the scheduling did not work out and instead of spending my spring break chillin in LA and celebrating, I wind up having to bring some reading material to prep for my comprehensive exam that I have to take one day after returning on a red eye flight. so wha??? I partied with my Jamaican brethren and enjoyed every minute of (once my luggage arrived of course). So what if I didn't fully pass the first time around, no biggie at all. Second time works for me and I have the degree to prove it. So anywho, my point is that it is not ME to stress over this kind of business which should tell you a lot. I'm somewhat overwhelmed with the feeling that I gave up on myself a lil too early and was lured by the health insurance since I was recently informed of the expense of my needed individual policy. If the folks didn't rock I would be straight out. Needless to say this week has felt like months already. Everytime, I get up to do something I come back and there are more piles for me things to do. Things that I don't even know what they mean, let alone know how to process. Ugggggh.

Also falling into the sad category is that Sammy Wammy has taken a turn. He shall make it to the golden age of 11 in a few weeks, but whether he'll be around by Turkey Day is seeming less and less likely and that makes me sadder than I can even say. But until the day when he decides he's had enough, we shall enjoy the remaining time together. Especially once this stupid ice melts away and he can bathroom without risk of hurting himself.

Peace out, I must try to collect myself before starting another day of "training"

Deuce

So I've had a lot of time to form my opinions...about a quarter century and this is the conclusion I've come to when describing the differences between girls and boys. Boys are messy but girls are dirrrrrrtay. Allow me to state my case. I worked for the Dept of Athletics at GW for six years so as luck would have it, I got to spend a lot of time in the men's and women's locker rooms for work purposes. There may also be an incident regarding the men's and women's basketball team locker rooms, but I digress. In my years of management at LHWC, I couldn't help but notice some things. One, the men's room had a certain stank quality about the air. There were several more incidents of thievery that occurred in the men's locker room. But here's the thing, if you plugged your nose, you never wanted to vomit from anything you would see in there. Girls? Holy crapido batman but girls can be nasty in locker rooms. I have a theory that i'll put forth later. Girls have a lot more hair than boys, meaning that there tends to be a lot of shedding. Well, seeing balls of gnarly hair in the floor and in the shower is certainly cringe inducing but nothing can top the fact that women have a certain monthly visitor. Sadly, I cannot count on all of my appendages the number of times that I would come across certain artifacts that would attest to the fact that members of our facility were currently having one of these visits. That is GROSS. Nasty. No true word can describe the vileness of leaving stuff like this in a public place. I'm a woman, i get it, but damn people it's called a trash can, use it. I also found a greater tendency for random nakedness and overflowing toilets.

But this is why I bring up the issue today. Today I went to use the lavatory and was shocked to discover a floater in the toilet I was about to use. YUCK, so I said "Yuck" and promptly moved on to another stall. While I was "indisposed" I heard no less than two other women come in, say similar statements and also use other stalls. Now this raises a couple of issues. One, who the hell leaves a floater? I mean really, how do you not know that you've left a man behind? You don't like germs and touching the handle, but you've got feet use them. Second, why did I and all the other women feel compelled to comment on the nastiness, but not do anything to resolve the situation. Eventually, someone is going to flush it but why did we delay it? Very strange but I find myself acting that way every time it happens. I don't flush probably because I'm not into cleaning up other people's messes. Plus if the floater's mommy didn't want to say goodbye, who am I to intervene?

Theory time: Women make a mess of locker rooms and public restrooms because they never get to let loose in their homes. Women are supposed to be tidy, so I would imagine that most women spend an inordinate amount of time making sure their personal lavatories are in fantastic condition. Therefore, when they are not responsible for the cleaning, they do all of the things that they would never do at home. Men? Well they're not really responsible for cleaning are they? So they act the same in public facilities as they would at home, cause they are used to having someone to clean up after them.

On a serious note

I would be remiss if I did not mention the new arrival to my family. Sister in law Yan and JW proudly welcomed Zen to the world on Valentines Day. Congrats go to them and well wishes of a speedy recovery to the mama after surgery. Pics are posted on Wash's website (see link on the side). Sadly I shall not be able to contribute photos until sometime in May.

