forever from that Carolina coast
-- Cyndi Thomson

WOO HOO, y'all!! I'm going to SC! So, no posts here until at least June 10. And chances are I won't be responding to email, either.

On the one hand, being out of touch can drive you crazy, but I think I'm ready to be disconnected for a bit. Not from y'all, but just from technology.

If you don't hear from me, just know that I may have decided to take up residence in Charleston a la Jimmy Buffet. =)

Amy

and I'm feeling strong
I will sing this victory song
Woo hoo hoo, woo hoo hoo!
-- The Eagles

My mind has already vacated. One more day and I'm up out. Did anyone catch "Fame" last night? I saw a bit of it, but I wasn't very interested. I used to love that show, man! "Fame, I'm gonna live forever." There was some other dance show that came on after cartoons on Saturday, too. Any clue what it was??

Oh, and I was all over Solid Gold. That was some cool stuff, right there man. I guess the only surviving one is "Soul Train".

TV was a totally different animal in the '80s. I mean, we had all those shows I just mentioned and Star Search. We had The Cosby Show -- who could ask for anything more.

What's funny, too, is that many shows I loved as a kid were from years earlier -- Bewitched, I dream of Jeanie, etc. Those were the days. Now all we have is this reality crap (yes I know I love American Idol, but that's a talent show, I'm not down with the Bachelor, Fear Factor, et al). I've always thought it would be cool to write a sitcom. I'm betting mine would be kind of like Seinfeld, because the funniest stuff that happens in life is really about nothing.

Speaking of nothing, guess I should do something, so I'm outtie.

ames

Nothing lasts forever
There's got to be something better than in the middle
-- The Wallflowers

T-minus 2 days until my vacation! =) Sorry, but I'm so excited I can't stand it! I'll be so glad to just not work for 9 straight days. I may never come back.

but, alas, there is that money issue -- you gots to be having it to survive. Isn't it weird how you have to work to make money only to be forced to turn most of it over to the government?? The fine governor of my state now wants an even bigger share of my wallet and that just sucks.

You know, I wonder what would happen if every single person in the US just refused to pay taxes. I mean, they can't arrest all of us, right?? We should band together and tell them to take their taxes and shove it!

Yeah, man! Protest! rage against the machine! speak up!

Amy

I get up and I try to feel alive but I can't
I don't know what it is
Something in me just won't give me a chance
-- Hootie and the Blowfish

That's a great diddy off the Friends soundtrack, "Everytime I look at you I go blind"

Not much to say today other than I'm liking that it's Tuesday and this is the first day I've worked this week! I could totally get used to this, y'all! Sorry that I've been slacking on emailing all of you -- many apologies -- I'll be better soon! My huge project is about to wrap up this week, so I'll be back to normal soon.

I want something else to get me through this semi-charmed kind of life
-- Third Eye Blind

Y'all behave!
Amy

you loved me baby?
-- Ruben Studdard, (previously a Carpenters hit, also covered by Luther Vandross).

Represent for the 205, baby!! GO RUBEN!!!! there is justice in the world!

Much love to the Velvet Teddy Bear -- our state loves you!

Amy

it's the only way it gets better
-- Joe Mac

Uh, last time I checked, I was not in Seattle, but I think I've spent the past 3 weeks there. Last time I checked, my name wasn't Noah, either. Anyway, the Lord promised to never destroy the earth with a flood again, so we must be ok. But I'm telling you the Cahaba river is out of control ridiculous.

I was going to post something yesterday about bugs, but didn't have time, so we'll roll it all together here.

First of all, where do bugs go when there is 4 inches of rain water rushing down the sidewalk??

Second of all, what is the purpose behind bugs?? What do they do? Really, I'm totally serious! I know spiders produce silk, but what are all the other ones for? Like red wasps. They only exist to chase you and sting you. Ants, they just crawl all over everything and bite you. Don't even make me start on roaches. Anyway, just don't get it. Y'all try to stay dry!!

Ames

isn't it now?
I gotta get myself through the week somehow
I had a ball Friday, Saturday, Sunday
But it's all over now and it sure is Monday
-- Mark Chesnutt

Hello all y'all!

Is anybody else as happy as me that it is Monday?? I mean, no more sleeping late, running around and having fun. No sir! Monday means 8 to 5, corporate bihniss (translation=business for all you white bread types).

