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Disgusting

This is something I was going to avoid because it was EVERYWHERE on Monday. Like the (now defunct)OJ Simpson book/tv deal, I was appalled by the stupidity and ignorance of people.

Racism is something I do not tolerate and am happy that the reaction to this video has been comparative to that general attitude. This guy's career (rightfully so) is done.

The reason I posted this is because I felt like it was the most compelling story of the day due to the emotions involved, name recognition and video to back it up.

TMZ did a great job with the coverage on this story...nice partnership with CNN today when Harvey Levin (Managing Editor) appeared during "Newsroom."

PAINFUL technical problems on CBS evening news!!!

An audio problem on the kicker led to an apology and (4 minutes early) sign off from Couric tonight. (Along with lots of cussing in the control room, I'm sure)

With the time it took to bump out to two promos and back to her on set just STANDING there, could they have found SOMETHING to show instead? Wow. This looks bad.

Praying That No One I Know Gets The Ax

Thanks to one of my favorite sites, MediaBistro: TVNewser for this flash. Layoffs are a bitch.

People Have Lost Their Damn Minds!

Here I thought I was living in a really safe place. And to think someone used an actual cigarette lighter to rob someone! Just 3 avenues west of me. I don't think I can leave my apartment today because of this!

People all across America waited in long lines overnight Thursday in order to buy the console on Friday. These suckers are going for $500 but selling for 3 times that on EBay (due to short supply). It's such a ripoff that the company does this to the consumers. Why should people have to spend that much just to have something that allows them to ignore their girlfriends and wives for months?

*Thanks to gothamist.com for the article/photo

Shoutout to Elizabeth Vargas

BIG congrats to ABC's Elizabeth Vargas.

It was nice to see her back at the helm of her former newscast, World News Tonight. Although I am a big supporter of Charlie Gibson, and a major Peter Jennings girl, it was awesome seeing her in the anchor chair. I'd much rather watch her than Couric. I'm also happy to report her son (his body double seen here) was not attached to her breast, and apparently, despite the findings of her recent 20/20 expose, you CAN have "it all." (network anchor, family, successful husband with second chance at life).

Kudos Elizabeth.

Yahoo News: Coverage of an Age-Old Debate

Is a Burrito a Sandwich? Apparently a BIG debate in Massachusetts.

Panera has a clause in its lease that prevents the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury (Mass.) from renting to another sandwich shop. Panera tried to invoke that clause to stop the opening of an Qdoba Mexican Grill.

My question is, WHY would Panera care about Qdoba, because they are totally not the same type of "cuisine." I know for a FACT that Panera co-exists with a Chipotle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Ogden Avenue. *Photo above from a similar co-existance in Minneapolis, Minn.* Why does Panera have a problem with the dobes but not with Chipotle? Personally, I prefer Panera because their "you pick two" (soup and sandwich) is a nice value. Although, putting a big burrito at Qdoba under your shirt and pretending it's in your belly is very fun.

Real Time with Bill Maher

His season finale was pretty awesome tonight. No clips up on YouTube yet, but I had to post this clip of him on Scarborough Country. Maher debates that Bush should be impeached.

I think Maher does a great job, and I love his show, but I think if this impeachment discussion is really going to occur, it shouldn't originate with a comedian/activist with an HBO show. (Although he does have a huge audience)

A big topic on tonight's Real Time was a discussion on the lack of public dialogue going on. How do we fix that?

"[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "

On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress.

Rather than take the opportunity to highlight this amazing feat, Beck turned the interview into an embarassment for journalists and CNN, and a PR disaster for himself.

Here's a video clip of the interview.

I just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and echo that this was NOT appropriate - - and if our country ever expects to move past racism and stereotyping, this type of behavior will not be tolerated. Here's a partial transcript:

BECK: Thank you. I will tell you, may I -- may we have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards face up on the table?

ELLISON: Go there.

BECK: OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly.

With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, "Let's cut and run." And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."

And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.

ELLISON: Well, let me tell you, the people of the Fifth Congressional District know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There's no one who is more patriotic than I am. And so, you know, I don't need to -- need to prove my patriotic stripes.

BECK: I understand that. And I'm not asking you to. I'm wondering if you see that. You come from a district that is heavily immigrant with Somalians. And I think it's wonderful, honestly, I think it is really a good sign that you are a -- you could be an icon to show Europe, this is the way you integrate into a country. I think the Somalians coming out and voting is a very good thing. With that --

ELLISON: I'd agree with you.

CNN should just start a celebrity channel

And bring BACK my HARD NEWS!

I've been watching CNN for 28 minutes and know all about the TomKat wedding, scientology traditions and now I'm learning why the PS3 is kick ass. Maybe I should have been waiting in line for three days... then I wouldn't have to watch this horrible afternoon of coverage.

Apparently, two of the kidnapped American contractors in Iraq have been found. I learned this on CNN's website, of course. And still no mention on TV. Not even a tease. C'mon guys.

Don't get me wrong, I still think CNN has the best breaking news coverage and maybe "the best political team in television," but it would be nice if they would have a priority on bigger stories rather than fluff.

Update: CNN led the 2 O'Clock hour with the hostage story. The "Arwa" liveshot and a phoner with a former American hostage lasted 6 minutes.

Does this tell me that I need to only tune in at the top of each hour for the important stuff?

30 Mistakes in 30 years

Why not make it 31 mistakes in 30 years?

Tonight's Barbara Walters special was completely rediculous! This woman is a legend, but she is beginning to look a little crazy.

Why take an amazing career highlighted with classic interviews and turn it into an "anniversary episode" of reel after reel of embarassing things? Things that never should have aired in the first place...and then let's use the softest lens in history to shoot her explaining the clips with quips that only a woman in her sunset years will think is clever. WHO produced this thing?

And maybe the worst thing is that it's a two-parter. You could log onto abcnews.com and find #30-16...but hey, come back tomorrow for the rest. Don't count on it!

As far as I'm concerned... quit while you're ahead. In my mind, she's ruining her legacy. All those years of hard work and sacrifice. She did so much. And now this.

Such a shame - A trailblazing woman in the news industry. She's someone I really looked up to. And yes, that's past tense.

snowflakes in my head

I've never had a time where I've been so emotional and conflicted and just overall confused. Friday is my second interview with CNN. I have finals this week and am very behind on homework. Two days to salvage what I can of this garbage. Work has been extremely stressful. It's that time of the month - I'm emotional. And I'm feeling so alone. I'm coming off of a weekend where a grade school friend of mine got married. No longer Emily Floyd. And she seems so changed yet the same. It was the weirdest thing standing with she and Andrea at the wedding. Posing in pictures. Standing next to me was two girls who used to play around and talk about crushes and favorite flavors of popsicles...and now they are married and graduated from college, and I am talking about interviewing for my dream company. We are so grown up. Or are we? Uncertainty lies ahead of all of us. Andrea is debating whether the job choice she has made is the right one for her - entering the corporate world for the first time. Emily is a married woman - starting a family - she has to worry about someone other than herself now. Loyalties to another person..someone who loves her. And here I am. Flying back to New York in a matter of days. Having a second interview with a company that has filled my heart with hope for so many years. Not a day has gone by that I haven't dreamt of my future with a network news operation. But there is still uncertainty. Despite 12 years of Catholic education, I'm not a very faith-driven woman. But I will say one thing. Many people of faith give advice in a way that normally I would brush off... but in a time like this, it seems eerily logical. "You just gotta give it up to God." I can't spend so much time worrying when I have so much to do. So I guess I have to just let someone else handle this one. May 16, 2006 2:08:17 AM

Steven Colbert WIPES THE FLOOR with George W. Bush

CORRESPONDENTS DINNER!!! This is HILLARIOUS.

I lost 8 pounds with...

THE FLU. And boy, was it great.

Just kidding. Absolutely miserable. I'm on the mend though. My grandpa was in the hospital for surgery last week and he brought us a little present apparently. I got sick in the studio at work on Monday night...talk about embarassing...tossin' your cookies in front of Mark Baden and Kathy Mykleby. So I've been pretty out of commission for the last couple days. And now it's Wednesday, and tell me what I've done this week... not a lot.

Things have been so absolutely overwhelming for me the last few weeks. Way too many irons in the fire, I can tell you that. With school, 35 hours a week at work, and Independent Election Commission, I haven't had much time for life. Sometimes I just dread starting my day.

I'm pretty much over everything right now. School isn't going that well and this illness threw a big wrench in all the ambition I had in the beginning of the week. I feel like I'm constantly playing catchup...but I don't know if I ever will.

The thing that really bothers me is that there are some extremely positive things happening in my professional/career life...but they are being overshadowed right now by some extremely negative school things. It really irks me.

I just need to sort things out and get through these next few weeks and when the dust settles, I'll make some decisions.

Take a Deep Breath

Do you smell that?

Usually when people ask that question, it's followed by an 'eew...gross' remark, but today most of all you'll smell two things.

1. Roses
2. Desperation

Valentines Day. The. Single. Most. Dreaded. Day. For. A. Single. Female.

Every year, I think it will be different. I think that maybe I will have someone to be with but I have never had a boyfriend on VD or my B-Day (six days later).

But honestly, when it comes right down to what matters...this commercialized 'holiday' doesn't. Plus, I really, really hate gift chocolates. I think the quality of the chocolate isn't always the best and some companies don't include a "key" so you bite into something and most of the time I don't like it at all...what a waste. Sometimes it's even the dreaded gooey cherry crap in there.

If I really had someone in my life that loved me romantically, I would hope they would express it more than once a year when it was sort-of expected. I wouldn't have to wonder whether or not someone I'm in a relationship with will get me something on this day. Yuck.

This year I have decided just to be happy for the people that get something... and stop and smell the roses.

A New York Kind of Post

For the first time in 25 years, a strike is affecting New York's transit system - leaving 7 million people without a bus/subway ride to work/school/shopping etc. The Transit Strike began this morning at 3EST.

According to CNN.com:

"Transit workers are tired of being underappreciated and disrespected," said Roger Toussaint, president of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union.

The strike defies the Taylor Law, which forbids public employees from walking off the job. The law imposes a fine of two days' pay for each day of an illegal strike. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the strike "illegal and morally reprehensible" and said the union faces severe consequences. "This is not only an affront to the concept of public service, it is a cowardly attempt by Roger Toussaint and the TWU to bring the city to its knees to create leverage for their own bargaining position," Bloomberg said.

Personally, I don't know HOW a city that depends on its transit system as much as New York does can allow something of this magnitude to happen. If they need more money, give them more money. Not everyone lives in the city or downtown where they work - especially with how steep the housing/renting market is there.

I'd hate to be a poor production assistant or associate producer in New York today. We all know how much I love walking. LOL.

Speaking of New York - Did anyone catch SNL this weekend? Funniest thing I've caught on there in a long time: The Chronic-les of Narnia RAP VIDEO from Saturday Night Live. Hat tip to Gothamist for the link. Just a sample of this funny-ass rap:

yo wheres the movie playing? upper west side dude! let's hit up yahoo maps to find the dopest route. i prefer mapquest! that's a good one too. googlemaps is the best! true that! double true! 68th and broadway step on it sucker! what you want to do chris? snack attack, motherfcuker!

FUNNY STUFF! Hopefully SNL is on the upward swing now and will continue to deliver dope rhymes!

Trash TV

Two MUST WATCH shows of 2K5 and 2K6 are Nip/Tuck and Project Runway. Nip/Tuck was absolutely SMOKIN HOT last season with great plots and lots of raw sex, violence and language. It was one of , if not THE SHOW with the most edge on TV.This season has been valleys and hills of ups and downs in the plotline - it seems like the writers have been distracted and putting too many new characters together and stepping away from the natural plotline...especially the new anti-semetic family. December 20th's TWO HOUR extravaganza will reveal the identity of the carver! SCARY! I can't wait. I'm thinking it's either Quentin (which may be too obvious) or it's Liz and it is revealed that she is a trannie. We'll see.

Flipping over to BRAVO! Project Runway is back for another season. It seems like there are some pretty talented designers and interesting personalities. My favorite ProjRun hottie of the season is Nick Verreos. He is a lil ethnic delicioso. Rawr. I don't watch it for Heidi Klum at ALL...she's sort of annoying w/ her auf-viedersehn "your fired-style" german sendoff. Whatevverrrrr. Seal is hot though. I love the runway shows and seeing garments put together like that. It makes me want to learn how to sew! Another element of the show that I really enjoy is that many of the designers are openly gay...there aren't too many shows like that despite our society's ever-increasing openness towards LGBT issues.

Anyone hear about FORD Motor Company pulling advertisements from LGBT publications? I thought this was absolutely rediculous. I heard about it a few days ago but I was browsing through my Oprah magazine today and saw a full two-page ad for them and it made me think of it. Read more about this issue HERE. Now an UPDATE about this story. Apparently Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it would reinstate and expand its advertising in gay publications after criticism from gay rights groups. Ford said in a letter it would restore advertising for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications and run corporate ads marketing all eight of its vehicle brands in the publications. An Atlanta news station has more... Maybe this does prove that letterwriting campaigns DO work!

One last fun thing for the night/early morning post... My most recent favorite movie, The 40-year-old Virgin came out on DVD Tuesday! I had some girlfriends over and we watched it...TOO FUNNY. If you haven't seen it yet - you should! I posted a picture from a hysterical scene.

BBC Archives - On your IPOD

I sure hope this announcement/idea springs open a whole can of worms... or do I? This could change television and distribution...is this a good or bad thing? Could expand viewership to a whole new demographic if it comes 'stateside.' A television network, in this case the BBC, telling viewers to download and edit video from their archives. The BBC have made footage from reports covering some of the most significant news events of the past 50 years available for download. The collapse of the Berlin wall, the soldiers at Tiananmen Square and more...80 news reports in total. "Don't just consume, create!" the network says. The most interesting projects will be featured on the BBC website. Check out the cutting edge BBC idea HERE. Hat tip to one of my new favorite websites - TVSQUAD. Thanks!

some shit I found on craigslist

I don't even really need to comment on how wrong all this is. Thank you Betty Friedan. If it's still too small for you to read, you can see the full size image HERE.

Various news and notes - AC360, WI on demand, Cuprisin etc.