This blog is all about things that are important to me, so don't read if you don't care :)

First off, here's a link to my buddy Beth's website MS Walk


Take a look and see what you think. It's definitely a good cause to think about.
Also good places that mean a lot to me include the MSPCA and two local dog shelters, though I may revoke one of them if they don't acknowledge my contribution so I will have tax stuff. Instead the nearest and dearest cause can be accessed through the German Shepherd Rescue site. It is a truly heart wrenching story about Wade the white GS who has lived a very painful life, but continues to remain a joy to his foster family. Due to his medical and emotional issues he has been enrolled in doggie day care with his foster brother and this is a very expensive commodity. Any and all donations to this group are much appreciated and I know I shall be going to the site after my next check or after my tax refund, whichever comes first.


I'm sad to report that a MA senator has tried to introduce legislation requiring 12 year old girls to have the Gardacil vaccine. I think this is a mistake. Cervical Cancer is not a communicable disease, therefore the government should stay out of the whole debate. It is a choice that each individual family should have the ability to make.

Enough soapbox for me...until next time folks

What the?

So in my head I've written like 5 blog entries this week. Imagine my surprise to realize that I have not actually committed thought to paper (or internet) for any of these inspirations. Thus, the following will probably contain more serious material than I typically cover and have a variety of topics that are unrelated except for them resonating in my brain.

-Some Texas mayor or governor has decided to mandate the Gardicil vaccination for girls aged 12 in the school system. Gardicil is the new vaccine for the HPV virus which is an STD. However, recent research has also shown that the HPV virus is also directly connected to something like 75% of cervical cancer patients. That is how this man is able to dictate vaccinating girls against an STD. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against the vaccine, I'm even in the process of getting it myself cause I'm not down with having cancer. BUT, that does not mean I condone the "man" forcing young girls into getting this vaccination. Unlike say Diptheria, Whooping Cough, or TB that are public health issues. There won't be an outbreak if the vaccine isn't taken, and that's why I think it's crap to force young girls into taking it. It should be a personal decision between a girl and her parents without the government butting in. You can't force a vaccination based on gender, it's just not right and I find myself doubting how many parents of boys will be okay with a shot to prevent cervical cancer. I guess I just don't get why the government is always trying to control what women do with their bodies.

-RIP Anna Nicole Smith. I don't really understand why I know who you are or why everyone is so fascinated with you, but I do hope that in death you find the peace that you apparently never found in life. Does anyone else find it strange that the same cocktail of prescription meds were found in room as were found on her son? I'm thinking that there is some kind of foul play going on here. The Who's the Daddy business with her daughter is getting nasty too. The lawyer for Birkhead is bizzaro and comes across as very mean and not really helping her client if you ask me. It is in extremely poor taste to demand DNA from a dead woman in a paternity case. The baby came from Anna Nicole Smith, no one disputes that so let the damn woman have some peace! I think it is very sad that Anna Nicole Smith so closely emulated her idol Marilyn Monroe all the way to the grave.

-I've got a somewhat stable job. I say somewhat because technically it is a contract job...aka a temp job without the agency. No benefits but a better pay than I've gotten anywhere else. I'm back at the first place I temped and it's pretty cool because I know the people, i know the general work atmosphere and I do like it there. My main beef is that communication is severely lacking in this place and that is extremely frustrating to me because I come from a work environment at GW that emphasized communication as being a pivotal facet of the work place. All in all, it's not the worst thing to have an issue with and i know I can adjust it just gets frustrating some times...that and the fact that I get crap from people calling on a regular basis.

-I did get my app off to the fellowship I had intended to apply to. How did my references screw me over? I needed three references as part of the package, I sought three references and got three confirmations. I explained that I wanted the letters sent to my house with a signed seal by Jan 25 because there was a Feb 2nd due date. January 25 comes and goes and only one of my references has sent a letter (naturally the only female in the group). I go to a GW, URI bball game down at URI and who should I see? One of the guys who kept telling me that he was "travelling" and would write it when he got back to campus. Say wha?? Now travelling in Poland or travelling for Prof business I get, but when I see you at a basketball game nearly 500 miles from campus when you don't have time to write my letter? That I ain't cool with. Especially, since I emphasized that if you don't have the time to write the letter to let me know and I would find someone else. Once I confronted him about being caught, he was very quick in offering to overnight the letter to me. My last letter also did not arrive. My good buddy Rick was going to do it. I knew it was a stretch because he very recently began a new job as an Executive Director and I thought he might be too busy. Lucky for me, since i was back at WFG i was able to ask the woman who I essentially worked for to write a back up letter. She agreed and wrote a nice letter....boom bam done got my three letters, got an old copy of a transcript, got an essay and I was in business. Even got a certified confirmation of its arrival.

