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October 31, 2005

halloween dorkiness

Posted by meloknee at 12:14 PM | Comments (4)

October 28, 2005

Today I wore my fancy new rain boots. They are black and pink with colored polka dots. It was supposed to rain, but it's sunny so I feel a little silly. They're still cute though.

I found a dollar on my walk to work. I felt like a thief picking it up off the ground. Then I thought I'd go buy myself some candy or something fun with it - not much you can buy with a dollar these days. Then I started to feel guilty, like I should give it to some homeless dude or something. However, today of all days, I didn't have one single person ask me for money or to buy a Real Change paper, or anything. So, I guess it's meant to be, I'll go buy myself some candy.

Buying candy a couple of days before Halloween seems a little bit frivolous. Maybe I should buy something else. What else can you buy for a dollar?

When I got to work this morning there was a wheel of cheese in the kitchen - yummy, stinky cheese - that my boss brought in. I ate some, it was good.

It's shaping up to be a pretty good day, despite the fact that I know I have about 30 hours of contract looming over my head for the next week, on top of my normal workload. It's amazing how much better the rewards feel when you work hard for them.

Happy Friday. Have a good weekend.

Posted by meloknee at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2005

So $tupid

Isn't it stupid when people blog about why they haven't blogged in awhile.

Yeah, I know, we've all done it. In fact, I'm doing it right now.

Seriously though, y'all should be happy for me. I have more freelance work than I can even imagine. I'm going to be able to afford that wrist surgery after all.

I'm looking for a dog to adopt, if anyone knows of any available. It has to be allergy-friendly. Breeds such as: Basenji, Bedlington Terrier, Bichon Frise, Chinese Crested, Irish Water Spaniel, Kerry Blue Terrier, Maltese, Poodles, Portuguese Water Dog, Schnauzers, Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier, and Xoloitzcuintli (fss breed) as "lower dander" breeds.

In the mean time, you can laugh at this Marge-like head wrap.

Posted by meloknee at 03:34 PM | Comments (7)

October 20, 2005

Have I ever told you about the time...

I went Dumpster diving?

Let's see, it was about 3 and a half years ago, when I was still living in Fresno. As the group home/social work business doesn't pay much, I had taken a part-time job doing books at Cost Plus (now known as World Market). My mother had worked in a little shop by the Cost Plus when I was a little girl and I loved going in there. I remember being surrounded by all of the exotic knick-knacks and back in the day they had lots of clothes and jewelry.

I loved working at Cost Plus. I had been friends with many of my coworkers for years before I started working there, in fact that's how I got the job. We lived by the true, old-school, Cost Plus spirit. This was supposed to be a fun, mystical, whimsical place. We played with the toys, ate the food, took naps on the couches, and our customers loved us for it.

Shortly before I started working there, word came out that they were building a new Cost Plus - World Market, in the fancy-schmancy part of town. We new this meant doom for our wonderful old store. It was only a matter of time before the doors would close on our little piece o' heaven. All of the snobby, uptight employees left to go to the new store. The rest of us stuck it out half-heartedly believing the company lies that swore they were keeping both stores open. Many of our customers had been shopping there for 30-odd years. They were not happy about the new store, they wrote angry letters to the corporate office. We sat around with the old-timers (there were some retirement communities within walking distance), them leaning on their canes, us hopping up on our check-out counters, shot the shit and reminisced of better times; times before the horrid Riverpark shopping Center made its way to the Central Valley.

Soon enough the news hit us, like a slap in the face, or a fax that came through that wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone except the store manager. We had six weeks to inventory the store, pack it up and say goodbye. Heart broken, most of us refused to take the offer of a job at the new store, knowing that we would be lower on the totem pole and looked down upon for not being part of the elite first group. We took settlement packages instead, and lots of free merchandise. We cleaned out old closets and found newspaper clippings of some of the first ads put out in the Fresno Bee when Cost Plus opened. That Fresno store was the sixth in the Cost Plus chain, now there are over one hundred.

On the last day, after the moving trucks were packed, the store was emptied and locked for the last time, I went out for some drinks with my manager and a couple other coworkers. After we had thrown a few beers back, only mere feet away from the new and hated World Market, we remembered something that was in one of the utility closets. Two huge boxes of Tampax Regular Tampons. We didn't know who had ordered them, but we didn't have a dispenser in the store bathroom, so they rarely got used, except the the few employees that knew the secret hiding place of the oh-so-free tampons. I don't think I had bought tampons for the entire 8 months that I worked there.