Anderson Cooper was on The Colbert Report the other night and it was hillarious. It's always fun to see the serious anchor types on the shows like that - and Steven Colbert is just too funny. He does a great job. Anderson Cooper's laugh was so unique and cute. Colbert did this thing where they changed the lighting and did a split screen to show how much more handsome Colbert was vs. Cooper - they gave Colbert a soft lense and put these ugly green lights on Cooper. Too funny. Then Anderson did this thing where he buttoned his jacket and then he leaned forward and asked a question and unbuttoned it. I like it when people like Cooper can laugh at themselves and what they do. I DVR'd it.

I received this great news in my inbox yesterday from Mark Zoromski, one of my professors at UWM and the Co-Advisor to the Broadcasting Club at UWM.

I'm pleased to announce that "UWM PantherVision" and select Broadcast Club @ UWM television programs are now available to digital cable subscribers from the Illinois border all the way to upper Michigan! Last week, I finalized an agreement to place our programs on Time Warner Cable's "Wisconsin on Demand" channel. That means digital cable subscribers in the eastern third of the state can watch our student television programs wheneverthey want. All it takes a few simple clicks of their remote control. TV viewers with digital cable through Time Warner Cable can access Wisconsin onDemand (WIoD) on Channel 1111. They can also watch select programs produced by the Broadcasting Club @ UWM, including our "Ask theChancellor" programs. If you have TW digital cable, please watch, and watch often! Time Warner Cable: Wisconsin On Demand

It's GREAT to see something that I worked so hard on to now reach so many homes. I hope that it can bring more attention to the journalism program at UWM and potential donors to the Broadcasting Club and PantherVision. I'm SO proud.

I'd also like to highlight an article written by Tim Cuprisin - earlier this week I gave him a bit of a hard time for being short-sighted and not giving WISN more clout for pummeling others in the November ratings race - but then he put out THIS column. Thanks Tim.

I haven't said much about the new anchor team on ABC: Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas.I'm surprised that ABC went with a duo on this one - but given the amount of travel that they have planned for these two, it makes sense. There are people that say that these two are too young or inexperienced and they may be right...but that is what people said about the late, great Peter Jennings. I say, give 'em time. I would have liked to have seen Charlie Gibson in the chair but given his age and the ratings race of GMA vs. Today show, I guess I can understand why it didn't happen.

That's all for now...I'm going out tonight again so I'll probably post some pics of me having fun for once. :)

Happy Turkey Day

Gobble. Gobble. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends! I hope you're enjoying the time w/ your families as much as I did. I ate too much. We had four pies this year. Yummy but Gross.

I wasn't going to post anything today but I was looking @ CNN.com tonight and saw a hillarious headline, "EX FEMA CHIEF BROWN TO START EMERGENCY PLANNING BUSINESS."

The balls on this guy. Seriously. If only we could all make a living off being incompetent.

Out of fear that this headline was a hoax, I took a quick screengrab. I seriously suffered through my family's dialup connection to download the software just to grab this. Too funny.

OH yeah...and Nick and Jessica are DUNZO. Told-ja-so.

Ah...the HOLIDAY SEASON!

Thanksgiving is two days away and I'm looking forward to going home and seeing my family. Plus, my mom is an excellent cook so there will be some 'good eats.' I've had the worst cold over the last few days and I wish I could shake it. Friday I called in sick to work for the first time EVER. It was that bad. Yesterday I felt awful too - today I think I'm on the mend but I'm also drugged up on Robitussin.

I had to work on Sunday and I have to say that some of the best video we had was a clip of Bush in China and he was stuck after a press conference - he tried to dodge a question and duck out of the room and he was pulling on a door and couldn't get out because it was locked. Hillarious video. My favorite part is when he turns and faces the camera and he's standing at attention because he seems like he doesn't know what to do. You can find that video at crooksandliars.com - just look for the picture mid-way down the first page.I love how some networks have labeled this incident "No Exit Strategy" on their graphics.

At 11 AM ET on Monday, CNN was airing Vice President Dick Cheney's speech live from the American Enterprise Institute in Washington -- when a large black 'X' repeatedly flashed over the vice president's face! Then today, CNN's Daryn Kagan said it was a computer glitch, not a staffer's editorial comment, that caused a big, black X to appear briefly over the face of Vice President Dick Cheney during its coverage of his speech Monday about the War in Iraq. Saying the glitch was being blogged into a conspiracy theory, the company took a couple of minutes on air to explain what happened and pledge to take steps to prevent a repeat...The X was a computer placesaver for the CNN logo as the network was readying the graphic switch from the VP to an anchor. That cue is not supposed to make it to air, but did, a network tech exec explained to Kagan. I must admit...the screen-grab is pretty funny.

A guilty pleasure of mine lately has been watching the hot-headed Jim Cramer on CNBC. He has this show called "Mad Money" and he is shouting and sweating and picking stocks and throwing switches and hitting buttons. The guy is CRAZY but he makes for excellent TV. His show airs at 6, 9 and midnight EST. BOOYAH! (his catch phrase)

That's all for now, I guess. More fun and games later.

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I last wrote - things have been overall pretty mundane -I have that "same shit, different day" syndrome. It's sad when the only thing I have on my calendar is work, school and my WE Energies payment due date. Sad.

I went out last night - ate at Zaffiro's and went to Shank Hall to see Marc Broussard. He was great. His opening act Brandi Carlile was excellent though. She was very impressive. They are both very soul/guitar type singers with full backup bands. Brandi had a cello too - that was cool.

Now I'm just at the UWM library - I was trying to chill out in the Union and write a paper but I could not get on the wireless network there - which really pissed me off. It's frustrating to have a computer and not be able to get on the network. I guess it is an ongoing problem on this campus because it is overloaded or something. I hope they fix it. I was downstairs on the first floor and I sat down in a corner on purpose because usually they are a lot quieter - and then these two LIBRARIANS started talking and cackling and making all kinds of noise in this cubicle - and I went over and said "you know, there are tons of people out here that are trying to study and we can all hear you." And I could have been really rude about it but I said it nicely - and the woman looked at me, rolled her eyes and they went right back to talking. So I went to the help desk and told them - hopefully something happens and they get reprimanded or something. Bitches.

My mom did a great job of pissing me off this morning and I guess it wasn't really her fault - but it has been months since my parents came down and visited me...I usually drive home and spend the night or just go home for dinner or whatever - and I just thought it would be nice if they came down sometime this century... and so I asked what she and my Dad were doing tonight - and she has to get her hair/nails done but at 3 p.m. (but it will take a couple hours) so she said she couldn't and I got mad... it just pisses me off because I feel like I have to make all the effort to get home and drive there and sit around and be out of my own environment - but yet they can't do the same things for me...and it makes me upset. So there. That was my vent for the day.

I started reading my first "Oprah Book Club Book" ever. I never thought I'd be that person - but this book appealed to me for some reason. "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. I'm only on page 25 but it is really good so far and I'd much rather be at home, in bed and reading than being here writing this paper which is due at 2 p.m.

This teacher "busts my proverbial balls" because she is a very tough grader and I like to procrastinate - so she is giving me terrible grades so far this semester...so I need to get started on this thing -but there is more to come...soon...I hope. I'll try to be better about blogging -

I do like to read lots of blogs though. Some of my favorites: (www.hollywoodrag.com) (www.dailykos.com) (www.perezhilton.com) Check them out!

I have brown hair again too! :) Yay for natural colors and no outgrowth! Hottttttt right?

I need to give a big, fat shoutout to Beeeeeeeeeej! I miss you. WHEN are we getting Starbucks?

Our country is like a big, stubborn, middle-aged man

This news article made me FURIOUS.

"Tons of British aid donated for Katrina victims to be burned by the U.S."

Like the subjectline says, I think this country is being run like a big, stubborn middle-aged man. Maybe it's just being run BY one...and that's why it is like this. Now, I think I understand why rich people move away to the countryside of England. I get it.

Isn't it sad? I get teary-eyed when I hear 'America the Beautiful' but it seems as though our Country continues to do things to dissappoint its citizens. Argh.

The Situation Room

Maybe if they didn't keep Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room for six hours every day, he wouldn't make crazy unscripted comments like this one: http://www.hedonistica.com/media.php?path=/videos/so_poor_so_black.wmv

It's funny, but only because you know he didn't say it on purpose.

John Roberts hearings and new music choices

I came across this post from Wonkette (www.wonkette.com) "Politics for People with Dirty Minds" ...talking about the John Roberts confirmation hearings. I think this is hillarious.

Wonkette's Tips to Make John Roberts's Confirmation More Interesting

• Figure out which senators aren't wearing make-up. • Go through box of crayons trying to approximate the exact shade of Roberts' dreamy blue eyes. • Turn off sound, do voice over giving senators funny voices or accents. • Turn off sound, start "Dark Side of the Moon." Freaky, huh? • Miniputt! • Put ten glasses of water on your coffee table, one containing poison: close your eyes and re-arrange them. Every time Specter says, "let him finish," drink one. • Translate the hearings for your cat ("And then the senator asked 'meow meow meeeow meow meoooow.'"). • Count your yawns per hour; now, can you double that the next hour? • Assfuck -- while you still can. • Prank call the committee members' offices, asking "Is your democracy running?" • Watch them with a gerbil in your trousers.

Too funny. I'm actually a little scared about this whole Supreme Court justice thing. It's pretty exceptional that GWB has two nominations in a term let alone two in such a short amount of time, like two months. Eek.

Also, I've taken a liking to "Death Cab for Cutie." I'm not really that edgy though. But they are nice morning music, actually.

Bye-Bye John Atwater

Last night was John Atwater's going-away party...sad stuff. We all went out and had some drinks and were social butterflies. It was a beautiful night outside too so most of the night was spent on the patio area ... it was cloudy though so the only stars out were us! Jim is CRAZY!!! Too bad he works at TMJ now! Ohhhhhhhh yeah! That's right. Uh Huh. Yes. Jessica is a lot of fun - especially after 5:30 p.m. Lance is in a lady sandwich! He makes our barometric pressure RISE! I'm going to miss John! Great to work with. Awesome friend!

Now I'm off to work for the day... hungover! I had such a fun time last night with everyone.

Aaron Broussard

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/04.html OK This is my last video post of the day...time to go to work etc...BUT. Please go to this link and scroll down to AARON BROUSSARD video. It is very emotional and brought me to tears. Many of you may have already seen this but I think it deserves another viewing.

GO Keith OLBERMANN!

http://media.putfile.com/OlbermannSwings KICK ASS! Keith Olbermann takes the gloves off during his (excellent) show on MSNBC. He is very smart and he does not editorialize very often - but I believe SOMEONE has to say what he said...so I'm glad it was him.

Emotionally Exhausted...

It has been a while since I have written... I must admit that tonight's entry is fueled by emotional exhaustion. This hurricane's aftermath has really opened my eyes to just exactly how good my life is and what I take for granted - and it also makes me realize that I do have a heart and it's in the right place. I volunteered for about 9 hours yesterday - answering phones for our Hurricane Relief Hotline. The money went right to the American Red Cross, and we raised over $380,000. I was proud to help. The images of the suffering have been absolutely unbelievable. I lay awake at night thinking of the people in New Orleans, in Mississippi etc. that do not have a bed to lay in, no clean clothes, no shower, no water, no food. There isn't anything I can do about that - and I almost feel guilty about going about my life in the normal way. It makes me think about the way that our country treats people who are less fortunate - there have always been people who are homeless and do not have the luxuries that I have - and we do not think about them. Viewers were calling in tonight and were livid that we continued to call the people trying to evacuate their city "refugees." They said we were being racist and calling them "refugees" because they were black. This really makes me upset - they also say that they are not "refugees" because they are American citizens and they pay taxes just like the rest of us (which I agree with). People are emotional and upset. When I was taking calls last night during the phone bank, I was moved by the people who were donating money. Many people called and were ashamed that they could not donate more than $5 or $10. They were upset and said that they were poor and wished they could give more. Several of the people I spoke with were crying and said they wished there was more they could do to help. I was really touched. I wish there was someone I could talk to about how I feel. I broke down and cried on the way home tonight. I couldn't take it anymore - I had to release how I feel. I really do feel so alone sometimes. I went out for a drink with a few people after work tonight and I didn't have a good time at all - I'm really unhappy sometimes...it's like a rollercoaster. One minute, I can be on top...cracking jokes, laughing, talking smart, putting on a cute face at work...and the next minute, I'm alone, thinking about things, thinking about my state of affairs (school in a week, single life for 4 years, ambition to move up w/ career etc.) and I just get so unhappy. I can be one of the most confident people but lately I just feel so vulnerable. I know I have a lot to be thankful for. But I can't help but feel sad about some things...like how I haven't had anyone hold me and tell me they like me for who I am. Sad night, I guess.

Tuition on the Rise and the UW System allows this!

Spivak and Bice, two sometimes witty, always 'thinking out of the box' journalists for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel uncovered an interesting and somewhat alarming tidbit about UW-Milwaukee's Chancelllor, Dr. Carlos Santiago. He has a consultant which is a colleague of his from his days in Albany and he is making BIG bucks - as tuition in the UW System continues to rise!

The consultant, who lives in New Mexico, has a $163,320-a-year salary, a ritzy UWM office that was redecorated at a cost of nearly $15,000 and all the health benefits, vacation etc. that is only reserved for full-time staff. According to Spivak andBice, his salary is enough to cover tuition for five in-state students at UWM for this fall semester. Gulp.

Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/aug05/348239.asp

This makes me so upset. I don't blame Santiago for asking for the favor for his friend...I blame the UW System for allowing his request. Tuition has gone up considerably since I began college in 2001. Many students are working three jobs just to be able to afford schooling without student loans - students are working to pay off their loans. The only reason I don't have loans is because my parents had the foresight to save for me since I was a little girl...

SHAME on the UW System! This does not change the way I think of Dr. Carlos Santiago "the person" or overall as a Chancellor - but I do not exactly think he has the best financial interests of the University and the System in mind.

BOO!