-applying for a potentially cool job back in DC. Only problem is I'm completely dependent on an old acquaintance who is seeming less than dependable. She was all telling me to hurry and get her my stuff via email, which I did after some new fangled cover letter writing and now I've been asking for her to confirm that she was able to open my attachments and that she delivered them to the appropriate people and she can't write back. UGGGGGHHHH!!! Too bad none of my good friends are in my field and only people i kinda know

-also debating going to an open casting call for background folk who look like they could still be in college. Hi, have you met me? I'm all over that. So if you need me, that's where I shall be next Saturday.

PS, Zen will be arriving in T minus 3 days

Bad Guys: 3 Good Guys: 2

This has been a rough week for the good guys

First blow? Wes the ass from Austin won the male Duel. This is awful for a variety of reasons. Most of all cause he's a cocky ass and somehow managed to con his way to the final. Makes me upset to see him win over Brad who while he has his moments isn't mean for the sake of being mean. I'm not sure why Wes thinks he's all that and a bag of chips but now that he's won a Challenge I'm sure he's about to become more unbearable on tv. Note to MTV, leave him off challenges, he's just an ass not the kind that are fun to watch on tv, I don't love hating him, I just hate him.

Second? Marcel made it to the finals of Top Chef. I tend to think that this is one of those passes that the producers of the show gave to keep it interesting. You know how they always have these disclaimers on reality tv that producers get to contribute to the outcome of the show. Well, dude is definitely not as a talented as the other chefs. Furthermore, the previous season they emphasized that attitude and demeanor in the kitchen was part and parcel of being a "Top Chef" and now they say they don't care that he tries to ruin other people's dishes. I don't even care who wins now.

Third? Uggggh, evil Peyton Manning staged an amazing comeback and ruined my season. I mean I applaud them for coming from behind by 18 to win one, but still the bad guys won. Well, not even bad guys just bad guy. I have no beef with Tony Dungy or Reggie Wayne or even Marvin Harrison. It's just manning that pisses me off. Blech. I suppose I could've expected nothing else since the Pats were ravaged by the Boston flu bug right before the game. At least they made it interesting and didn't just completely give up.

Good stuff?
1)Jodi beat the evil Russian Svets on the Duel. I liked Svets, and I really wanted to like her but like I've mentioned she started copping this tude with other people that was unwarranted and perhaps showed her real colors. Yeah for Road Rules Jodi for winning one of these

2) Awww G-Dub! Awwww G-Dub! After being disappointed to discover that the Buff and Blue are officially the Number one school in the country for expense it was awesome to see Dokun and the colonials on Saturday beat the Rhodies! Especially since the boys I know were a big part of the reason why they won. It was a nail biter and me and big papa took the adventure down to URI and it was well worth it.

That's about it for me. I have recently realized that my references have screwed me over and I shall not be able to apply for the fellowship I had been planning on applying for. Veddy Sad, but perhaps just as well cause I think they are looking for a minority to be their fellow.

Kibbitz Korner

Some thoughts of mine from the last few days. I've been wicked sick so I've had some time to contemplate a wide range of topics:

1) PATS going to the AFC championship game again. Werd!!! All you haters out there can kiss it. It might have been ugly and there is a good argument that the better team did not win on Sunday, but guess what??? The team with the most heart did win. The Pats didn't give up....EVER. Look at Troy, look at Hobbs, look at Brady having arguably one of his worst games and turning it into one for the memories. The Bolts had tons of chances to put it away and they choked, plain and simple. Now LT is being a big ass baby and complaining about the lack of class of the Patriots. Excuse me LT! I get that you're upset cause you're the MVP and your team put on quiet a show for the year even though your QB could use some more seasoning but methinks you have no place to comment on class. None of the Pats got arrested during the season. That is setting a good example to the kids, unlike your teammates. The Pats never prevented fans of the opposing team from attending a game, unlike your team. The Pats never planned a Super Bowl parade BEFORE they even got to the Big Game, unlike your team. (ummm has anyone out there even heard of Karma? Paging Mama McNabb) And last but not least....and this applies to several teams....perhaps y'all will think twice before you start talking smack in the media about the opposition. Take a note. All the Pats do every week is talk about what a tough game they face...even when it is a huge stretch to take the opposition seriously. All the Bolts did was talk trash about the Patriots. LT, before you start talking about a classless coach and team maybe you should start keeping your own peeps in check.