"Ok, um, I'm going to need to you go ahead and um, come in on Saturday. M'kay? oh, and I'm going to need to you to go ahead and come in on Sunday, too. M'kay? That would be greeeaaat!"
-- Office Space (if you haven't seen this movie, seriously, stop what you're doing right now and go out and rent it)

Work sucks. If it wasn't for that little bling bling I get every two weeks, I don't suppose I'd work at all.

Amy

think I'm gonna break down soon
--Kelly Clarkson

First off, this has been a crappy week! So I do apologize for all of the negative posts -- I'll try to get some sunshine going on next week.

Our parking deck at work is made onto an office building. The deck is 9 floors and we rent out half of it to the VA. So, to come into our side, you come in on 2, roll around to half of 3 and 4. This is hard to explain. But basically, the elevators are in the middle on the side with the offices. So, anyway, this is confusing as all get out to remember for patients (and us, too) to remember where we parked. If you park on our side on 5 and walk straight over the the elevator, you're now on the VA side.

They had this worked out perfectly. The elevator banks on the different floors were color coded. So you could remember that you got on the elevator on pink, etc. 2 weeks ago they decided to paint all of the floors the same nasty beige/mustard color. What are you doing??? this makes no sense to me! Nevermind the fact that they started on this 2 weeks ago and they still have up the same wet paint signs. Driving me nuts, I'm telling you!

In other news, my grandmother and dad were watching tv a while back when the war was first starting. My grandmother is probably the fiestiest person I know and she's almost 89. Anyway, they showed Sadaam on the screen and she proceeded to say, "Well, if he showed up in my back yard, I get a rifle and shoot that son of a b----!!"

doesn't that make you smile?? hysterical!

Amy

Lines on her face
She pretended not to notice
She was caught up in the race
Out every evening until it was light ---

And it was life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane
Everything, all the time
-- Eagles

"Life in the fast lane" has one of the greatest guitar hooks in music history. One of my favorite bass hooks of all time is "Another one bites the dust" by Queen. So this brings up an interesting subject that I discussed two different times with different people over the past week -- sampling great music for supposedly new material.

"It's a hard knock life" a great song from the musical "Annie" and also a huge hip hop hit for Jay-Z. What kind of crack was Jigga smoking the night he flipped past "Annie" on cable and said, "Man, that is tight! I'm using it on my next record." And don't even get me started on Lil' Romeo and his "I don't need a girlfriend" business that samples "I want you back" by the Jackson 5.

"You down with O.P.P.?? Yeah you know me." Naughty by Nature and they sampled the beginning of "ABC" (I think, correct me if I'm wrong). Point being, doesn't hip hop have any original ideas left?? What's going on is the lack of creativity -- if you can't come up with your own hook, then dude, are you really a musician? (and no, I'm not!). All I'm sayin' is, these people are smart enough to come up with lyrics and lots of them and other beats for the song, why use that sample??

Not to say their isn't any originality in music, because there is. And not to say that this is only a problem with hip hop. Pop and rock just flat out recut old songs.

Sixpence none the richer, "Don't dream it's over"
Billy Idol, (breaks my heart to think of how he ruined a Tommy James and the Shondells classic!!!) "Mony, Mony"

and countless others I can't think of right now, but you get the point.

What's the deal with this pop life and when's it gonna fade out??

Amy

biting off more than you can chew to anyone
I certainly do
I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth
at any time
-- Alanis

Today is one of those days where you want to roll up in a ball and hide under the blanket.

Make the world go away
-- Elvis

I can't change your mind
You can't change my color
Why, oh why, must it be this way?
Before you can read me
You've got to learn how to see me
Free your mind and the rest will follow
Be color blind, don't be so shallow
-- En Vogue

To start, let me preface this by saying that all of you that know me know that I'm not a racist. But here's the deal. My blood is boiling over the fact that Rev. Jesse Jackson is coming to my home state, to my home capitol to stand there and protest the hiring of a white coach over a black coach.

First off, who asked you? Really, is there no other racial strife going on anywhere in America that you could dig your claws into?

Second off, you, Reverend, quite possibly cost Mr. Slyvester Croom the head coaching job. The University of Alabama wasn't going to hire a man based on your opinion. In fact, I'd say they went with the best guy for the job (in their opinion -- I happen to think Croom could have been a good choice, too).

Third off, racism absolutely works both ways, buddy. Are you not discriminating against a white Shula because he is white?? You're trying to make us give a job to a man simply because of his color. That, my friends, is wrong. Again, all of this is in my opinion. And you all know that I'm a firm believer in freedom of speech.