How I'm feeling about News right now

My biggest dream right now is to be taken under someone's wing and be shown the business in a quality environment...I want to travel the world and put out a quality product - stories that help/educate people - Watching that special last night showed me just what people don't do anymore...Now special reports are just about a bunch of bullshit - Katie Couric's "hard hitting" sitdown interview with the Runaway Bride...c'mon! ABC's new series on "Hooking Up" - even though I enjoy it, it's NOT a news documentary. I hope that in the wake of his death, people start realizing why they got into this business and start putting out more quality programming... I read something last night that said that when WNT (World News Tonight) stopped covering the OJ Simpson Trial as much as NBC's Nightly News, WNT lost the ratings trophy to NBC...Jennings didn't care about the trial, he basically thought it was rubbish - and after that trial, things began to change in the landscape, more hard news lost out to softer or celebrity type stories...and I think that is too bad. I know it drives ME nuts. I hear complaints from co-workers all the time, especially photojournalists (who generally don't need encouragement to complain) that stories are always rushed, they don't get the amount of time they need to breathe...instead, squished in a rundown filled with bullshit national stories such as a trapped oranguatan in a tree in south carolina or somehting like that... The thing that really drives me crazy is that there is NOTHING I can do about all this right now in my life. I'm not in a position that I can do anything other than make sure I'm doing the very best that I can with what I am doing...I can only make sure that the viewers are seeing that oranguatan from the best source, seeing it at the right times etc. I don't want to finish college, even though I have a semester left. I want to get a new job, travel the world and educate myself on things that really matter - not to be stuck INSIDE a classroom in MILWAUKEE. Frustration sets in, and I haven't even gotten out of bed yet today. August 11, 2005 12:01:50 PM

Peter Jennings died today

A lifelong dream of mine died today with one of my heroes, ABC's Peter Jennings. I don't remember a time without Peter on the TV, in my living room, in my thoughts and guiding my aspirations. I have never wanted to meet anyone more or aspired to be anyone other than Peter Jennings. I aspired to be a journalist from a very young age, and it was because each night, I would sit in front of the TV and watch someone who seemed so passionate, so hardworking and so devoted to the news, deliver it to me - he spoke to millions of people every night and he touched my life in ways I had no idea one person could. As I sat in the studio tonight running prompter, I heard that there was a possible ABC News Special Report breaking in any moment, so I had a feeling that it was PJ...Mike Miller and Kathy Mykleby thought it was Rehnquist, but I said...Peter. The special report came on and Charlie Gibson started talking, I knew it... Watching the over 12 minute tribute package made me realize just why I loved him so much...so talented, charismatic, hardworking - I started to cry. He made me (and still makes me) want to aspire to be great. You don't meet people like that every day. Driving home tonight I was thinking of what I could do to take my life to that next level. I want to learn and grow, travel, meet more people, learn more about this country of ours...aspire to be that next great journalist...which feels so far away. SO now I sit here, thinking more and more about how I can do it - and what my next move in this big chess game of life is. Goodbye Peter. Goodbye my hero. I'm sorry I never got the opportunity to fulfill my dream of meeting you. August 8, 2005 12:21:07 AM

Another day off...another day sitting around..

Everyone likes to have a day off. I usually get like four in a row...then I work the entire weekend and a few days after, then more days off. I get bored by the second day. So what do I do? I sit on my ass. Sounds great, right? Nah, not that great.

Tomorrow, I have off again. I'm going to the Lakefront Festival of the Arts. I have never gone before but I am looking forward to it, plus it is supposed to be a beautiful day outside. Perfect day to peruse on the lakefront.

I did a good deed today. I went grocery shopping at this big Pick 'n Save on Holt Avenue and I was loading my groceries into my car, and I saw a guy trying to push his cart back, and I told him that I'd help him with that and just take it over with mine - and he said thank you because his back was really hurting him...he was older, and I felt good about helping him out.

SO now, I'm going to get a glass of water and go lay on my bed and watch a DVD and then go to sleep...a nice, quiet night at home. I like those. I don't need to go out and be with stupid, shallow people...plus, I have no money.

Long time, no post.

I’ve become a total Apple PowerBook snob in less than a week. It is incredible. I had no idea that a computer like this would affect the way that I saw my photos, my music and the programs that operate on a computer. I love taking my new computer to Alterra and using their wireless Internet. So how did all this happen? My piece of shit PC which was a whitebox (meaning it was custom built) overheated (I think)…My apartment which doesn’t have air conditioning got extremely hot during a stretch of days over 80 degrees and I think my computer didn’t like that so much. I was working on updating my resume around 2 a.m. last Saturday and the computer just gave up! I had a big presentation due on Monday too and I needed a computer…and with working all weekend until Tuesday, so I didn’t have time to go home and get the computer fixed by my Mom’s computer guy… I’ve wanted to switch to Apple for quite a while now – especially for the future when I would like to get a MiniDvCam and a digital editing system… So I spoke with my Mom and she said that I could get a new computer as an early graduation present. I got a Apple PowerBook Deluxe with a DVD burner (never buying a movie again)! This computer rocks my socks off. Seriously. In other news, I’m playing on a softball team this summer. It has been a ton of fun so far. We are 2-0 on the season. We won our first game 31-1 and we won last night 21-1. Killin’ it! My teammates are super nice and friendly and (obviously) very good players. I’ve begun to understand how out of shape I am because after every game for two or three days I am so sore, I feel like an old woman. I threw my first ball last night way too hard because my arm hurt really badly afterwords and bothered me the entire game. After the games, we go to this bar called the “HOME” bar on KK. Its so funny because all the bars in BayView look like total shit on the outside and yet they are so cool and updated on the inside. I’ve decided that I need to start broadening my horizons and reading more. I went to Borders on Friday and bought a few books – I’m going to learn Spanish again so that it could help me communicate with people when I’m out on a story. I went with John Atwater to a police standoff a week ago and it was in a primarily Hispanic neighborhood. I realized that the language barrier is definitely there, and if I could speak Spanish, it would really help me with my career. It’s an investment in me. I also picked up one of the most famous feminism books “The Feminist Mystique” – I’ve never read it and am very interested in it. I think that even if I don’t agree with all the points in the book, at least I will have learned more about feminism and what women have been through. I think every woman should be aware of where we have been as women and where we are headed. I take pride in myself and I think everyone should, even men. Call me a bitch for that, if you want. I still love me. Anyway – I hope to be blogging again more often. I needed a hiatus for a while. I just needed some time to just “BE”…but I feel a bit different nowadays. I just feel more mature – happier – more self-assured. And that’s all good.

Shame on Newsweek...Either Way!

Newsweek is retracting a story it published last week that quoted "a source" saying that interrogators flushed a Quran down the toilet at Guantanamo Bay while trying to intimidate prisoners. 15 people were killed in Afghanistan as a result of Anti-American protests.

Some think that Newsweek may have been pressured by the U.S. Government to say the story was inaccurate in order to show that there was nothing like that occurring. If this is true, SHAME on Newsweek AND the Government. If Newsweek had a legitimate story with a reliable source, they should have stuck by it.

If Newsweek did not have a legitimate or reliable source, they should not have run it in the first place. As Dan Harris reported on World News Tonight, it appears they only had one source claiming the story was true and he "changed his mind" and that made them retract the story and issue an apology.

This story makes me furious and leads me to believe the public will never trust the press. How can they? Now I know why many people my age don't watch the news - they don't feel like they understand it, can follow it and they don't trust the sources. UGH. READ ABC News' Angle on this story READ CNN's Angle on this story

It's been a while since I've blogged. It has been pretty busy for me between moving, settling in and work. I have final exams this week and a lot of work to do tonight before two exams tomorrow....If you have any comments about today's blog entry, please leave them.

Duane Gay passed away

Today at 2 p.m. I learned the sad news. Duane Gay was another one of those familiar faces to me. He was someone that I looked up to for as long as I can remember. Even when he was at Channel 18. And then to 12. I will miss seeing his timesheet next to mine and thinking of how much I admired him. Even though I never knew him personally, I felt like I knew about him and could feel his warm personality in his stories. When he spoke to the camera, it was as if he was telling a story to an old friend, just as the good journalists do. I aspire to be like him. I always have.

His passing resurfaced stories that I haven't watched in years and made me remember why he was so good at his job. When he did his job, he showed the viewers just who he was. His personality. He didn't seem to be worried about clogging the story with junk like uncommonly used words or odd jargon or other mumbo jumbo. He just spoke like a normal person, showed his creativity and passed along the story as if he were telling it to just anyone.

I wish it were that simple now. I somehow hope it could be like that for me. I want to show people exactly who I am and be genuine. Maybe there is a station out there that would want me for me and not want a cookiecutter personality/image. Only time will tell.

But for now, my thoughts are with Duane and his family. He has left a lasting impression on me.

CLICK HERE FOR A LOOK BACK AT DUANE's CAREER

Moving is hard work - Part 1

I got my keys for my new apartment this weekend. My Mom came down Friday and she is actually at my apartment right now, finishing packing up a few things and cleaning my kitchen. I had a chance to move in a bunch of stuff already (shoes, hanging clothes, rugs etc.)...what a job! I'm very glad that I hired movers for the rest of the stuff, the heavy stuff like couches and whatnot.

35 steps up to the apartment. I found out just how out of shape I am. It's good that I don't have an elevator anymore - it will help me get off my ass a little.

SO the movers come tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. I'll have another update about the moving and such on Monday night or Tuesday. I'm excited. :) Time for the nooooz. g'nite.

SCHWOCH IT UP!

"Milwaukee Man is Charged in Charity Fraud"

Kristopher Schwoch told officials at Warner Brothers, ABC and NBC that the free passes to movie premieres, TV tapings and studio tours that they agreed to donate would benefit the StarCare Foundation, his charity for terminally ill children. But instead of auctioning off the passes for the cause, police alleged Thursday, Schwoch instead went to the approximately 60 events himself, including the Oscars. Schwoch then posted more than 100 photographs on the foundation website, shownig himself smiling next to countless A-listers. Police allege that he used the star-studded photos to lend legitimacy as he sold bogus tickets over the last two years to various Hollywood Events - at $500 to $5,000 apiece. More than 100 unsuspecting customers who thought they were supporting a children's charity bought them up, police said. Turns out - I know this guy via IM.

This is the same crackerjack that IMed me out of the blue on Yahoo years ago under my screenname and wanted to buy it from me. Hes like, "THENIGHTLNEWS" that' s a cool screenname...and he went ON and ON about how he had this stupid talkshow lined up called "Schwoch It Up" with 'Tonight Live Productions' and he wanted to be like Jay Leno. I wanted to link to his star-studded photo album in this post but I guess it got shut down. (It was photos.yahoo.com/tonightlive. (I actually checked it out a few months ago...he used to send out pic update emails to people on his buddylist)...The pics were all with A-listers...they were all pretty impressive. But I had a LONG, hard chuckle when I saw this on our 10 p.m. newscast. The shit has hit the fan, I guess. He's still sitting in a Burbank jail from as far as I can gather...wonder how many have made him their bitch...

I've posted a photo of this douchebag below. Enjoy.

Schwoch is the fathead on the far left

Five Murders in 36 Hours

"It's a sign of warmer weather." I heard that more times yesterday on and off air than I'd like to acknowledge. Five murders in 36 hours. The one garnering most of the attention is seven year-old Nikeemah Hubanks who was shot on Sunday (5th/Center). Eugene Kane of the JS had a very well written column about her life/death and the 'inevitable rite of spring' for today's edition. Read it.

I feel like Milwaukee is broken right now. It makes me wonder what I can do to make it better. I have really grown to love many things about this city. But the unknown parts are the parts that are hurting right now. I've been through but never stopped to really look at the areas that are the most conflicted, where the most violence exists. I wish I knew how to help. I couldn't help but notice in video from yesterday's vigil for Nikeemah, that Mayor Barrett looked kind of uncomfortable on the steps of her home with her family and their neighbors, friends etc. I don't know if the look in his eye was fear or uncertainty or maybe even frustration...but something was happening behind those eyes of his. I've met Mayor Barrett on several occasions and had a sit down interview with him before he became Mayor. I like him as a person and I trust him as Mayor...I just hope he knows how to heal this city. It seems to be more urgent now more than ever.

Popewatch is finally over. Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany was chosen. I was kind of hoping for a younger Pope. Ratzinger is 78. Watching CNN's coverage, I kind of sensed that the crowd below was a bit divided, like they weren't too sure about the choice. It was a different mood from the gatherings of Pope John Paul II. This is probably just a transitional period for the Church anyways. The reason why I was pulling for a younger Pope is because when Pope John Paul II was introduced, he was in his early 50s. He was a young, vibrant, engaging Pope. That is why, I believe, he was so well liked. I believe this Pope will appear more as PJPII was in the last 5 years or so...he will be more sedentary. He will just kind of ride around in the Popemobile and wave and whatnot. One of the funniest, brightest spots of Popesmokewatch yesterday was a CNN Pkg that had this crazy woman singing "We want a female Pope." She was a bit strange looking, sang with an accent and when she sang her tongue stuck out. I guess you had to be there but it was pretty funny.

Although I know history was made today with the announcement of the new Papacy, I can't help but feel upset that the anniversary of the largest domestic terror attack in the United States is overshadowed. Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. I will NEVER forget that day. I was scared. I felt unsafe, like if that could happen there it could happen anywhere and why not in my town. I cried and cried and was scared. I was also glued to the TV. That was also another event that made me stick with my aspirations to be a reporter. I watched the reporters and anchors tell stories of families torn apart and children who were badly burned but survived. I was hoping for a bunch of followups to that great storytelling today. I was waiting for the memories to come rushing back with the images of billowing smoke from the federal building...but I don't think I'll get that today. I won't have time to get caught up in the moment...we have a new Pope. I'll be too busy at work.

Too much eating out?!

Breaking News! Jim's Refrigerator is BARREN. Some guys just do too much eating out. Emily and I discovered a co-worker is one of "those guys." He's not exactly romancing the ladies w/ his good cooking skills. He had eggs, spaghetti sauce, Old Style and some wine which I think was from New Years. That's hot. Jim, please go grocery shopping. Metro Market is located at Van Buren and Juneau.

Tonight was fun. I worked til 10:30 then a bunch of us went out to see our Assignment Editor's band play at Melissa's pub on 3rd St. They were pretty kickass, despite the location. From there, it was off to North Ave...Rascals/Vituccis/Rascals again. Then J-Deezy had a lil afterbar at his place which is 2 blocks from mine. It was alright. Not as fun as the one I had on my bday...but I had a cheesetray. As you can see from the photo illustration above, there were no refreshments of really any kind at his afterbar. I think he was on the menu, but we weren't sampling that platter. Nuff said.