My manager and I stood up and demanded that the non-drinker drive us back to the old store. We were determined to find these tampons. When we got there we asked around, there were still some of the movers there. None of them knew what had happened to these precious boxes. There was only one option, we figured since all the movers and packers were men that they probably just threw them out, after all they weren't merchandise. There we were, slightly tipsy, laughing our heads off as we climbed the huge, massive, industrial-sized Dumpster. We sat at the top for a little while before we jumped in and dug for the tampons. We dug, we unburied, we turned over display cases, we came up empty handed time and time again. At last, as the alcohol wore off, we were defeated.

My manager and I went Dumpster diving for tampons and we never found them. We sure did have a fun day on our last day of work however. Only a week after that I was packing my own moving truck and was on my way to Seattle. I only wish that I had had a box of 1,000 free tampons in that truck.

Posted by meloknee at 04:24 PM | Comments (2)

October 18, 2005

P.F. Shame's

Alex and I like to walk downtown on the weekends and pretend to go shopping. We always say we are going shopping, running errands, pretend we have things to do. Usually after one store though we are both grumpy and bored of shopping. The obvious thing to do at that point is to get drinks and appetizers (In fact, I think this may be the real reason we even go downtown). In the shopping core of seattle there really isn't much aside from chain restaurants.

There's Gordon Biersch, which is okay and the beer is good, but this girl we call Azrael works there and she kind of grosses us out. It's also at the top of a mini-mall.

Then there's Elephant & Castle, a little more off the beaten path, but the appetizers aren't that good, although the beer selection is superior.

There's Von's, which as you can read for yourself is Not Recommended. As one reviewer put it: Pros: None, none, none.

Anyway, I'm delaying, the truth is, when we're downtown "shopping" we often feel the urge to drink fancy-froo-froo drinks. Which, for those of you that drink with me and know that my usual drinks consist of Coor's light, PBR and maybe some Jager, and Alex with his Sol...we're not much for froo-froo. So, truth be told, Alex and I have become "regulars" at PF Chang's. Yes folks, regulars at PF Chang's. They know us, they know what I drink, they know what we order. When we realized this over the weekend, it was extremely embarrassing. The majority of the other people there are tourists or Eastsiders, we totally don't fit in. Then again, maybe that's why they like us, because we're not losers. The problem is we feel like losers for being recognized at PF Chang's. Oh well, the vegetable egg rolls and key lime pie martini are excellent. I'm not afraid to admit that.

Posted by meloknee at 01:07 PM | Comments (1)

October 17, 2005

Meloknee on:

Life as a dork:

Sometimes it's hard being such a dork. I trip and fall a lot, I drop things, knock things over, occasionally I even run into things.

This has led to such incidences as falling and tearing the ligaments in my knee while at my favorite bar in front of nearly all of my friends. Regularly tripping over my own feet in front of my boyfriend. I fell down the front steps of my apartment just 3 months after my knee surgery in front of three people that lived in my building (lucky for me they have all since moved out so I don't have to shudder with embarrassment on a daily basis any longer). I once spilled an entire beer in my lap and didn't go home to change. I just sat there, one block from my apartment, and ordered another beer.

Just this weekend alone I was trying to scoot my chair in at the table while we were eating dinner at Mama's Mexican Kitchen and I bumped - hard, not lightly - the table legs and knocked a bottle of Tapatio onto the ground and spilled our drinks. Then, only hours later at a hockey game, I was trying to not disturb the other people in my aisle, so I thought it would be a good idea to climb over the seats. Well, I didn't think about the mechanics of a folding seat and stepped on the wrong side, causing me to fully straddle the seat, with one leg stuck between the folded up part and the back. I then couldn't get my shoe back through so I had to take it off to pull my foot out. Luckily I know myself well enough that I handed Alex the beers before I tried to perform such a risky maneuver.

You eventually get used to these things happening and they aren't quite as embarrassing as they were in high school when you were trying to impress the cute boy in class and fell down the stairs while you were talking to them. You learn not to do certain things, like race to the car or challenge someone to a pogo stick contest.

Or, you find yourself a boyfriend that is as big a dork as you are, so it's okay that you do these things...

Update:
For the record, since this post I have fallen off my exercise ball, hitting my head against the couch which sent the couch sliding back about a foot, my tailbone on the ground and cracked my back. Just in case anyone didn't believe what a klutz I am.

Posted by meloknee at 01:54 PM | Comments (4)

October 14, 2005

A good calzone.