2)The Real World/Road Rules Duel is my guilty tv pleasure. Well, to be honest there are several lower quality shows that make their appearance on my tv screen, but this is the one I'm embarrassed about. I've got to say it. Wes is a grade A assh&*e. He sucks, he's a mean bastard who is borderline abusive to his girlfriend and has less than zero respect for woman. Check that, dude has no respect for anyone that is not him. He mocked a guy for not making it onto a Real World cast, but let's establish something. By making one challege, Kenny is now equally as famous as Wes. Even better, Kenny is famous for being funny and athletic and Wes is famous for being a horny bastard that made a groupie drawer and verbally abused his partner. Why the hate? Because somehow this guy has made the finals of both challenges he has been on because he's too good at being manipulative, and it pisses me off. The world would be far better off if they entire Austin cast (except for that military nurse, she was semi normal) just disappeared. Hope San Diego Brad wins it all. By the same token, I hope Svets gets hit in the head. I felt bad for the girl in Key West cause I thought everyone was just mean to her. But what a Biotch. She betrayed her only friend on the season by saying that she'd let her pick the last duel and then going with the one she wanted to do instead. I hope and I feel good that Jodi will pull out the win.

3) 24 is baaaaaaaaaaaaack and Jack Bauer is an animal. I'm not so squeamish with violence but man oh man did 24 make quiet the impression in the season opener. I'm personally blessed with the fangs so at least I have a feasible option if I ever get abducted by terrorists for escaping. Just bite the carotid artery and spit it out on the ground. Word!

4)Why was Beyonce nominated for Best Actress Golden Globe? I've seen DreamGirls and there is really no way to say that Deena was the lead female. I would say that Effie was more of a lead character myself. Nor was Beyonce all that great in the movie. don't get me wrong, she was good and I think it was more the character that I didn't like but no way should she be nominated as a Lead Actress.

5)This dude dressed as Apollo Creed just showed up to audition for American Idol. Yes people American Idol is back. Sweet!!!

When it rains.....

I'm thinking it might be time to give up my blonde ambitions. Clearly, the lightened hair color has affected the way people perceive me. Hate to break it to all you haters, but guess what? I'm not a dumbass. SHOCKING!!! The other day a gentleman at the place I currently temp at felt it necessary to point out to me where a postmark is on an envelope. Are you serious? Not to toot my own horn, but most likely I've accrued more educational information in my pinkie than a significant portion of the people who treat me like a bimbo. It's not like i was twirling my hair on my finger or sticking my hip out and emitting a high pitch tone in my voice. Nope, apparently I just look like I require help in putting two coherent words together. Piiishaww.

In other fun temping news, I was berated not once but twice but a gentleman while I was working the switchboard today. Dude took issue with company policy about not transferring to a specific person without a contact name. "Dude, it's not my policy I just have to do what I'm told". He starts blabbing on about some technological doo hickey and that he needs help. I key in on the word "HELP" and transferred him to the help hotline. Not 10 seconds later, dude calls back and starts yelling at me that i'm not listening to him and i'm not being helpful and that he wants my name. I happily give it to him, (fully knowing that he, like everyone else will probably refer to me as Karen or Sharon or anything except my actual name), and then try to listen to him again. Came thisclose to letting him know my feelings about his phone manners, but instead apologized that he felt that the policy was not helping him. Then he starts bringing up the doo hickey again, so I offer to send him to a sales hotline. Thankfully this either appeased him or he gave up...either way I was satisfied with him being gone.

Exciting news: Two job offers AND an interview that had nothing to do with the offers....AND a call from a place I applied to.....yesterday. Now that's the kind of response I've been waiting for.