My weekend is pretty much shot. I worked today and I work Sunday 2-11. Then I will get home, pass out and it will be Monday. I can't believe I will be in my new apartment a week from Monday. It's pretty exciting. I am glad I get a fresh start. Plus, even though it makes me crazy when she goes through and folds all my stuff, I'm glad that my mom will help me get organized and settled in.

Song to download: T.I.- ASAP...or Lil Boosie - Give me that... I APPROVE!

Motorcycle Mania and Ole Jeff Dahmer's stompin' grounds

BeeJ and I enjoying the scene on 2nd Street... I spent the evening, like the title says, in Jeffrey Dahmer's old stomping grounds...over by LaCage. Went down there to meet up w/ some friends and my friend Andy was at Stenys so it was a natural choice. It wasn't exactly a hoppin' evening down on that side - personally I wanted to go to Gallery Night in the third ward but it was over by the time I got my ass in gear. I like going out to gay bars occasionally because there is something about being in an environment where people feel comfortable and are able to express themselves in a way that in another place they may not be able to. With that said, it is also awkward to see someone who you know on the outside world in street clothes, dressed up in drag with a wig on. This person shall remain nameless, but lets just say...hes better looking as a guy - AND it also shocks me that hes a young professional in Milwaukee and goes out and exhibits himself in the way that he did tonight. But hey, if he's comfortable with it...so am I.

Motorcycles are hot. There, I said it. Let me just say that living in Milwaukee is great if you love Harleys and the mere sound of them "revs you up" so to speak. I rode home on a motorcycle tonight. Shh. Don't tell my Mom. ;) There really is something about riding on one though...although the bumps in the road kind of hurt. I think the fun and the "feel of the open road" outweigh the negative thoughts going through my head of how dangerous it really is being on one... Plus I love chrome. Thanks for the fun ride Andy. Its hard riding a motorcycle with a purse on your arm. Note to self, leave the purse at home next time. One thing I accomplished today that I am really happy about is paying off two store charge accounts. I payed off my Target Visa and my Marshall Fields card. Those two balances were nagging me and I hate having to worry about missing a due date. My mother's perfect credit is an impossible act to live up to. But I'm proud of myself. I don't know how people who have massive credit card debt can sleep at night. I know I wouldn't be able to. Speaking of sleep...I should get to bed...especially since I work a full shift tomorrow.

But before I go...I had to send out a shoutout to Milwaukee businessman Harris Turer - the new owner of the Admirals. I know you are married and everything - but DAMN. You're a great looking guy and obviously successful. Anyone in your bloodline single? ;) Good. Have your people call my people!

SPEEDING TICKET! AAAGH!

I got a speeding ticket. Not impressed. I think the photo illustration below should clear up any confusion about how I feel about getting the ticket.

I was driving on Water St. just past the Comedy Cafe, minding my own business, speeding y'know, doin my thang...when I noticed a cop hiding by Laacke and Joys. Well, I saw him right away and I figured it was too late to save my ass because I'm sure he saw me immediately too, and I knew once I passed him that I was seriously screwed. So there's really no good place to get pulled over on Water, so I turned into this parking lot next to Brew City and just sat there... and then the dialogue began. O: Do you know why I pulled you over? C: Because I was speeding. O: Do you know what the speed limit is on Water St. C: pause...Is it 30? O: That is right. C: Okay. O: Do you know how fast you were going? C: ...36666??? (wild guess) O: 45. C: silence. Then he began quizzing me about my address and my phone number. Even though my diction never faltered, he made me repeat numbers and shit and I am certain he was doing that to see if I had been drinking. That jerk. So dude goes back to his cop car, runs my stuff (which took forever) and then I see a paddy wagon turn around the same corner which my car occupies and go out of sight...and the first thing I think is - OH NO...what if that unpaid parking ticket I have suspended my registration and they wont let me drive home and I have to go in that thing...(which I doubt they'd do). 10 minutes later. He comes back with a citation. I didn't even say anything because I was sooo hoping for a warning. Do they even give warnings anymore? Pfff.

The only good thing about the ticket is that it's only $77 for 15 over. If I would have gotten that ticket in Fond du Lac County (where I'm from), the ticket probably would have been at least $180-220. It's still 4 points, but I don't get too many speeding tickets, unless this is bad karma. I sure hope it isn't. IRKED.

My second reaction: Sappy Sadness 

My first reaction: Pissed Off 

TOP TEN BLOG OF THE WEEK!!!

VOTE FOR MY BLOG on MKE Online!!! OK People! Here's your chance to help me out...go to the link above and click on the little circle next to my blog and vote me BLOG OF THE WEEK on MKEONLINE!

This came as a big surprise to me because my blog is usually like Seinfeld, the blog about NOTHING! And sarcastically, I was honored to be placed into the same catergory as the Personal Injury Lawyers Blog. Talk about watching paint dry. But in all seriousness, this is pretty neet. Thanks MKE.

PAT O BRIEN

This is hillarious! I doubt Pat O'Brien will work again after his bosses see this (that is, after he gets out of rehab)... PAT O'BRIEN'S DRUGGED UP PHONE CALLS!!!! UPDATE! ALSO: You can now make your OWN versions of the calls with this handy little tool (thanks to Beej for finding this for me!) YOUR VERSION!

FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANNOUNCES POPE DEAD

"I mean, facts are facts...the Pope is dead." (SHEP SMITH, FNC). One of Fox News Channel's producers blew it BIG TIME yesterday during the Pope coverage. Check out this video.

Incredible.

Pope Coverage Burnout

Bells are tolling here for the Pope. I just got out of the shower and heard the church down on Brady ringing. I don't know if that means there is a special Mass or if its just kind of a "whats up y'all? The Pope might die today" bell. I was raised Catholic. I went "through" 8 years of Catholic gradeschool and 4 years of private Catholic education. I say I went "through" it because it was somewhat of an ordeal...more like a chore for me at times. When I got to college, it was a pretty easy choice for me to stop attending Mass because after all those years, I really wasn't sure what I believed. To this day, I really am not so sure. I do pray, and I know all the prayers (because things like that really stick with you) but I don't go to Mass on a regular basis at all. ((Afterall, I grew up w/ my Dad telling me 'Christmas, Easter and everything else is extra credit'.))

I find myself praying quietly sometimes, talking to God in regards to my grandparents and special little things...but I also believe other faiths have good things and bad things about them, just like the Catholic faith. I have a hard time deciding whether or not channels like CNN/FOX News should be devoting their entire block of news to the Pope. I know this is a HUGE deal, history in the making...but what do Jewish people think? What do Protestants and Lutherans think? Those people watch these channels too... But on the same token, if it can be 'All Terri Schiavo, all the time..." then why not the Pope? Why not put an emphasis on someone who has been in this position since the 1970's? Regardless, I'll be keeping my eye on this today.

Last night, Primetime Live had a piece on the Frank Jude Jr. beating. It was pretty cool to see the network do a piece on a story we've been covering for some time now. John Quinones was even doing standups in front of the house and everything...and during the segment, they had video of our news open and Brendan live at the courthouse. It was pretty damn cool. Brendan was there to see it too - and everyone thought it was pretty awesome that he was on National News. ((I joked w/ John that I still had one appearance up on Brendan...)). Neeto.

I have off work today - so I'm just kind of lounging around for now. I have a few errands to run..I need to pay my astronomical cable/Roadrunner bill and run out to Marshall Fields and settle up with them. Other than that, if I'm feeling ambitious, I may be on the hunt for some cheap accent furniture for my new apartment (that I move into exactly 25 days from today)!! I'm very excited.

I'm going to try to blog more...its just been pretty busy. Have a good 1.

Stressed out

How do you deal with stress? I internalize. I don't really like to let people know when I am stressed out... you know the old saying 'never let 'em see you sweat..' - - it's kind of like that. Overall, I'm pretty good - but these last two crazy nights at work have really messed with my thought process outside of work and that is not good considering its 1135, I just got home and I have a 930am midterm tomorrow morning that I haven't even studied for yet. Just a bit frustrated.

Again, tonight is one of those nights where I wish there was someone to come home to.

I keep thinking...only four more days to DC. But then I think of all the stuff I have to do before then and then that stress comes back to me. Hopefully it disappears overnight.

Sheraton Hotel Shooting

What causes someone to just SNAP and take others lives? To me, it feels like news the last couple of days has been filled with people gunning others down and then taking their own lives. Suicide has been pushed into the limelight. Yesterday was a crazy day at work...a man went absolutely apeshit and shot up the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield. He shot 11 people, killed seven and then killed himself. It was very busy with tons of feeds and shooting tapes coming in... today there is a whole box of stuff (And I'm alone, which I prefer to having someone running around following me...we're all training this dumb guy) I have a midterm exam tomorrow that I haven't even had time to start studying for. I'm pretty screwed, actually. I hope I get a chance at some point tonight to do that because I can't afford to fail this class (especially since the book was $100). I leave for Washington DC on Friday. I'm pretty damn excited. It will be nice to just go out there and just relax...have fun...etc. No worries. I'm gonna get back to work for now, but I'll blog more later on when I get a chance.

I got a new digital camera today!! 

Fred Durst (eew) Sex Tape

OK so this isnt something I thought I'd be posting about. FRED DURST.

Mr. "did it all for the nooky"

...in my opinion in a blatant attempt to keep him off the "B LIST"... is the star in a new sex tape that has hit the Internet. For all interested parties, this is the link: http://culture.pascal55.com/2005/02/fred-durst-rawest-dawg-sex-tape.html

Trust me. Durst isn't packin' a big schlong or anything, and I certainly don't get all hot looking at his nasty hairy gut and tattoos...but its worth watching for comic relief. Personally, I can't wait for the Jay-Z, Beyonce sex tape. That would be worth watching. Rawr.

I worked the AM shift (5am) Saturday and Sunday mornings. Talk about ruining a weekend. I had to wake up and drag my ass to work and it just made me so tired all weekend...it sucked. I went and looked at a bunch of apartments today and I found a pretty nice place but of course, I'm not sure. It also needs to pass parental approval which can be tough sometimes...but its nestled between Grant Park and Lake Michigan in Cudahy. I looked at a 9th floor 1 br apartment with a view of the lake and over Grant Park's trees. V. beautiful view. I made a ton of calls this morning so I'm expecting to get a bunch back tomorrow and I'll go look at some more then since I don't have to work...I only have school.

This is a public service announcement: Hoop earrings and sweatshirts should NEVER EVER MIX. Please. Stop it. On Tuesday, I sat behind this girl in my Gender and the Media class. She was an otherwise good looking girl, I guess...but she had her hair pulled back real tight and was wearing a grey sweatshirt and red hoop earrings. I can understand if you wake up late and throw on a sweatshirt and pull your hair back (personally, I can count on one hand the number of times in the last three years I've worn a sweatshirt). At which point do you say

"OK well I'm gonna go ahead and coordinate my outfit here and throw on a pair of hoop earrings to complete the look"

I don't get it. But hey, maybe that's just me.

Oh by the way, I met a cool boy. I feel now that I mentioned it, I am jinx'd and he will not return my calls.

I just had a birthday. One week ago today, in fact. It was easily the best birthday I've ever had. A ton of friends came out to help me celebrate at the Hi Hat Garage, which turned out to be a decent venue. I even had an afterbar at my apartment, which for some people, lasted until 5:45 a.m. I'd like to thank T-Bone for buying me that shot of 151 which completely ruined all sober thought from that point on. Vaughn, I'm sure you encouraged him. Anyways... much thanks to all my friends who came out. A bunch of ppl from work even came which was a ton of fun, despite Brendan saying that he heard ppl at my party were on "aeriola watch 12" due to my low-cut shirt. Funny.

I would also like to send out a sincere THANK YOU and APOLOGY to BJ and NANCY for paying and having to pay a $60 bar bill that was somehow racked up by people who didn't pay. I don't know how this happened but I want to thank them for doing what they did and for being there for me (and ppl who didn't pay). I love you two. Honestly. I hope you had an awesome birthday today Nancy.

In all seriousness, I feel a bit different now. My birthday really made me reflect on this next year and beyond of my life and how I can strive to better myself each and every day. I really do try, and some days I fail miserably, but it's alright. I can start by going to classes tomorrow. That would be good.

My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on the 22nd. I knew this milestone in their lives was also incredibly important to me, but I had absolutely no idea that it meant as much to me as it did, until I called home to tell them how I felt. I called home while on campus and suddenly I found myself walking through spaights plaza, sunglasses on, phone in ear, bawling and telling my mother that I felt she and my father have set a wonderful example for me in my life and that their marriage and this milestone was something that I hoped to attain in my life as well. I felt/feel so strongly about how they have maintained such a great marriage and how they honor each other. As "Fond-du-Lac-ish" (see: closeminded/rural) as my parents can be sometimes...I always feel proud that they are my parents and that they have done more than an outstanding job raising me and spoiling the shit out of me the past 22 years. Thanks Mom and Dad (even though you will never read this blog because I dont give you the link so you don't know my exploits, dirty deeds and innermost feelings)*because that would make me vulnerable to you and that does me no good in arguements*

Well, I'm going to get off here and attempt to prepare for a busy, busy week ahead. For all that don't know, ABC World News Now has asked me to do another story for them, and the deadline is March 8, so I have a lot of work to do. If anyone has ADD or has taken Adderoll and can fill me in on your experience, please do.

So I guess, in closing, I'm going to leave you with some of the cockiest rap lyrics I've heard in a long time from one of my favorite songs of the moment: "Hate it or Love it" by The Game feat 50 Cent.

"hate it or love it, the underdog's on top/and i'm gonna shine homey until my heart stop/go ahead envy me/i'm rap's mvp/and i ain't goin nowhere so get to know me"

So much for JSonline's commitment to breaking news

Whoever said newspapers were better than TV news can totally suck it because JSONLINE had NO COVERAGE of tonight's Amber Alert and recovery of the little girl in Milwaukee. So despite their 'up to date' bar on the top of the page and everything, there was no mention of it.

I have had plans to blog for days but I don't have time to right now because I need to finish getting ready to go out for a bit...but I wanted to just blog about this quickly because I thought it proved a big point that I've had for years...why I want to do TV. Immediacy.

Birthday Weekend

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH GIRRRRL. It's my BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!!

