Year: 2004

End of the Year Crap.

This year, Toby and I combined a few of our New Year’s resolutions. I think this has to do with sharing one, very huge future goal. Anyway, here are a few of mine with at least one goal in mind:

  • 1). Pay off ALL of my debt. (We almost had this completed until we moved across the country twice.)
  • 2). Figure out what I want to do with my life.
  • 3). Lose 25 pounds.
  • 4). Take up a new hobby. (I’m looking for suggestions. And if it makes me money, I’ll give you 10 percent of whatever I make).
  • 5). Become a better long-distant friend. (I am STILL sitting on a gift I purchased for Nico in July.)
  • 6). Use, less, commas, while writing.
  • 7). Pay more attention to new music.

SEGWAY

I wasn’t really up on the latest and greatest this year. Actually, I haven’t been up on the latest and greatest IN years. There was a time when are all I cared about were movies and music. I’ve become lazy at 30. I’m going to give this a shot anyway, knowing full-well I’ll remember something or hear something in a year from now that came out this year and regret some of my choices.

Top 5 Albums of 2004:

I had The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow on there as well as an M Ward: Transfiguration of Vincent. And wouldn’t you know, but both of these CDs came out in 2003. I’m always a year behind. This is why I don’t play this game too often. M Ward does, however, have a new CD coming out in February. Yay.

Anyway, The Postal Service is my top favorite album of 2004. My goodness, is it wonderful. I have a feeling, had I been exposed to it sooner, I would have really enjoyed Arcade Fire: Funeral. But I only just heard about them recently.

I would do movies, but I think my head might explode should I try.

Maddie

Should you be reading this, would you kindly send along an email address at mihow at this domain dot com? I would like to hook you up with the NYC insider information.

Thank you, Maddie. (Hopefully, you are reading this.)

A Rebel Yell

Apparently, because of something Toby Joe said, we’re at war with Alabama. I received a threatening email message. It read:

OOOOOOHHHHHHHH….Toby thinks he’s sooooo tough. I’m soooooo scared. Bring it on Uncle Toby!!!!

Attached to the message was this image:

Simone is like Mod.

Grand Master Funk

It seems that some kind of funk has snuck up on me. I’m not depressed, outwardly. And I don’t feel down, necessarily. But I do feel sort of “whatever”, endlessly. I feel like walking around answering questions like Napoleon Dynamite. A conversation might go like this:

Hey Michele! What do you want to do for dinner?

GOD! I DON’T care. I’ll have whatever I FEEL like. GAWD!

And then I’ll stomp off with my head aimed towards the ground, killing pebbles (and something smaller).

I had a dream last night I had a pet ant (and something smaller). Having a pet ant as well as something smaller registered as normal behavior in this particular dream. Today, I have no clue what the “something smaller” may have been. In last night’s dream, I watched my bizarre pets run in circles for hours near a back door we don’t really have. I decided that a pet ant (and something smaller) needed “more room to move around.” So I let them go outside for a bit. In the end, someone either stepped on the ant (and something smaller) or they both ran off. Either way, I never found my pet ant (or something smaller) and I woke up antless. (If you think for a second I’m making this most ridiculous dream up, you’re sadly mistaken.)

My cat won’t stop screaming between the hours of 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Last night was better, but he still screamed. It begins, like clockwork, at 4. Sometimes (like Saturday night) it goes on for 2 hours. Other times, it stops right after waking us up from a deep slumber. There are ghosts (or something smaller) bugging him. I just know it.

I wish they were day-ghosts.

It’s a day, you might say. And it’s cold out and there is no more holiday and my bank account is screaming at whatever carnage I put it through last month. There are trips I must take to that post office, the bank and the Laundromat. There is shopping to be done at the grocery store. Missy arrives tomorrow. Today is her birthday.

(P.S. Happy Birthday, Missy! Bring me your self, a pet ant [and something smaller], and I’ll take you out on the town in search of a smile.)

Pictures!

Here are some images taken over the past couple days.

(Captions, if any, below each image. Click on thumbnail to enlarge.)

These fellas moved in next door to us. But I don’t think they’re staying.

We made vegan (meatless) lasagna on Thursday night. While it might not look pretty, this was some of the best lasagna I have ever had. We simply devoured it. I wish I could marry it and make out with it in between bites. Holy crap, yummy.

Mama B’s on Graham avenue. We stopped here before our shopping adventure on Christmas Eve and had some coffee.

And Toby took a shot of the celery.

Here we are on Christmas day at Rock Center Cafe. We had a late lunch/early dinner with the family and then continued on to see the tree and make an attempt at seeing a movie. Everything but Blade was sold out.

Here is the ice skating rink at Rockafeller Center. We did not skate. The line was about 3 miles long. Or maybe that was just the folks lining up for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Bash.

This is my mother, the eskimo.

Here is a drummer person.

And the guy who sells cotton candy.

And here are some NY style soft pretzels. Yum. Pretzels. (When I lived in DC, I used to eat this everyday for lunch. Healthy.)

Yellow cab. I have no clue why I took this. And even less of a clue as to why I put it up here.

Here is a picture of someone hailing a cab. They probably got the last ticket to The Incredibles.

This is a blurry shot of the inside of NBC studios. Or some studio. I wasn’t really paying attention.

And here are the fatties. They are back. This was taken this morning.

A shot out back taken this morning. Those are my pajama pants. How much if I put them on right now? They are frozen solid.

This was a gift I received from an online person. It was really quite thoughtful. You can’t really see these to read them because I really don’t have any idea how to use my camera (yet), but you’ll get the general idea.

“For strength through idle times.”

Coffee.

“For wisdom through helpless times.”

Bush survival bible.

“For sweetness through bitter times.”

MmmmmmMmmmmmm chocolate

“For relief through troublesome times.”

GW Bush toilet paper.

“For inspiration through dull times.”

Booze.

Overall, we had a great holiday. I ate too many cookies. (Which I have been trying to avoid.) We spent too much money. (But it was worth it in the end.) Toby got me a kick ass new color printer and some soap. My folks got me some soap as well. I have soap which should last me for two years or more. I got a wonderful new sweater and some socks and a hat. Toby got me a most amazing flour sifter and a new old-fashioned popcorn maker. I love the holidays. Now, it’s time to get depressed and look towards months worth of cold weather without all the blinky lights and candle-lit windows.

Michele's Christams Eve Movie Review

The movie that was amazingly well done but doesn’t scream “holiday spirit” and instead will depress you and cause you to have nightmares all night long is Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator. It was totally captivating and unbelievably sad.

And a movie that may lack holiday cheer but will bring one to cheer out loud from their couch is Nepoleon Dynamite

Tonight, I think we’ll stick to A Christmas Story or maybe Christmas Vacation.