Laslty, my San Fran trip has been delayed a bit. Yan, it's not that I don't want to come out for el bebe or that I can't financially. But by spreading out the Washkowi travel plans you get more assistance over a greater period of time. Plus old man Sam really shouldn't be in a kennel for long anymore. Takes him way to long to work out his old man bones after that. I'll be out sooner rather than later. :) No worries, you know how I like to hold my babies

Beyonce saves the day

Great googilee moogilee do I have great timing. Brother AWash has been bugging me about how I seem to be working during his days off. Apparently me actually being employed crimps his style a bit, so being the good sister I am I requested an additional day off last week. And boy oh boy what a good thing it is that they like me there. StayWash's car is "undrivable" in the words of a frustrated mechanic. Unfortunately somebody driving Awash's car drove over a nail thus putting his car out of commission on Thursday too. He calls me as he is pulling into the tire place to request a pick up in exchange for breakfast. I hop in the shower and go get him. Off to bfast and then I take him to Norwood to help reform up the A-OK moving service. However, Mr. A Wash doesn't like listening to directions all the way through and we came to a T Bone intersection. "Left or right?", I ask. Cue Beyonce's "irreplacable"..... AWash says, "well if B says 'To the left, to the left', I guess we should go left". And she knew of what she spoke. We arrived in Norwood to move some of Chris' stuff into a truck. I was not super helpful as she lived on the third floor and after a few trips the good ole bionic knee started wobbling. So i helped to clean up cat hair. then it was back to the dirty nat to pick up AWash's car and a trip out to medway. Upon arrival, Awash finally decides to ask if I have issues with highway driving, after leading me down the pike and 495.....for the record I do not have highway issues but i don't really like having to follow people on the highway. Back in medway to finally see the new abode and somewhat assist in unpacking. Get fed with pizza and cookies and I'm on my way. Luckily, the two cats did not cause any issues this time. Back on the highway to go home. Very eventful day off, too bad I didn't get to make the two calls I needed to make. Ah well.

UPDATE: Scheduling a phone interview with a local company and have secured my third letter of recommendation for DC fellowship

It's hard out here for a temp....

Long time no write. Sheesh have i had some computer issues over the last few weeks. That coupled with a new temping assignment where I (gasp) did not have access to the internet means that I haven't written for quite some time.

First things first, some shout outs:

-Many thanks to all Washes big and small for making a lovely (and lucrative) Hanukkah season. Big papa came through HUGE and provided me with a new laptop that shall not crimp my style like the old school Sony I had been sporting
-A thanks to M.Karp for a nice message thanking me for pics, very nice to hear people appreciating my work
-Many apologies to YaWash, I know you're supposed to be relaxin and how can you do so without some quality reading material? I'm baacccck so no worries no more

Still haven't heard from the folks at "Hazelnut High" about my compensation. I proposed them purchasing the texts from each course that they discarded my notes.....I don't think they're down with that since it's gonna reach about $200 but it'd be nice if they responded.
Secured 2/3 of the recommendations that I need for a fellowship that I am applying for. I don't have a good feeling about this one because I think they are hoping to hire a minority but seeing as disqualifying on account of my race would be "illegal" I'm trying to keep positive. Haven't heard from the human capital analyst that I applied to which I tend to think means that I'm not being considered but it is an awkward time of year for hiring so who knows?
My latest assignment as taken me to Wellesley Hills where I've been entering serial numbers for the new Charlie Cards (cause Boston has finally joined the rest of the country in establishing a card system for mass transit). There are three other temps. Let's just say that only of them made work more bearable. Cool chick who is getting married so we chatted about all things wedding (still in the mode). Lucky for us we even got put in our own area, but I think we irritated people with our chatting cause a lot of doors tended to close around us. Sadly she had other jobs so she wasn't always around. As for the other two? Well, one is in her early thirties and has two kids. A psychologist may say this would cause some stunted maturity since she was taking care of her kid during her youth. This may account for some of her less desirable work ethic traits. This girl got all kinds of praise that first day she was around cause she could type fast, but she didn't think to keep the cards in order (which FYI is the second most important aspect of the task), then she would come and go as she pleased. Then she thought it would be fun to roam around our boss's personal computer...NOT COOL. Plus, this chick would keep telling stories that make me wonder if she is aware that she is no longer 22. She has actually used duct tape to bind her "tummy" in while she went clubbing. YOWZA. And the topper? She asked me how my Christmas was. I told her that I was of the Tribal religion which didn't seem to register with her because she didn't know that us "Tribal Folk" do not celebrate the birth of Christ. What person over the age of 6 doesn't realize that not everyone celebrates Christmas? I mean really in this PC age. Then there's the boy. He's still a teenager, thinks it cool to show up to work in a hoodie and eat all of the office's food. More importantly, he thinks that when he's sick or otherwise unable to come to work that it is acceptable to call me and have me talk to our boss. Um, no! Dude lives down the street from me which means i've been driving him to and from work with a promise of gas payment. Too bad he got canned before giving me this gas card. I say good riddance though cause he made everything he was involved in waaaaaaaaaaaay too complicated....
I think that does a good job of bringing everyone up to date. Now that i'm all fancy and wireless I promise to do better with the updating.