I am excited. Tomorrow is payday and I have a couple appointments scheduled. Dropped off some drycleaning today. I desperately need a brow-wax and I'm going tanning beforehand. It's a time for some TLC.

I've decided to change the venue for my birthday party. After much thought and debate, I've axed Lucille's because of its covercharge and decided to keep it local and hip at the Hi Hat Garage. I only hope that people don't get screwed up and go to Lucille's and are upset w/ me for changing...but you know what? Screw it. Its my birthday and I can do what I want.

HI HAT GARAGE, 1709 Arlington Place...(right off Brady). Plan to arrive around 9:45p-10pm.

After my birthday and all that is over, I need to get my ass in gear and take school more seriously. I am behind on my reading BIG time and if I want to do better than last semester, I need to get in gear.

My lease is up on my apartment April 30th and I got a letter in the mail asking me if I am going to renew my lease and make it another year...I won't be doing that, but I was hoping to go month to month. Apparently, I can't go month to month at my building because they DOUBLE your rent when you do so... so that won't be happening. So the next step would be to sign a six month lease, but Ogden says that they don't want anyone moving out during the winter months, so I don't know what to do - I don't know if they'll allow a six month lease because that will put me at December moveout. Ugh. Frustrated. I'd kind of like to find a new place...but moving is a big pain in the butt. Stay tuned.

Anyone want to give me a massage? I have a pinched nerve in my right shoulder. Volunteers will get one back. :) PARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTAY. :)

IPod fun at Hi-Hat

Birthday season is here! My birthday is on the 20th and I am very excited for it. I think maybe because I know next year I probably won't be around any of my friends unless I get a job in Milwaukee. SO this year, I want to go out with a bunch of people again - so watch for your invite. Any suggestions on where to go? Did the Hi-Hat last year and seating was a problem...so I'm looking for another location.

BJ's birthday was yesterday...we went to Taylors and I had a great time. I really love his friends. I've never heard so much talk about blowjobs in my life. It was kind of cool, actually.

I thought I was in the mood to blog, but turns out I'm not.......so I guess there's more to come later, but for now, here's a link

This is an awesome idea! I love my Ipod, I love Hi-Hat, now mix the two and you have this: http://www.onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/ipod.html Every Wednesday night at the HI-Hat. I might go check it out soon. Any takers?

Rodney Dangerfield mixup

I SAW THIS ON SHOPTALK TODAY. What a dumbass that CNN employee must be!! "Rodney Not Available" Even in death, Rodney Dangerfield gets no respect. The late comedy legend's longtime publicist, Kevin Sasaki, got a call from a booker at CNN last week asking him if 'Rodney would be available to share his comments on the passing and legacy of Johnny Carson.' Sasaki replied that unless CNN had a new way of linking up to the afterlife via satellite, that would be impossible. Dangerfield, of course, passed away last October. Ironically, his new DVD set, 'Rodney Dangerfield - The Ultimate No Respect Collection,' was posthumously released last month, and includes clips culled from his more than 70 appearances on 'The Tonight Show.' (PAGE SIX - NY Post)"

Racism is Real

Racism is very real and still very much alive. I'm sure I didn't need to tell you people this...but tonight was yet another experience that opened my eyes to middle america and hickville mentality. I went up to Oshkosh to visit my friend Tony who I used to work at at 96.1 in Fond du Lac. He lives in this area where there is a bar that is within walking distance. So we went to this bar and it was definitely 'local' - - the local yokals were all there sitting around the bar. Everything was cool in the beginning, I was definitely down with the .75c tappers, but after we became significantly intoxicated, like I am right now typing this, the racist jokes began. One gross example: "whats the difference between a dead deer and a dead N** on the road. There are skid marks in front of the deer." I wanted to throw up.

Ignorance is all that I can find to explain this. I'm disgusted. I would write more right now, but the pizza and sex and the city awaits me.

Yeah. Leave your comments.

Is it a DIAMOND? No! Just a Textbook.

I Saw this next HILLARIOUS but true blogging from my friend Lindsey's blog and I thought it was so good that I would post it and pass it off as my own. :) "is it a diamond?...no just a textbook! so its that time of year again. time to buy the books needed for the semester. ya know-after working for a bookstore-I no longer create a scene when the cashier announces the final total for my book's cost. I no longer let out that deep, sorrowful sigh, and I even attempt to avoid shootin mean glares or creating hexes on the cashier, books, and the publishers that created them. I stare blankly and hand over my credit card, allowong the impending doom to ensue. I think today I even managed a 'have a nice afternoon' followed by a forced smile.

That all said, however....buying books SUCKS.

I only bought three books-for two classes today. Total damage:130 bucks. Luckily these were all used-had they not been I would have been looking at a 300 dollar dent.

One hundred and thirty dollars. Thats at leat 13 or 14 trips to noodles if i eat a FULL meal. Thats about 7 full tanks of gas. Thats roughly 2 pairs of jeans and 3 cute tops. Thats one full expensive ensemble meaning shirt shoes, earrings, sunglasses and flip flops. Thats about 8 shows I could go see. Thats a new flat computer screen. Thats 13 previewed movies at blockbuster- or 13 movies at the movie theater. Thats 43.3 trips to Coldstone. MMMMM.....coldstone.... Thats 9 GOOD books from Borders or Barnes and Noble, that I want to read, and would enjoy. Thats a downpayment on airline ticket to get me outta WI when i've got cabin fever in March.

The moral is-thats a lot of money. Spent on books, I may not even read-and definitly wont keep. I'll probably get about 30 back at the end of the semester-money which ill desperatly cling to and kiss- use to buy tampons or something-since Im always broke around that time of the year."

UWM news

UWM News Release AWWWW MY TEACHER!!!

Finally! A new post

So...some people have been asking me when the HELL I will blog again. I guess there's no time like the present since doing this will take my mind off my angry tummy. I have had the worst stomach pains tonight. I thought maybe I was getting 'that time of the month' but it is definitely not my ovaries making all the fuss in there. I'm hoping it goes away by tomorrow or I'll have to go see the doctor tomorrow to get 'er checked out. Goodie, more to worry about. Probably a fucking ulcer.

The last couple of days haven't been the best for me. My grandfather (my dad's dad) was rushed to the hospital with congestive heart failure. They called the ambulance around 1:45 a.m. after my grandmother called my parents over (who live right around the way) and realized it probably wasn't good that he could barely breathe. I guess he was gasping for air. Not good. So he's in the ICU at St. Agnes Hospital. I went up and visited him last night... and actually ended up having the longest conversation of my life w/ him. I knew I loved my grandpa, but I guess it's not until someone is almost out of your life that you grow appreciation for the part of your life they are in. My grandparents weren't always the most visible people in my life when I was younger, despite them living a stone's throw away. But as I grew older, basically starting when I was 16, I realized that I wanted them to take a greater role in my life. I am glad I did that, because over the last few years, I have learned more about my family and I am thankful. Anyways... so they were hoping he could be transferred to the regular part of the hospital by today, but I didn't get an update on his condition this morning when I was home because when my mom called, the doctor was in there doin' his thang.

WinterIm is almost over...thank GOD. I missed four days of that class which was super bad because now I have to do this lil extra project thing outside of class for the teacher. I'd love it if he gave me a B or an A. Just as long as I can knock off 3 more science credits.

Spring semester begins on Monday, I think...not looking forward to it - but this year I will have a laptop to take notes with and I am pretty stoked about it. I can type very fast and this ensures I will not miss any notes...which will lead to me getting smarter. I am fully prepared to not have a slice of fun this semester and I"m okay with it because I need to fucking graduate and that is the end of it.

Now for my dating rant... I went out on a date on Saturday night after work with this Jim guy I met on Match.com. I had a really great time with the guy and I thought we hit it off pretty well. I even got a little smoocheroo. Then Tuesday morning I get the illustrious 'rejection email.' I had a good time on Saturday night. It was fun to go out and even more fun to try out The Estate for the first time. Thanks so much for taking me there. My feelings on the night were that we could probably just call it a good time and leave it at that though. I really enjoyed talking with you and think that you're a very interesting and sweet girl. You also cracked me up. But, maybe the age gap was a little too much. I wish you the best on your match.com search. Take care and I'll tune in to channel 12 to see your reports soon enough. Best of luck to you.

Mo Fo. Can someone explain to me why this happens. Please.

I am convinced I will be single for eternity...and maybe I'm okay with that. I'll save on Christmas presents and Valentines Day. Maybe I'll have that 7 series BMW sooner than I think.

That's all for now..I'm sure I'll have more to rant about considering tomorrow is the inauguration. I just hope 'they' don't blow up Washington DC...I like that place.

Somebody tell this guy how to dress!!!

Milwaukee Nights Gallery :: RAIN 12-31-04 :: adc CHECK THIS OUT!! Someone forgot to tell this DJ at Rain that you're supposed to take the string off the tag and remove it from your jacket. Hillarious. This guy thinks he's suave.

Goodbye 2004

Goodbye 2004.

Boy, that was a long year. Most of it went very fast, but as I look back, it's funny how my life has changed so drastically in the place of a year. I've gone from someone who was living in the residence halls, president of two student organizations, arguing with roommates and running around in my journalism classes - - to someone who is independent and living alone in an apartment, working at a job that I love and taking stupid GER credits to finish and finally graduate. By leaps and bounds, I am happier in my life right now than I really ever remember being - and I know this is just the beginning.

So many great things happened this year. I got my first real TV job. I love it there. I had a story of mine air on national news. WHAT a rush. I've had personal victories, and many nights where I've cried myself to sleep...but I wouldn't change a thing because that's how it goes. It's really funny how short our memories are. I sit here and think about some of the major events of this past year, and my mind is blank. I don't know if that is a result of the drinking and subsequent loss of brain cells from last night, or if it really means that I have lost touch with my year.

I haven't in the past, but this year I made the decision to make some resolutions - - to help me be in the mindset that I feel I need to be in to get me through this next year. I feel this next year will probably be one of the most challenging, the most trying of my young adult life. I will graduate. I will find that first job. I may end up moving thousands of miles away from everything familiar. Tears of happiness, tears of loneliness...they will come.

So in no particular order, here are my resolutions: 1) Laugh more / 2) Pay closer attention to my health and exercise habits / 3) Stop procrastinating / 4) Continue to challenge myself and keep setting goals / 5) Find a hobby (for SURE)/ 6) Be true to myself .... Those are my six major resolutions. The sixth I would say always remains the most important to me. It is no one else's job to look out for me. It's my job. SO I need to make sure that whether it be in school, at work or in personal relationships, I'm doing what is the best for me in the long run - and that is being dependable, honest, trustworthy and clearly showing people who I am.

The other night, it was like a light went off in my head...er, I guess it got turned on... I can be a better 'me.' Sometimes I look around and I realize that not everyone I spend my time with or consider to be my friend is really the best choice or the best person I could choose to associate with. I just hope that from here on out, anyone who I consider to be my friend treats me fairly and acts as my friend - not as someone who is hot one minute and cold the next...I never want to feel like I'm walking on eggshells with my friend, someone who is supposed to be a release for me. It's hard to make a good friend and make that relationship last. I know I am lucky with what Andrea and I have - the friendship we have developed over the last 17 years is strong - and I always know the person I am talking to...its almost like I know what she is going to say before she says it. I love the girl like a sister and miss her so much - - and I know that doesn't just come right around any corner. I don't hold my other friendships up in comparison to that one, because I know that we have developed a bond that is only possible with time and growing up together from a very young age. BUT, especially from now on, I will try to keep friends who value me as a person, and I them, because we all deserve to feel needed and appreciated.

SO..welcome 2005. Gosh that seems so wierd. 2005.

I've got a feeling about this one.

Milwaukee talks to Kathy Mykleby

OnMilwaukee.com Milwaukee Buzz: Milwaukee Talks: Kathy Mykleby READ THIS! Good article about Kathy while showcasing WISN!

Steven Avery *update: the plot thickens

I HAVE LOTS TO RANT ABOUT TODAY!!!

$25,000.

That's what Steven Avery, a wrongfully accused man garnished from the state today. It works out to just over 1300 dollars per year that he was imprisoned for something he did not do. I think it is REDICULOUS that this poor man can't get the one million that he asked for. That's the LEAST the state can do for him. I feel bad for him. Imagine losing 18 years of your life...being convicted for a crime that you did not commit and then finally being released - and someone saying, well, here's 25 thousand for ya - hope it's adequate, if not, oh well. BULLSHIT. Someone should bone up and write an editorial about this.

The female hormone patch was denied today. This is what REALLY pisses me off about it. Now keep in mind, all this is coming from someone who DOES NOT need this patch - I have no problems w/ my arousal...but I think its absolutely rediculous to deny women an opportunity to try this patch and see if it works for them. You have men all over the world running around with boners - commericals saying if your hardon doesnt subside for four hours to seek medical help...but you can't get a patch to go through that might help a woman actually enjoy sex with her husband (or partner) who more than likely stabs away at her while she lays there waiting for them to "wrap it up."

TV producers don't have a lot of time to work with when building a rundown...its always a fight to fit in all kinds of news along with teases for upcoming shows and the like. So WHY must we hear about SpongeBob Squarepants being stolen from Burger Kings. 1) Yes, I understand that they cost $1000/apiece. 2) Yes, I understand more than a few have been stolen and 3) Yes, I know that cartoon character just came out in a movie and has a successful show... BUT WHO gives a shit? Why is this news? Why are we spending so much valuable time on this story. I know we've had it in three or four newscasts over the past week and a half. It just really frustrates me because just when I think we've become more and more legitamate and competitive...we air bullshit.

Is procrastination really like masturbation? The saying goes, "Procrastination is like masturbation, it feels good until you realize you're just fucking yourself." Well... I dont know. Whoever made that correlation really didn't have a good impression of masturbation. I'm an avid believer in both.

Well.... I think I'm going to watch some Sopranos and call it a night. I work at 4 a.m. and then I have to spend the rest of the day in the library trying to slop together a rough draft of a paper for my online political science class. UGH. Good ole procrastination.

UPDATE on STEVEN AVERY. Follow this link to the series of stories about this man who is definitely severely flawed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Avery

Planned Parenthood excursion

Today I made my first trip to Planned Parenthood ever. It wasn't really what I was expecting. I left with free birth control, so that is good. But I had an 11:30 a.m. appointment and I didn't leave until just after 1 p.m. I hate waiting. I got my blood pressure measured there. 120/90. I guess that's high. She said they wanted me to come back in a few weeks and get it measured again before they gave me more birth control. Mmmkay.