Hear me speaking, Rev. Jackson -- you've made a lotta folks mad here in my state. And some of these rednecks are not above protesting your protest. Get on your jet and take your butt elsewhere. Hell, even Croom came out and said to leave him out of it!!

Peace.
Amy

while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place and make your stand
And take it easy
-- Eagles

Welcome Coach Shula!

good luck (you'll need it!)

If he doesn't have anything else going for him, he can at least claim he was by far the cutest coach in our history!! =)

RTR!
Amy

Like 7 inches from the midday sun
-- Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana

(woo hoo I'm going to see my man Rob and MB 20 in June!)

For real, it is way too hot to be May! What ever shall we do when it's late July and August and it's hot enough to fry a chicken on the sidewalk?? (Wait, that wasn't how that was supposed to go.)

Seriously, I'm betting on an even more miserable hot summer this year than last. This is why I like fall, people. No burning your hands when you touch the steering wheel, no screaming at the metal part of the seatbelt, no rolling the windows down and blasting the air when you first get in the car. I'm all with Bananarama, man, It, for real, is a cruel, cruel summer. Strange voices, though are always up in my head. What did they say?

((Segue)) (Don't try to make sense of that unless you know the song!)

have a wonderful weekend! show your love to your mommas!

Amy

But it was just one of those things
-- Cole Porter

Do you ever wish that you still got yearbooks now that you're out of school? Come on, admit it, as much as we cringe to go back and look at our outstanding photos, we love the idea that years of our lives are chronicled in those books. There was no better day (save the last day of school) than yearbook day.
Y'all, go back and read some of the stuff people wrote in your books.
1) RHTS
2) It was real. It was fun. It was real fun.
3) Amy, good luck! your such a sweet girl! signed, whoever that I sat next to in sophomore English
4) Watch out for the lemmings -- (ok only popular if you were lucky enough to have Mr. Eamonn Leonard sign your book!)
5) Amy, never forget how much fun we had in Shingler's class! You are so funny! signed, random person I haven't talked to since I was 15.
6) BFF
7) You're a cool kid. Peace.

Anyway, even better than going back and reading what people said to you is reading your buddies' yearbooks and seeing what you said to them. Y'all, using that as an indicatator, as it turns out -- I wasn't nearly as cool as I thought! Now don't get me wrong, I was semi-cool, but I've moved up on the cool-o-meter a few notches since then! =) yeah, sure, I'm such a nerd!

Anyway, (I need a new transistion phrase -- any ideas?? I can only think of lame ones) needless to say, I loved high school. I probably didn't realize that I loved it at the time, but damn, I had a lot of fun and I miss you guys and gals terribly! I'll have to pull out the old "SCHOOOL" book and reminisce!

C/O 1996 rulz!!!

Ames

and I can't find the air
don't know who I'm kidding
imagining you care
and I could stand here waiting
a fool for another day
I don't suppose it's worth the price
it's worth the price that I would pay
but I'm thinking it over anyway
--Duncan Sheik


Hello my lovely and faithful subjects! as it turns out -- one or two of you do, in fact, care! =) I'm back now. So what can we discuss? How about the weather?
Welcome to tornado season in Alabama. Oh, and how about last week, ladies and gents -- "I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down" (Carol King). Did the earthquake wake any of you guys up??
I sat straight up in the bed and mumbled not so nice words to my upstairs neighbor because I thought she was moving furniture or something crazy like that at 4 in the morning! I believe my favorite phrase to quoth whilst looking heavenward in my humble abode is, "one of these days, I'm coming up there and I'm going to put a cap in your ass".

yeah, yeah, I know, I'm not very nice -- but I'm working on it!

My temper and my mouth -- my two biggest problems! But at least I picked two things that go together well. My temper causes me to shoot off my mouth and shooting off my mouth usually results in my temper flaring up.

Now, "enough about me, let's talk about you for a minute". what's the good word with all of y'all??

Geez, I love the south -- where else can you for real say "all of y'all"?? Oh, I know I told some of you guys, but it's worth repeating. The shut up paddles at the Bruno's Golf Tourney here say, "Hush Y'all" instead of "Quiet Please". how can you not represent for the dirty south with all kinds of cool things like that and RUBEN?? btw -- you better vote tonight for the velvet teddy bear!

Ames

hey