Adios for now.

Hazlenut High School

So in the words of Meredith Grey I was trying to be bright and shiny Taryn. Thought I'd try out the whole bright attitude mantra to see if good things would soon come my way because of my outstanding karma. But peeps keep getting in my way and ruining bright shiny Taryn.

Example 1: My last temping gig was at "Hazelnut High", a local artsy fartsy (or "performing arts" private school). My duty was data entry which is muy boring but whatever, such is the life of a temp. Problemo #1, once again I must deal with the immediate assumption that since I am a temp I must be a bimbo. Naturally, the blonde hair doesn't help this case and I must smile nicely while realizing that I most likely have more education under my belt than any of them will aspire to (that's what it is good to be a master, you shall see JK)....Problemo #2, the desk I am assigned is not designed very well and in the first day I lose sensation in my wrists and develop a nagging crick whenever i move them. I ask for a notebook to prop the keyboard on and in response I am given a floppy covered one. Guess how much support this gives. So the next day and for the remainder of my time I bring in my own personal hardcover notebook that I had in grad school and which contained a culmination of notes from my favorite/most interesting courses. Great! Stupendous! I make fabu progress on their boring project. Then the dude whose desk I was using asked if I would mind moving to a laptop since it was his last couple of days and he needed to straighten it. Sweet, laptops rock! So I move onto a dell laptop in my own private office. My last day was on Friday and I hear them crack open an alcoholic beverage or two to celebrate the dude and also make fun of students (seemingly a favorite pasttime of people in education) while I work. Five pm arrives and I gather my stuff and return to the first office to get my notebook. As it was hidden amongst other things I decide to open it. All I see are blank pages. "Did you throw out my notes??" I ask in as nice a voice as I can manage. OH yeah, they threw out my notes because they asked "everyone" in the office if they knew to whom the notes belonged. I'm no full fledged investigator but let's just think of who could notes about crime, forensics, and child abuse belong to in a performing arts school????? Could it be the temp who has mentioned her MA in Criminal Justice. Fantastic these SOBs threw out my personal property AND didn't even pay me well

Example #2, I braved the mall again and was forced by mommy dearest to try on a skirt that I had no interest in. Dumb ass woman decides to ignore the look under the door rule of dressing room conduct. Also ignores the knock before entering rule. What rule does she observe? The open the door and look check. Say wha?! No thanks sister friend, people gotta pay for that kinda show. So I oh so nicely shove the door right back in her face to which she utters, "er uh sorry" in a meek and newly nasal voice.

Example #3, also occurs in the mall. I was looking at a cart in the middle section of the mall when all of a sudden my surgically repaired knee caves in. This no longer happens without provocation and what do i see? A rude woman who clipped me with her mall provided stroller rocket. Do I get a sorry? Hell no! So my response is to say in a somewhat loud voice, "hey no worries, it didn't hurt that you just slammed into me and kept walking. " She's lucky I didn't go New York on her cause my tolerance level was reaching its limit. If not for the nice gift wrap ladies who gave me some store coupons when i first got to the mall I'm thinking I would've had to bust out my ninja moves.

So I'm trying to be bright and shiny but someone is gonna have to keep all of these yahoos away from me.

Turducken for everyone

Yum Yum, I do so love the holidays. Here's a much delayed round up of holiday events and personal observations.