After that, I went to work and filled out my meager timecard for the week of Thanksgiving. There was cake there for an employee who's last day was today. I ate some. It was delicious. The cake itself was too sweet but I enjoyed what I was toasting to. No more whining.

Today is December 1. This means that I have something like 15 days to do so many things that I should have been working on all semester. I don't know why my procrastination comes as a surprise to me. It's been like this forever. I got to thinking a lot about school and wondering why I never work hard at it. I guess it stems back to being treated like I was stupid in gradeschool and high school math. As confident as I am, I guess I still feel a little dumb when it comes to school.

So instead of writing more, I have to get doing some things. Ciao.

Thanks to BJ, who found this TRULY lovely article about Milwaukee during the holiday season!! It makes me want to go out and experience everything all over again :)

SouthBendTribune.com: Milwaukee's history shines during holidays

Sittin' here, waiting for my date to call. I hate this time. I'm impatient but luckily I have something to blog about. Adam called. And he knows its over.

For good, or until we're older (primarily him)

He called while I was getting ready. Asked what I was doing. Wanted to show me his new 22's (oh, I'm impressed) and I told him I was gettin' ready. He said, "for what?" I said, "to meet a friend." He said, "a guy friend?" And I said, "yeah, a date." He told me he hopes it goes badly.

A class act, folks.

I told him that I couldn't wait for him to decide what was going on in his life anymore and I couldn't wait around for him to choose me.

He got real quiet. And was like, ok, I'll talk to you later. And before I knew it, he hung up.

Now...by no means am I going to let this ruin my night. BUT A part of me wonders if it is really over. I hope it is. But I know he'll call me at the worst possible time and I just hope my stupid willpower is strong enough to stay away for good (or until he acts how he wants to but can't).

I went out today with a photojournalist from work and did some standups and stuff for my resume tape. We covered a hit-and-run on the south side. Someone hit a pedestrian so hard his body flew several yards and underneath a pickup truck. Then she kept going. How could one be so heartless?

I understand the panic a person must feel when something like that happens. But now instead of a ticket and maybe a slap on the wrist, the person could face jail time and big fines for leaving the scene. How stupid!

SO I think the standup turned out pretty good. I'm going to try to put the package together tomorrow morning after I get done w/ my 4-9 a.m. shift. Then I have lotsa homework to do. Ugh.

I can't believe this week is Thansgiving. I really do have a lot of blessings to be thankful for...now more than ever. I will be sure to relish my time with my family this year. I think it's just a natural part of getting older. I'm glad I've come to that realization now - before it's too late.

Well. He just called. So It's time to put the lip gloss on and head downstairs. Wish me luck.

This shit is so funny... My big office quip is with our stupid soda machine. Every time I go to get a soda - the soda dispenses halfway and gets stuck in the machine - then I have to come into the newsroom and ask if anyone else wants to purchase a soda so it knocks mine out of the machine. Never fail. It happens every time. Tonight at work everything was cool because we had extra help from Paula - so everything went pretty smoothly. We had the 10 p.m. done at like 8 p.m. so that luxury allowed me to write this blog entry. I met with my academic advisor this Tuesday and talked about my graduation date (yay, in May) and about what classes I need to take yet. I should be able to get everything done, no big deal. All I need to do is get through this stupid semester. This semester has been awful. Last night I got an email from my classical mythology teacher telling the whole class that we had a quiz last night - - but I went to study for it and realized I had no idea what it was even about and so I just decided that I wasn't going to go to class since there was no point. Ugh. It will be a miracle if I get a "D." Please, God. Please. MORE TO COME LATER, PROBABLY, MAYBE. :)

Hey SO yeah. I'm just kind of chillin' right now since I had to wake up for class but decided not to go. I might just go at the end to pick up my exam and go to my 11 a.m. session and come back and go to sleep again. I'm mucho mucho tired.

I put up my Christmas tree on Monday night. That was a good idea since these next few weeks will be very busy with school stuff. All my procrastination up to this point was good but I guess now it's time to get down to work. My teacher for classical mythology sent out an email today saying we have a quiz tonight on some bullshit i've never heard of, so I guess I need to do some reading and actually go to the class.

I met with my advisor again on Tuesday to discuss Winterim/Spring semester and graduation. I'm still on track for May graduation (all the more reason for me to get my ass moving and finish this shit) and we just kind of hashed out what I all need to accomplish to get done. I'm kind of excited to do WinterIm because I'm going to take my LAST (Thank GOD) science class "Principles of Forecasting the Weather" NEET! Wonder if Mark Baden will come to my class for extra credit :)

I actually had a good time last night at Vituccis. Ladies nights are a godsend because seriously if you're broke, there's one night a week you can get drunk for free. I'm down w/ that shit. That cute bartender there that I was totally diggin' on that was going to propose to his GF is a single man now. WTF is that shit? He was totally in love w/ her and she dumped him. Primo numero uno example that one person can be totally in love and another person can just be fucking someone else and need space all of a sudden. Its girls like her that fuck up nice guys like him for the rest of us. Dumb bitch.

So I guess I'm going to get off my ass now and go to my 9:30 class. It's 9:50. It ends at 10:45 though - and that's kind of what I was shootin' for.

Who teaches a guy to hit a girl? Where does a guy get an idea to hit a girl? Tonight - I was physically assaulted by a guy for the second time in my life. Lucky for me, it wasn't nearly as bad as the first time. I was punched by a guy last summer at 1225 and it fucked my face up pretty good for about two weeks. Tonight, it was a backhand. Didn't feel pleasant but I am certainly not bleeding, like I was the first (and what I thought was the last) time.

I went to meet a friend at Rascal's - had one beer, and he and his friends decided to stop off at my apartment for a little while. I drove into my alleyway and there was this dude walking - and he came up to my window and was like acting all confused and he was our age, so I was just asking him if he was lost or something because he looked confused. He goes to me "do you want to live?" and I looked at him and then said, 'yes' and he backhanded me and knocked my glasses off my face. I was so shocked and hurt that something like that could happen in the first place, and that it was the second time something like that has happened to me.

So my friends get out of the car and chase him away or whatever, and I went to park my car underground, I came out, and he was gone. We walk into my building and then the dude is in my lobby behind the door, looking like hes trying to get in. I was like, 'get the fuck out of here' screaming at him and pushing him away from the door - telling him to leave. Then my friends just went after him and started punching him and stuff. I didn't know what to do - and before I knew it this dude was on the ground bleeding from the head real bad. It was dramatic. I can't deny that he had it comin' but I never imagined anyone beating up someone in my 'honor' or whatever.

I told my friends to lay off and then we went upstairs - while I was realizing that this was all caught on camera by our lobby security system... but the dude must have gotten up and left because I came upstairs and turned the channel on and he was gone.

I haven't quite decided how I feel about all this yet. I am disappointed that this happened to me. My first instinct and feeling was the same one that I had the first time I was hit by a man - - WHY did this happen to ME and what makes a guy think it is OK to hit ME? And What kind of image do I portray to people to make them think it is okay to hit me. It makes me feel physically sick.

I'm not the kind of person to sit around and sulk about something - but I can't just sit back and take this kind of violence towards me... thats why Im glad in a way that my friends beat this kid up.

Even though this whole thing is just SO not me. I'm not violent. I guess that's enough blogging for one night about this but I wanted to write...who else do I have to talk to?

Madam, In Eden, I'm Adam.

That's a palendrome. Pretty damn cool huh?

I had a really good day today. I feel all warm and tingly inside. I started out by waking up at the crackass of dawn and going in to work at 4:30 a.m. I got home around 9:30 and went right to bed. After I woke up around 2:30 p.m., I took a shower and watched Groundhog Day in my bathrobe. I love the part where Bill Murray steals the truck and the groundhog is driving - and Bill Murray tells him "never drive when you're mad." Classic.

After the laughs, I got ready and drove home to Fond du Lac and ate dinner with my parents. It was nice. Mom made ham and tasty sweet potatoes. She also made me a ton of stuff to bring back including some sloppie joes. Yum. She picked up a gift card for Pick 'N Save also for me - which was a really huge surprise and a good one since I need groceries. She also got me two pillows for my livingroom sofa which match my new red suede ottoman. They look really good.

After dinner, my grandparents came over for some dessert and coffee. It was really good seeing them. They are getting older (grandma is 86, grandpa is 84) so I really cherish the times that I get to see them, for it could always be the last time. I hope they stick around for another couple of years but each time I see them they seem more frail and I am afraid my wishes might be unrealistic. The best thing about my relationship with them that I've built over the last couple of years is that they see me becoming someone more grown-up before their very eyes and they tell me how proud they are now. They never used to be like that. They even tell my Dad (they're my Dad's parents) how proud of them they are...and my Grandma says to me that she thinks I have one of the best Dad's around. I'll agree with that one.

My Grandparents have a hard time saying I love you. To be really honest, I don't even remember ever hearing that from them. I know they love me, I have no doubts in that department, but I think they just have a hard time verbalizing it.

I grew up in a household where my parents never forgot to tell me how they were feeling - they always told me that they loved me (still do) and they didn't hesitate to tell me when I'd done something that was a dumbass move. ((this is probably where I get my trait of brutal honesty.)) I know now how important hearing those three words are - even if it is from your parents - and how important growing up in a supportive household can be. I would love to hear my grandparents tell me that they love me, even if it was just once, but I know that it will probably never happen. There was one time when I was on the phone with my grandma, and I hadn't seen her in over a month and I could tell she really missed me - I told her I loved her and she was kind of like, "I do, you too..." I think she forgot how to say it or something.

Anyways - I could launch into this whole thing about why I think my grandparents can't say I love you - (I heard once from my dad's cousin that my grandpa cheated on my grandma and ever since then things have been sour -but being from the old-school, they'd never get divorced)(that story is also unconfirmed - I asked my mom about it after I let it bother me for months, and she basically looked at me and said 'ask your father' which kind of means that it must be at least partially true but she didn't want to tell me since it was not her side of the family or whatever...so I'm still unsure) BUT all I know is that I love them and that makes me happy.

I'm going to watch a little bit of TV then I'm off to bed. I have a bunch of errands to run in the morning and then I have a little luncheon with someone I've been waiting a long time to see again! I can't wait :)

I dont know why I go out anymore. I haven't had fun in such a long time. I just get bummed about being out and not finding anyone cool to talk to. Tonight I went out with Mary and it was cool hanging with her. But then U go out and try to seek approval from a bunch of guys that are idiots and like to bump into you while trying to get at the bar. LOOK. I'm sorry that I'm 5'3', but try to be considerate and not bump into me. I'm just really not having a good time with this whole single thing right now. I thought I was being fine. I thought everything was okay. BUT I guess it's not. When is it my turn to be happy and not be so damn independent.

I finally found that smell!! Aaagh. No, it wasn't me, smartasses.

For the last two weeks or so, I've smelled this awful smell coming from SOMEWHERE around my kitchen. I have cleaned and scrubbed and wasn't able to locate the smell until tonight. I had a bag on my baker's rack that had a water filter and a vegetable steamer in it from my mom - and I remembered that she gave me some tomatoes. WELL. I never took the tomatoes out of the bag when she gave them to me...and they stunk up my apartment SO BADLY. AAAAAAAGH. I could have barfed when I pulled that bag out of there. Gawd did that smell bad.

So now that is gone. I've finished cleaning that area now and it smells 1000X better, thankfully. Woof. That was gross.

Check out this blog...some thoughts on racism in America. VERY well done. http://nutzo.blogspot.com/

All this flu coverage is enough to make anyone SICK! How much sense does it make to have all these high-risk seniors waiting OUTSIDE in some of the coldest months of the year to get a flu shot that will attempt to prevent the type of sickness that they are causing by waiting outdoors for (in some places) hours.

And is it just me, or is the United States hanging by its proverbial balls, at the mercy of International companies, waiting for them to send shipments. I find it hard to believe that with all the advanced pharmaceutical companies here in the United States, that we can't figure out a way to manufacture the vaccine here.

How acenine!

And now the flu vaccine shortage has come to the forefront of the Presidential Election, with 13 days left. And President Bush is trying to make it seem like he's making a sacrifice by not getting his shot. How would we even know if he was telling the truth anyways? Are we in the White House? I'd be willing to bet that he got one months ago. Same with Congress. Russ Feingold would probably be the only one to refuse one.

Tim Michels is going to get his ass beat by Feingold in this election. I will laugh. He has run the most rediculous campaign with these ads that are trying to use scare tactics and show how patriotic he is while his psycho wife stares on. I do have to give it to him though - he does have cute kids. But, cute kids don't equal votes. The best part is that Feingold runs just these bare-boned ads, and he gives us the truth and the facts and that is the best 'fuck you Tim Michels' he could ever provide.

I'm kind of mad right now about my work schedule. I was supposed to have a four day weekend this weekend - but Emily called from Vegas and said she couldnt make it back for work Friday, so I'm taking her 2-1030 shift. No big deal, okay. I need the money anyways. But I copied down my schedule for this weekend and next week when I was looking up the newest schedule...I compared the new schedule with what I had written down from three weeks ago and there are four days where there is a discrepency. SO now my four day weekend has dwindled into just Saturday off. I was planning on going home for a night or two, but I can't now because I have to work early Sunday and Monday morning. It just makes me mad because our EP goes out of his way to put out these schedules three weeks in advance and then the damn things change drastically. It makes no sense. Why not just post the schedule a week in advance then because then I wont make plans.

Fuming.

I wanted to join E-Harmony.com because I thought that I'd have an opportunity to maybe meet someone worth my time on there, but then I saw that its $50 a month. What the fuck?

All I have to say is that I hope my love life - or lack thereof gets less complicated by the time the snow falls...or it could be another lonely winter. It's not like I'm THAT unhappy...because I really am not. BUT I guess I'd be happy to meet someone that is a good match, at least for now.

I'm gonna go make friends with my DVR and then head to bed - I really can't skip school tomorrow.

Goodnight.

READ that Story. AND we're worried about National Security when there are creeps out there like this guy?! Give me a break.