If anyone knows where I can get a good calzone in Seattle, please let me know. Nothing fancy, just deep fried dough filled with cheese, pepperoni, olives, peppers, salami, and topped with a thick heavy red marinara sauce.

Now days I only get about one a year, when I go home to Fresno and eat at Di Cicco's. Sure it's not fancy authentic Italian food, but it is delicious.

I'm already looking forward to my trip to Fresno in April when I'll get to eat all my favorite foods again. The reason for going? One of my closest friends is getting married!

Congrat's TC! I'm so happy for you.

Posted by meloknee at 10:14 AM | Comments (9)

October 12, 2005

Once Upon a Time

Today, as I was sitting on the porcelain god peeing and folding my toilet paper (before use), I was reminded of the exact moment I fell in love (platonically speaking) with one of my high school best friends.

We had known each other as children and were reunited at the age of 16 (she was 15). We went out to eat at a fast food restaurant the night we were reacquainted. For the life of me I can't remember which one, I'm thinking Carl's Jr. I remember that we ordered the exact same thing without knowing it until we sat down.

We both fought to talk over each other through the whole meal. There were so many things in common it seemed unreal. We were both in love with Cat Stevens, our favorite movie was Harold and Maude. There were some huge differences too though. She had her nails done professionally on a regular basis. She dressed girlie and had long curly hair. She was a country girl that liked to ride horses. I was a tomboy that liked to skateboard in skirts.

The thing I remember most clearly that night is that at the end of the meal, she folded all of her trash - her hamburger wrapper, french fry holder, that piece of paper that they put on the serving tray - she folded each of these items into little squares before she threw them in the trash. This is what made me love her.

I miss her, she turned evil.

Posted by meloknee at 02:41 PM | Comments (5)

October 11, 2005

Yeah, about that whole school librarian thing...

I don't think it's for me. After class with the kindergarten kids, I'm just not sure about things. I mean, really, why do I need to get two master's degrees to deal with kids farting and picking their noses (and then wiping the boogies on the rug)? We're not talking about a little toot either, this was at least a one alligator, two alligator, three alligator, four alligator, five alligator fart. I'm just not sure that is the challenge I am looking for in life.

So, not back to square one by any means, but back a step.

Posted by meloknee at 07:29 PM | Comments (2)

October 10, 2005

Good Weekend

I had an ideally good weekend. I have a certain way that I think weekends should go. Friday should include dinner and/or happy hour, followed by lounging around watching a movie. Saturday should be the day to get out and do something fun during the day and then go out on the town at night. Sunday should include a late breakfast out somewhere, then a walk or a bike ride, maybe a matinee, and then call it a day early and relax before the week starts up again.

That's pretty much how it went for me. Friday after work Alex and I went out for pizza. Then I went home and watched countless hours of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Saturday morning Aggie and I went to Trader Joe's and then made breakfast. We watched some cooking shows on PBS and lounged about. In the afternoon, Alex and I went to lunch at Six Arms and had a couple beers. Then we went downtown and went shopping. After that wore us out we went and had martinis and mai tais and appetizers.

Later that evening we went and got the Flexcar, after a tragic scare in which I thought I had lost my key card. This was extremely upsetting because we had been looking forward to good mexican food for weeks. The tragedy was averted however when I recalled that the keycard was in my corduroy skirt, hanging in my closet. When we got in the flexcar we found that someone had left a CD in the car, so we put that on. It wasn't labeled so it was really weird because we had no idea what we were listening to.

As usual,I got lost on the way to Coliman. I somehow or another get lost or make a wrong turn ever single time I go there. Once we were finally on the right track we drove through the incredibly cute old part of Georgetown and got stuck at the train tracks. We were waiting for the train to go by when it suddenly - or not so suddenly - stopped and started going the opposite direction. We contemplated running to the bar and taking shots and running back to the car.

Finally we were moving again and I managed to go the right way. When we turned around the last corner on the way to the restaurant we came across this amazing house. It was so freaking cool. The guy was outside putting on the finishing touches. There were life size casper blow-ups, zombies, skeletons, but the coolest of all was definitely this spider: Alex got out and talked to the guy. He apparently decorates for Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. So, if you're ever in the neighborhood, check out the house near the corner of Carleton S. and S. Willow.

We then headed down the street to Coliman. The food was delicious as always. There was a table of guys taking shots out of a tequila bottle and singing as they sat around the table. The flan was wonderful .