-Wednesday night, I sit very confused in my house, aware that there is something that I traditionally do but cannot remember. So what do I do? I hop in the shower. And good thing too! When I get out I have a message from Jen asking me when I'm getting to the local Irish pub for fun and festivities. Ah ha! I think to myself, that is what I do. I did not realize how much I depend on the JW to remind of my drinking duties. I gussied up and went over to join Mr and Mrs. Mo, Plan B and JK. JK most definitely took up the drinking void that was left by the absence of Wash and YaWash.

-I find it amusing when Natick folk don't recognize each other (see AWash completely drawing a blank when our neighbor of forever and a day tried to speak to him last year). This year the Capt Oblivious Award goes to Plan B. I come back from one of many trips to the Powder Room (three toilets don't swing it for reunion night), I come back and JK has gone missing. I ask Plan B where he is and he starts laughing that JK has been hitting on some girl at the bar. I take a peek and it is none other than Lizzy K. Who is the daughter of momma K's friend. Strictly Platonico. Fear not Angie, you could totally take her.

-Next Day is turkey day. Another day where JW was missed. Why? Cause in addition to my baking duties I was forced into manual labor that is usually covered by his Washness. Then there was the whole missing my fam bit. We were down a few this time, only 16 and all of the missing parties were misseed. It made for one of the most sparsely filled "Kid Picture" to date (see bottom)

-my apple pie was DEVOURED so quickly that papa Dub almost didn't get any and we know that wouldn't have ended well, so next year I must make 3 pies this way AWash gets a pie the way he likes it and won't pout while he eats.

-I braved the shopping malls on Black Friday and honestly I don't get what the big deal is. Sure I practiced my karate chop and the trusty bait and switch moves that have worked so well in the past. I even did some practice "underfire" parking on my street before I embarked. But what a waste! I had zilch difficulty in parking at CC, minimal issues at BB and absolutely not problemo getting a primo spot at the Mall at noon (course there was that tricky matter of defensively driving the wrong way down a one way lane of the parking garage, but in my defense who has ever heard of direction specificity in a parking garage?) Anywho, it was a vaguely successfuly venture, I got one sister in law taken care of, a preliminary gift for anonymous nephew, and a couple of things for the brothers wash.

-Most ironic sight of the week thus far. A giant Land Rover on SUPER SUPED up tires covered in bumper stickers that one would think would belong on say....oh i don't know a Prius. Silly environ freak driving a gas guzzling SUV, gotta love it

Why Seattle is not the place for me....

One week of rain results in high humidity levels. This week of rain happens to be corresponding to a particular week of the month during which I suffer from increased bitchiness and susceptibility to pain. Awesome. Do we see where I am going with this? I am in and have been in severe pain for the last few days. Part of the problem of having a twice surgically repaired knee and one in which the inside was deteriorating to the point for my doctor to refer to it as the knee of a senior citizen and not the young person that I am.

So I'm feeling bitchy and moany and all kinds of not nice. What could help this situation? A friendly question of "are you okay?". What does not help? Getting a phone call and being accused of being a grumpy pants and then assorted other ribbing which while good natured, feeds my anger and nearly resulted in a quick hang up of the telephone. Lucky for me or Mr. Anonymous, Samson's bowels came into play and I was given a legitimate reason for my quick departure off the phone.

-You know what else bugs me? Annoying telemarketers. I have a heart, I get the purpose for charities, but gimme a break. Being harassed by the organization makes me LESS not MORE likely to donate to your cause. When I'm prepared to make donations, I will do it and those places that call repeatedly will fall to the bottom of the list. Then there is the retail worker whom I encountered today. 1) it is not my fault that your store is not doing a good job of keeping their supplies in a fashion that makes sense and is easy to locate different sizes and styles. Yes, I was probably bitchy in my remarks, but guess what? You work in retail and that is part of the job description to handle angry patrons in a professional manner. Bitch to all your friends when I've left the store but it is your job to make me feel as though my complaints are legit and not that I'm annoying you by asking about shipments.

-The Wal-Mart greeter is a good idea in theory....I guess. Today there was a very elderly gentleman assigned this task. Now, I don't like to be rude and if they acknowledge me, I greet them right back, cause lets face it...that job sucks. Today, I walked towards him...nothing, as I am passed him, he shouts "HI HOW ARE YOU TODAY", i was so shocked by this sudden display of life that I jumped and was unable to verbalize a response. Made me feel guilty, but then again given the volume at which he spoke, it is entirely possible that he would never have heard my response anyway.