Welcome to Bob Saget is God - ALL HAIL THE GREAT LORD AND SAVIOUR - www.bobsagetisgod.com

Who would have ever thought a website like this would exist? He really has aged gracefully.

BILL O'REILLY is getting sued.

O'Reilly Hit With Sex Harass Suit - October 13, 2004

He is an asshole. He deserves it. But, I'm not so sure that her case will stand up. How do you FORCE someone to have phone sex? Also, I think its really interesting that she is an associate producer, like me, but she makes $93,000+ a year. Hmmm. What I make has a 9 in it......$9/hour. But I digress. I'm sure she works really, really hard. Doubtful. I wouldn't want to work with him though. I don't think I could grit my teeth hard enough just to make that kind of money.

There is some serious Oscar buzz going around about Jamie Foxx's new movie - "RAY" which is based on the life of the late Ray Charles. I just saw my first promo for the movie and I must say that it looks spectacular. YOU can see the trailer for yourself here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/ray/

The folks over at Jib-Jab have DONE IT AGAIN!! There is a new Jib Jab called "Good to be in D.C." and it is absolutely hillarious. It's almost better than the first one. You should check it out (www.jibjab.com)

School really, really fucking blows right now. The worst part of it is that when this semester started, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, I think that light is there but the train's horn is honking and the mutha is going to run me over. Did I really think that I was going to be able to handle 18 credits in two days? Dumb. I thought about hiring a tutor or just someone to help me get better organized, like a "life coach" like Matt had on Nip/Tuck, but then I realized that 1) That costs money, 2) I should be able to do this shit by myself and 3) That life coach really fucked things up for them. So I cancelled that thought.

I must admit that I've taken some pleasure in the Packers' losing season. It's nice to be able to be here, in Wisconsin, and not have to hear about the Packers every time I talk to someone. When they suck, as they do right now, people seem to want to avoid the subject. And with that, I win. I could give a shit less. It'd be nice to see the Bucks have a winning season or the Admirals to get more attention

I feel like I'm in a funk today. Its not fun. I think this weather is bumming me out. Maybe I'll write more later.

Shepherd Express Metro: News & Views: News

More disappointing news that media is growing more corrupt by the day. I only hope I can make a difference and try to change things.

OK I'm at work and someone erased my first blogger entry because they were doing actual work and decided to switch the webpage on me...UGH. It was such a good one - now I feel I am doomed to create a shitty post. In fact, I do not have a desire to post anymore - I'm working morning and it's 6:45 a.m...not much time til the show.

In the spirit of news - I'll tease ahead to my next blog entry.

Coming up next time in blogger, hear what caused me to renew my faith in the quest for love. Also, why the police were called to my eastside residence. And just ahead, hear about my meeting with an international celebrity. All that and more - next time on blogger. I'm out.

Osama "October Surprise" Office Pool Poster > Limited Time Offer > InternetBumperStickers.com Store | CafePress

This is HILLARIOUS!! I've been saying all along they'll find Osama in October before the election. Finally they made an Office Pool poster out of it. :)

It's been a few days since I've blogged. It's easy to get caught up in the monotony of day-to-day life and forget to do some things... like study, for instance. Studying is important. Going to class is important. Sometimes students forget to go to classes. This is understandable. Sometimes students neglect the very classes they should be going to each meeting.

Take me, for example. Let's just pretend that I was in a class called, hmmm..., "Classical Mythology." And let's pretend that I don't know dick about this topic. SO then let's assume that I haven't attended any class meetings since the first day. Then, let's throw in that it's the only class that I have a midterm exam in. And to top it all off - let's just say that midterm is TOMORROW.

Hoping that I will roll over and wake up from this nightmare of Senior year just isn't going to happen. This is the portion of the program where I will whine about each class that I have.

In my Biotechnology in the 21st Century class - my teacher is such a bitch. We will go through something and someone will ask a question and she will answer it so half-assed...and half of the answer will be..."you don't need to know much more than that" or "well, the answer is more complicated than you need to know really, so blah blah blah." She insults our intelligence all the time. It's annoying. She also makes up the most BOGUS quizzes. She did this one quiz that had fill-in-the-blank and wanted us to fit as many answers that were applicable but didnt' explain it clearly - so many of us got it wrong and she didn't give us any points.

My political science elections professor is colorblind so he wears funny outfits. He has a good sense of humor but not a very good sense of direction. I haven't had the energy to take many notes in the class because he just goes off on these tangents and doesn't have any sort of structure to his lecture...so mostly I sit back and think about unbuttoning his oxford shirt which is already half unbuttoned because he thinks hes some sort of metrosexual professor.

Comparative Literature is interesting. My teacher is a sarcastic bastard - so he always picks on my classmates...I've been to the class four times - and that's if you count the one time I went stoned out of my mind thanks to Tim Viste. That is the one and only time I've ever been messed up in a class. I know people who go to classes drunk. That is a bad idea. Well, being stoned in class, for me, was a bad idea. It was very difficult to keep it together - I kept thinking my classmates were staring at me and that is not fun. I've since vowed never to do that again. We are reading some interesting things...but alas, I haven't kept up with my readings and I need to just devote a weekend to homework. I'm thinking it might be this weekend because if I don't do it soon - things could get out of hand.

My JMC 602 - Reporting in the Courts - teacher isn't even a professor - he's a reporter at the Journal-Sentinel. He assigns us all these extra out of class assignments like pulling police reports and getting autopsy reports and stuff - and I swear it's not for our own experience, it's for his gain - we're doing his busy work!! IT SUCKS. The class has very little structure and many of us are wondering how we will be graded for the work we're doing. Basically he told me that those who are 'pulling their weight' will be rewarded accordingly...whatever the fuck that means. The class is soo dumb.

This leaves me with one more course - it's my online course for Poli Sci: Civil Liberties since 9/11. I basically don't do ANYTHING for this class - but I need to start this week. Each week we are supposed to do the readings and respond to one discussion question. We are allowed to miss three writings - I have skipped three so far...so basically I need to do each writing the rest of the semester. It's a pretty hard class - and being online makes it much harder. Basically its just a lot of reading and typing online and the deadlines can be somewhat unattainable.

Basically, what all this boils down to is that I need to be more focused on school than I have been. My problem has been that the days that I work in the afternoon, I'll sleep until 1, wake up, shower, go to work...come home, sit around, go to bed. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

On the days that I work in the morning (this week it was M, W, and then this Fri/Sat/Sun) I wake up super early, go to work, come home, sleep a good portion of the afternoon, and then my motivation to accomplish ANYTHING really sucks the rest of the day. This needs to change.

I'm just worried that if I don't get my ass moving, I will never graduate in May. If I do not graduate in May, I will be pretty disappointed. But I guess everything happens for a reason. Does it?

Someone called me tonight. We talked. Things were okay I guess. Do I know what's going on with it now? No clue. It's a cycle, I tell ya.

Well, I guess that's all for now - I should probably do some reading or just go to bed. G'nite cha'll.

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"He's Really Not that Into You." It's a 'phenomenon,' so to speak. On Wednesday's Oprah, a guest who was a former writer on Sex and the City, came on the show, basically to plug his new book. Great opportunity for him. He pitched his book that was full of male insight on dating and pretty much shed light on what a guy REALLY means when he says things.

One of the biggest points of the show is where some audience members share personal tidbits of their love woes with this author, and he barks back "He's Really Not That Into You." I actually really felt for these women, 'cuz I kinda am one of them. Well, this national revelation is really heating up I guess because I checked the Oprah.com message board and there are over 850 posts on the topic so far - - and I've even seen a couple of my friends quote it in their profiles.

The whole thing is, no matter how confident a woman is, it's easy to try and follow your heart - hope that someone will change and maybe they will want to be with you - - maybe they're busy, stressed or going through some things right now.

I saw Adam's ex-girlfriend on campus today. I had my sunglasses on so I just moved my eyes and looked at her. I don't know if she saw me but I sure saw her. I really wanted to say something to her but I knew if I did, I'd end up making a scene, and I know too many people on campus to do that. I don't want to ruin my reputation. I told Emily about it and she wondered if "I gave the bitch my 'choke a bitch' look." I'm pretty sure I did. I felt like screaming at her and personally thanking her for ruining him.

I need to confront how I feel as a single woman today. I need to stop making all the effort and hope that people pursue me on their own. It'd be nice to have someone that I wanted to date actually ask me out. Enough on that. Getting sad.

I cruised around a lot today in my new (to me) car. I really like it. I love having my I-Pod in my car. Its great because I can listen to really whatever I want with a touch of a button and not have to worry about switching CD's all the time and stuff. I used to hate my old car. I didn't mind driving it but I never felt like checking out other people or cruisin' or anything in it because it was kind of old and getting a bit rusty. This car is totally a showoff car. Plus, I feel a lot safer in it.

Today Timothy Nabors and Fmr. Third District Captain Glenn Frankovis came to my Reporting in the Courts class to speak. They were there for about three and a half hours. It was a long afternoon. Timothy Nabors was shot seven times by an officer in the third district. The officers were found to be justified in their actions after Nabors confessed that he touched a gun that was thrown towards him by a passenger in his vehicle. Glenn Frankovis was the captain of district 3 - - he sent out a now infamous memo saying that the cops need to "make the thugs lives even more miserable than before" after the officer that shot Nabors started receiving death threats.

Having Nabors and Frankovis - two "characters" in a highly publicized drama together in our classroom was like fireworks waiting to explode. There were a few tense moments but mostly the two men sat and didn't look at each other and answered our questions when we asked them. I asked about six questions. Only four of my classmates actually asked questions - and this is an advanced reporting class. Usually, I'd ask one or two, maybe a follow up, and then back off to give my classmates an opportunity to chime in a bit - - - but none of these people were asking quesitons. I was really surprised actually.

So I wasn't going to just sit there - I had more questions to ask - so I asked them.

Sometimes I think my aggressiveness - the same aggressiveness that allows me to go after what I want (be it an answer as a journalist or a cute boy that I want to talk to) is the same thing that holds me back in some situations. I think some men are intimidated by me. I've been told that before. Also, I think some people just assume that I have a boyfriend. Never assume boys, never assume.

On another note - - the third person in two weeks told me today that I look like Megan Mullally - or Karen on Will and Grace. I think it's a compliment. I'm also thankful I don't have her character's voice.

Well, I'm going to wash my face and go to bed. I DVR'd "Showgirls" today - watched that tonight. That is a fucked up movie. I have to watch Y' tu Mama Tambien, RunTelDat, Lewis Black from Broadway, Unfaithful, Down With Love, Secretary, Antwone Fisher and a couple of Seinfeld episodes. I will never rent a movie again. ;) G'nite.

Monday night football is stupid. It's 10:20 p.m. and I should be on my way home in 15 minutes. But no... we need to have football on TV. That is dumb. SO...we probably won't go on for at least another 35 or 40 minutes. Grr.

I got a different car today. It's actually pretty sweet. It's a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GT...white w/ gold fleck stripes. White racin' rims. Even keyless entry. It's definitely 1000x better than the Honda. It feels wierd to drive a different car. I like it though. I'm sure I'll really love it once I get used to it.

Today was also the start of SouthBeach for me. Go figure that I really want a PB&J sandwich right now. I'm actually really hungry right now. I planned on eating something for dinner but forgot to pack it to bring it to work. A good thing is that I can actually eat sugar free jello anytime I want. I really like jello. It's like a taste explosion.

I have a goal to go to every class tomorrow. I have only been to my Comparative Literature class twice and to my Classical Mythology once. That's probably not the best idea since those two have the best potential to be my worst classes. Argh. I know this for sure... I will cry tears of pure joy on graduation day. I will get on my knees and thank God or whoever is up there for giving me the strength to graduate. AAAAAAGH.

Nick Bohr's lesson of the day: the movie Deliverance is NOT a comedy.

It's been a long time since I've been to the movies. The last flick that I saw in the theatres was Fahrenheit 9/11. Twice.

Well, I think I'm gonna go print out some stuff for my classes. That's bout all I can do at this point - :)

Here's what frustrates me with news today. Half the CNN.com website is fucking celebrity gossip. Where's the hard news? We're less than two months away from an election and I want to see some hard-hitting reports. Such bullshit. Do I give a fuck that Britney Spears got married again to some loser who I wouldn't trust to valet my Honda? 93% sure he's just some spermdonor to her as well. I guess I'm just kind of fed up with "news" like that. If things don't change, I'll be stuck writing more teases for the Bachelor.

I worked this morning at 5 a.m. It wasn't so bad. The morning actually went pretty fast. DeMarco and Patrick were anchoring...so I think it was their eye-candy that got me through the morning. I don't really mind working a lot of mornings...and that is good because next week I work like five mornings at 4 or 5 a.m. Argh. Rough stuff.

I kind of hate direct-deposit. I was supposed to get paid $250 from UWM on Thursday or Friday and the money was never deposited. So here I sit. Waiting. I will actually probably put most of it in my savings...(Yeah Right). I have some bills to pay. Bills are not fun.

The hunt continues for a different car. Andrew Toyota is bothering the shit out of me. I went to test drive and ever since they call me like every four or five days to say whats up? What's your timeline? Next time he calls I'm gonna tell him its not gonna happen. So sad. Oh well. I'm actually hoping for a VW bug. I think that would be a pretty fun car to drive. I don't need a big car either. They have personality. Many of the ones I've seen online don't have a CD player - so I'd have to buy one of those. I'd get a pimp one...maybe a changer. I'd also try to find someone to put a box in the back so I can feel my music :) HEE HEE.

I thought about coloring my hair again tonight but I don't think I can do it anymore...its getting late - already 10:45 and since I haven't done anything today, it feels late. All I did was basically sleep til 3:30 and then fart around on the computer/watch TV. Should have done homework. I guess thats tomorrow's project if I wake up before I have to get ready for work.

So I guess that's all for now- TA TA.

Which Golden Girl Are You?

AWESOME!! I'm Sophia....lil sassy bitch. It said this in the description. You are savvy, sassy and always on the go! Even if it means borrowing someone else's car without asking! Sometimes you say the wrong thing at the wrong time, but that's why we all love you!

SWEET!

It's a funny thing when you are so tired that parts of your life just disappear after they happen. This morning I feel as though I've been living moment by moment and for no particular reason. My schedule really sucks right now - no chance to get into any sort of routine. I worked last night and now this morning from 5-9 a.m. It's 6:15 a.m. and I feel like I've been here for hours. I drove in here and just concentrated on green lights and red lights - trying not to confuse the two. It's the type of morning where that stomach ache is looming and you're not sure why. My stomach can be really wierd sometimes. Ergh.