After dinner, we went and dropped off the Flexcar and grabbed a cab to the summit. When we got in the cab we were a little concerned about the beer can in the cup holder:

We had fun at the summit with andy and chase and we toasted to the anniversary of my first black eye and bloody nose.

It was a good night, with a really bizarre cab ride home too, but this is long enough, don't you think?

Posted by meloknee at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

October 07, 2005

Um...does this sound like the plot to a really bad horror film?

Lets go hunting - m4w - 53
Reply to: anon-102548549@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-10-07, 12:02PM PDT

I want a female partner to go hunting with me. I want to leave on the 14th and return a week later. You need no money, I pay for every thing. I do not drive and you must! No strings attached, lets just go away for a week and relax. Reply with picture if possible. I am 6'3" 200 lbs.long silver hair. I don't drink but you can. There will be other couples there also. I know this post may sound strange but, I have been planning this for awhile and my "partner" has left me to go alone. We will camping in a tent! Are you up to it? We will be in the Methow Valley/Winthrop area. Gonna be FUN!

Posted by meloknee at 11:01 PM | Comments (2)

October 06, 2005

Whatever happened to Dick and Jane?

So, today was my third day volunteering at the elementary school library. Thursdays are the pre-school class. What a bunch of cuties. These kids have practically no clue about life. One thing's for sure, they don't know that you're not supposed to pick your nose, therefore, they certainly don't know you aren't supposed to wipe the booger on the rug after you fish it out.

I was excited for today because I thought I might actually learn some of the kid's names. But no. Where do people come up with these names? I can't even remember them to make fun of them. I remember that my teacher's always had trouble with the hmong and laotian names (xiao, xiong, ng, etc.) but this isn't the problem here. They aren't foreign names they are just bizarre...like they take other words and just add an extra syllable, I think one girl's name is Amillionay (kind of like A Millionaire??)

Oh, but the kids, they are so cute I want to stick them in my pocket and take them home with me. They are still innocent, at least I hope so. They aren't afraid or embarrassed of showing affection; the girls hold hands during reading circle, the boys like to give hugs. I suppose I'll learn their names eventually, because they all remembered mine and it made me feel like a million dollars.

Posted by meloknee at 06:29 PM | Comments (1)

Open your eyes

It's amazing what you see when you actually look around. Today on my walk home from work I walked on the "other" side of the street. There was a house in an alley that was completely covered in individual paintings. It was really cool.

Posted by meloknee at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2005

Oh, to be a kid again.

I'm on a mission lately to do my best to become a kid again. Remember the days of cops & robbers, hide-and-go seek, Blindman's Bluff? What about when you would run, for no reason!? Skipping, hopping, galloping? Somersaults, cartwheels, moonwalking, attempting to break dance? Yeah, most of those things are very, very painful now. Not to mention hide-and-go seek is pretty damn boring in a 600 sf apartment.

Things I have added to my life recently in order to regain my youthfulness:

* Skipping & galloping while walking the dog.
* Running - for no reason.
* Eating ice cream with chocolate powder after I get home from work (remember after-school snacks?).
* Eating fake, cake-like products - hohos, ding-dongs, cupcakes with swirly designs and cream in the middle.
* Turning up the music and dancing like a dork.

I'm working on other things and am open to suggestions...

I want to be able to do things without constant pain, worrying about what people think, and be able to eat what I want without getting fat, which means I will be needing to do lots of skipping, galloping, jumping and dancing...

Posted by meloknee at 12:58 PM | Comments (4)

October 03, 2005

My First Managerial Job

When I was 18 years old I quit my first job. I had worked at a retirement community for three years. I, at that young of an age, had been there longer than 90% of the other employees and they wouldn't let me have Christmas off to go to Disneyland with my family. So, I gave my two-week notice and then called in sick from a payphone at The Happiest Place on Earth.

After I got back, I was unemployed for the next three or four months. Finally, a friend of mine got me a job at Shanghai Chinese Cuisine, a very popular Chinese restaurant in Fresno. I started as a hostess. I had to wear a very tight Chinese silk dress and seat people. I eventually moved up to cashier, busser and then server. After a wrist injury and I couldn't serve any longer, Mr. Soo promoted me to assistant manager (it was also after I threatened to quit many times).

Anyway, I spent a good portion of the following three years working at Shanghai and eating their delicious food (I think I tried to quit that place at least three or four times but they always talked me in to coming back). It is still my favorite Chinese restaurant.

I took Alex there while we were in Fresno. We went with my grandma, sister, and friend Kathie. They have the best orange-flavored chicken I have ever tasted.

Posted by meloknee at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)