-I was glad when the early 90's fed into the mid 90's for a variety of reasons, but one of them was that there would be no more hammer pants. Both brothers Wash, were guilty of this trend. I tried to get a picture for this but I cannot at this time. The point is that Emmitt managed to pull off his best Hammer imitation like a true MVP last night. Absolutely fraktastic! Mario wasn't bad either though I couldn't figure out what Tiffani Amber Thiessen was doing in the audience til I remembered the SBTB connection early this am. Should be interesting to see who is crowned champ.

-Vinny Testaverde? Really? I mean seriously Billy Boy, is there something that Patriots Nation should be aware of? Further evidence of the Leave the Pats Curse, David Givens aka Mr. Greedy Pants the first, left for the Titans and was immediately plagued by injury. Guess what? He's done for the rest of the season having played for a cumulative 2 games max. Add that to the injuries that plague Ty Law and other greedy desserters and it means that Deion "delicate" Branch is only a matter of quarters away from suffering another injury. Ah well

- poor sucker in fantasy football. My team is decidedly pathetic in all respects. I attribute most of this to the bogus scoring system but I've already discussed that. At least I can bring other folks down. I have 2 wins (including against the current Board Leader) and this week my opponent only managed a tie against my sad sack of a team. hehehe

I think that's enough bitching and moaning for the day, you dont like it? Nobody told you to read it all the way through.

Sabbatical

Peace out people, I'm taking a Sabbatical from Blog World. I don't even know why people are getting mad at me, since I had nothing to do with the "showdown" on another blog. Right now, I have too many thoughts in my brain that are inappropriate to be sharing with y'all. So I'm peacing out for a bit til the kitchen cools down. Maybe I'll come back in a week or maybe not until the new year.

Yowza

Good Grief! All kinds of havoc was wreaked on my poor sister in law's blog. She wrote a post about her political views and then got in a heated argument with my bro. Funny part was, she didn't know whom she was insulting. (okay not funny in that traditional ha ha sense). The part I found the most amusing is the conviction that sis in law and JW had that Mr. Anonymous could not possibly be the infamous AWash. Silly folks have clearly been on the west coast too long if they couldn't fathom the response that referring to him as an "ignorant idiot" would have. This sibling does not, never has, and never will take kindly to being insulted in any form.

In other news, BJ's sucks. They strung me a long for a week, fully knowing that they did not intend to hire me. Worse, they strung my agency along for the week as well, which may cause some strained relations in the future cause people generally don't like being screwed around with. With the permission of one of my GW pals, I applied to some jobs at this marketing place down in the District using her as a reference. Haven't heard back yet, but perhaps I'll send a lil note to confirm receipt of the original app.

Poor Sammy Wammy today. Had an accident during a ride (not his fault) and in an effort to not sit in his mess, wound up stuck between the front and back seats again. This required a lot of agility on my part to get him out, clean the car, and prevent injury....all in the rain. A yucky way to begin the day. Then came the realization that I am screwed when it comes to this holiday season. I am simply flat out of ideas and I have a reputation for gift giving to live up to. I gave AWash and StayWash presents on 3 or 4 separate occasions. COmpletely my pleasure, but good Lord I got nothing when it comes to holiday gift ideas for either of them. Papa W is one of the toughest folks on the planet to shop for and my mom's birthday is perilously close to the holidays this year and I only have one gift idea thus far. I even went to the mall today to see if I was inspired with gift ideas....maybe it was too early to see anything worthwhile, they usually hold out the good stuff until after turkey day anyway.

One last note, young men who work for Victoria's Secret are CREEPY, and all of the folks who work for the kiosks in the mall are beyond ANNOYING. I get it, its their job to sell stuff, but when you see flocks of people walking out of there way just to avoid you, perhaps it is time to change your tactics and let people come to you. I already have a cell phone and I'm in a contract, so NO i don't want to talk to you T Mobile people, get over it. And Mr. Magic Nail man, I have no nails and if I had the slightest interest in your product I would slow down and look over your cart, not try to avert eye contact with you. Luckily, I sported to the twin braid Pochahantas look, thus making me appear approximately 15 years old and not a worthy bracket for pursuit today. Finally, something going my way!