So I talked to my mom yesterday while I was at the Metro Market and was getting all the "what I can really eat on the South Beach diet" instructions. You should see my refrigerator. It's so bare. Rediculous. My mom has lost 6 pounds in a week though. That is pretty sweet. I'm glad that she's seeing results. My mother is far from being a fatass but she has wanted to lose weight for some time.

She was also saying that she and my dad are going to come down and look at some cars today in Cudahy. So basically I could have a newer car soon. That is great news. Sometimes I feel as though I can hear a slight wimper from my lil Honda with 174,000+ miles on it. Its time to retire, little one. Mr. Bellin - you're very funny. I had fun talking with you the other morning. Hillarious. You're on my mind this morning. :)

It's time to prompt the 7-9 a.m. news. Its great that I like the anchors because if I had to listen to a certain female anchor who is on weekday mornings I think a little part of me would just die this morning.

More later. I miss my pillow.

Beej and I before mayhem ensued at LaCage 

We can't help being born beautiful :) 

Shoshi and I at CANS. Back to brown hair. 

Yep. We went out a lot. 

CANS. Need I say more? 

Emily and I out at Victim's...er, I mean Victor's 

Christine and I at Summerfest. 

Emily and I at GameTime for $ drinks in June 

You know, its funny how things work out sometimes. I had a pretty good day. I worked this morning 5-9 and came home and slept. All day, really. I woke up around 3:30 for good. Just in time to tune in to the new season of Oprah. I can't believe it. I almost started crying. She gave away my favorite car. The Pontiac G6. DAMN IT. Why couldn't I be in that audience? I actually have to go now cuz Adam is coming over and he just rang my buzzer. More on that later.

Lance Hill is a riot. I AP'd the 5, 6 and 10 tonight and the 10 was late due to the College Football game going into OT. He and I were joking around and somehow the topic got on how Jess Jallings' fiancee (now husband) said that his friends "made" him get a lapdance from this stripper and how he convinced her that he didn't enjoy it at all and all this crap... and Lance and Mike were joking around about how obsurd it was that she actually believed him.

And I said that is cool and most women dont really "get off on male strippers" meaning that they dont like these big things floppin' around by them and whatnot. And then I made this elephant trunk gesture. Lance was laughing his ass off and he kept doing that and then during his weather segment, he started kind of chucklin' to himself and afterwards he told me that he was thinking about my gesture and how funny it was and it almost busted up his segment :)

HA. That was the funny of the night.

So now it's a little before Midnight and I just got home. FUN. I wish I had the motivation to get myself all pretty and go out. I just don't have that motivation anymore. First of all, I have no money. Second of all, Ive had more fun lately without drinking than being drunk and third, I dont do it to meet guys anymore, so what's the point?

My mom and dad have been out of town since Monday and I'm thinking about going home tomorrow to do some laundry and homework and just chill out for a day with my doggie - - they should be home Sunday sometime. I work at 5 a.m. on Monday, so I need to be back sometime Sunday night. I really would like to see my parents, I have a lot of laundry to do and I need to take some clothes home that my mom can take to goodwill or sell on E-bay for me. Either or. They just need to get out of my apartment because they're taking up TOO MUCH SPACE. I'm going to bring a few jackets back to Milwaukee too now that the weather is getting colder. I mostly go home to see my family who I miss a lot and also to scam as much from them as I can whether it be laundry, food, new clothes or money. I call it "only child syndrome."

SRD- if you're reading this - you're HOT. Damn boy. Damn Damn Damn. Visions of black boxer briefs dancing in my head.

Well, I guess I'm gonna go and try to "do something" with myself and meet a few friends out for a lil bit. We'll see what happens. :)

Today was pretty sweet....I worked 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then after work I came home and showered and then drove to Glendale to the Toyota dealer up there. I test drove a Scion xB today. Its a pretty sweet ride for around $14 thou. I actually really liked it. It was roomy and sporty and definitely the type of vehicle that people notice. Everyone wants to know what kind of car that thing is. Now do I really think that it will become my car? Not sure. My parents are a giant portion of the equation. I know that if I want to get something like that I do need to start making more money in some sort of capacity. Too bad I can't become a drug dealer or something. I think I'm going to have a rummage sale. I thought about selling some of my clothes that I don't wear anymore on EBay but the problem is that shipping all that crap out would be such a pain in the ass. Argh. And then if you have a rummage sale people are so fucking cheap - they're like, I'll give you $1.50 for that Express sweater. I'm like MothaFucka, give me at least $8. I have nice clothes and a lot of them I don't even wear so I should just sell them and make some money and then pay off my MarshallFields card. Its only at like $130 right now but my parents have pretty much scared me into thinking that any debt is bad debt - and you know what, they're partially right. They've taught me to be responsible about my spending - but also to establish good credit, you need to have SOME credit. So I am always really responsible about making the payments on things ASAP and even before they're due. I used to work at a job where I looked at credit reports every day and I think that many people are really in the dark about what constitutes good credit and how to achieve it. Basically, the more credit you have the better, and the longer your credit history, the better. Someone who has had a credit card for two years with on-time payments is obviously better off than someone with three credit cards maxed out with six months credit. Personally, I have a MarshallFields card, a Target card, and a UW-Credit Union card...all VISA and then a debit card. I use all of them sparingly, but it is good to know that if I want to splurge a little, I dont have to worry about paying right away, but I can pay off a lil bit at a time. I'm anxious to pay off the $300 or so that I do owe and just not have to worry about it anymore. There was this website this girl had where she had paypal on it and she was just basically asking strangers to donate one dollar or whatever, maybe I should do that. People can be pretty damn generous, and even if one person donates a dollar, thats still a dollar more than before. SWEET. I'm gonna do it. Well...its 1 a.m. and I have school tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. so I guess I should get to bed...get my sleepies. I'm sure I'll write at some point tomorrow - but I had to write about my xB experience. It's all just a dream.

TIRED!!!! I'm at work right now, 6:12 a.m. I got here at 5. The drive here was interesting. It seemed like a 15 minute trip. Usually, it's 7 minutes, garage to Ch 12 lot. I only work until 9 a.m., which is great, because I have every intention of sleeping the entire day. Last night was a lot of fun. I hit up the gay part of town again with Beej and his friends. I figured out some really interesting things last night. 1) I am actually a really frickin' good dancer. 2) Gay bois and chicks and pretty much everyone including myself loves my boobies. 3) Everyone feels like Beyonce when 'Naughty Girl' comes on. 4) It is possible to have an excellent time without drinking. Some people really know how to be sexy, that is true. I was watching this one dude dance and he really knew how to work it. He had his shirt off and his belt around his waist and not his beltloops. Workin' it - shakin EVERYTHING. I thought it was cool. As scared of heights as I am, I got up three times to dance on high things last night. I danced "on the box" with Beejonthebox.com and also on two areas throughout the bar. I had an awesome time. I guess dancing really is in my blood (my mom used to teach dance...shes hot). I got home at 3 a.m., went to sleep at 3:30 a.m. Got up at 4:30 a.m., drove to work. Feeling pretty tired and useless right now. Work is so easy here on the morning shift. If it was tough, I wouldn't have gone out. Even though it is torture going out to LaCage and seeing all those hot guys that I can't even hit on, I had a great time again and I'd even consider going there on a regular basis now and forgetting about all the stupid crap that happens at regular bars. After a little over a week without talking, I called Adam yesterday and said whats up...he called me last night and we talked a little - - then I had my usual conversation with him at bartime. He was drunk, driving home. He sounded pretty wasted actually. I don't agree with drinking and driving. AT ALL. It makes me extremely nervous that someone out there that I care about could crash and injure/take the life of someone due to their carelessness. It's been a while since I've written - shit has been pretty busy. I worked a lot last week - like 39.5 hours, I had Campus Ambassador training, Freshmen Orientation and then classes started on Thursday. I'm taking 18 credits - -three of which are online, so we'll see how that goes. My JMC 602 class (Reporting in the Courts) seems like it is going to be extremely demanding - the teacher has already sent out tons of emails. O Well. I'm in this Comparative Literature class and I had to buy this huge book - and I'm going to feel like such an intellectual reading these selections...authors I've always heard about but never experienced (for no good reasons). I guess what it boils down to is that I feel like I have a totally new approach to schooling due to living off campus. I'm ready to learn and ready to graduate. My parents have been looking for a new car for me. I really really really really really want a new car. I'm sick of the honda. They were thinking about either a Jetta (go Beej) or a GrandPrix. That would be hot. I'd choose the Grand Prix personally. I thought about a Honda Element. That would be pretty tight. Either way, I know that I want to get personalized plates but I dont know how much sense it would make because I wont be in Wisconsin like a year from now (unless I'd get hired full-time at WISN ((as a reporter)) ) We'll see. Whatev. I want to get "NTLYNWS" HOT. Anywhooo....gotta get shit done, 6:34am and we go on at 7. Then I sleep. VIVA sleep.

http://milwaukeenights.com/gallery/C02-Rain-08-30-04/aas

Well, it's Monday. I can't believe fall term begins next week. I have Tuesday/Thursday classes (all damn day long both days) so that should be a lot of fun. At least this will be my last year. I'm pretty tired right now but I have to work 2-10:30 tonight so I need to snap out of it. I don't know what my work schedule is going to be like with classes and such but I don't think it will be too bad. I'm totally over the drama of this weekend. Debating on whether or not to leave up the blog entries of this weekend. I feel like a dumbass. I feel very turned off to dating right now, understandably so. I think I'm going to just try to take a break for a while and regroup...focus on school and work...just try to get done and get good grades. But for now, I have to get ready for work!!

GOYK.COM - John Holmes Game THIS IS SO GROSS BUT FUNNY. Its the John Holmes Johnny Wadd game. Eww.. Fun!

I got a new couch this weekend and I'm pretty stoked because along with that, I picked up a new area rug for the living room and it looks a LOT better in here - way more sophisticated. I have the day off of work tomorrow and I will be going to see my academic advisor at UWM and talking with him about graduation in May. I can't wait to get done w/ school and finally move on w/ things. This will be my fifth academic advisor at UWM and I hope things work out with this one because the rest of them sure sucked. I'm actually kind of excited for school to start but I am sure that I will get over that feeling as soon as I get sick of going to school. I really hope its "do-able" to graduate in May. I might have to take a winterim class, but that is okay, just as long as its not something that will be too tough because I haven't done well with those in the past. I'm not really that good of a student. I like to learn but I don't do well on tests and that, obviously, really affects grading. Too bad. I'm sure I'll need (another) tutor at some point this year and that is not what I look forward to. I don't like tutors, never have. I blame my tutor last year on why I need to take math again this semester. I was doing really well and then she quit on me and I got lost. Maybe if I had a fucking teacher that actually spoke english then I could learn math. My teacher last semester was russian and spoke very broken english. Argh. Life has been pretty basic lately. Just kind of work and then come home and lounge and sleep etc. Wash, rinse and repeat. Boring. Saturday I went to the PGA Championships at Whistling Straits near Sheboygan. That was really cool, actually. It's a gorgeous course right along Lake Michigan. The weather was picture perfect and I got to see a lot of the golfers up close...I was about three feet away from Vijay Singh who went on to win the tourney. I want to get on a softball league for this fall but I don't think I am going to have enough time between work and school. It would be a lot of fun though and it would be like old times. So, I guess that's it for now. More later.

I'm really tired. These early mornings kick my ass totally if I don't nap right away when I get home. This afternoon I got a new sofa (Which is AWESOME) and so I had to move it in and do lifting and all that great shit - - so when I finally got to sleep (around 5 p.m.), I was super exhausted. I just woke up, it's around 10:45 p.m. and now my night is crap...so I'm just sitting here, probably will watch a movie. I received a phone call from my friend who works as a Milwaukee director for the Kerry/Edwards campaign, and he wondered If I would be interested in meeting Elizabeth Edwards tomorrow night. I said yes. So I am going to be at a very exclusive invite-only event at a person's house at 5 p.m. I think that will be cool. Supposedly the secret service has to call me and everything to check my background. That's good to know... I work the whole weekend 5-9 a.m. and then Monday 2-6:30 p.m. Then I have off Tuesday and Wednesday. That will be nice. Of course, the weather is supposed to be crap...figures. But what can you do? Hurricane Charley is kicking the shit out of Florida. I feel really bad that people have to flee their homes but I take into consideration that we had 40 degree temps two days ago and three months from now we'll have snow up to our assholes, and I begin to feel a little bit better...warm and snuggly inside. I really dont' have anything exciting to say today...it was really just kind of a bland day. My stomach was pissed off this morning during first news, and I actually felt like I was really going to be sick...but I made it, it turned out ok. On a lighter note, if anyone would like to donate money to me, that would be really great. (I'm obviously kidding) I haven't received my paycheck yet from WISN and I'm sure I'll have to wait another two weeks to get my check with more than 10 hours on it... so the $$ forecast is looking bleak. Argh. I'll make it though...its not like I'm going out much or anything at all. Anyways, I'm going to stretch out and watch some tv...eat something... then go to bed because work will come early. G'nite.

I love this picture. 

SO...this is my first new post on blogger, and I'm posting as someone who's life has really changed drastically in the past three months. I have a new apartment, a new job and in a way, a new outlook on life. For those of you who don't know, I work at Ch.12 as an Associate Producer. I really do like it there. I'm finally starting to feel comfortable with what I'm doing and I actually feel happy when I'm at work. My body is pretty pissed off right now though because of the hours I've been working. This weekend I worked at 5 a.m. each day and I worked at 4 a.m. this morning. It's hard to get used to. This morning was so funny because the other AP I worked with this morning walked right through the chroma-key (where they do the weather) during one of the segments and he made air....twice. He should have known better...but it made EVERYONE totally crack up. Poor Lance. He couldn't laugh because he was on-air. I have off tomorrow - so that is good. I'm getting a haircut at 3:15, but that's really it. I probably won't do anything cool, so I'd almost rather be working and making that dough. I haven't been to the State Fair yet. I really want to go. I guess my parents are coming down one day this week because they want to go. My dad has an extra half-day of work to burn so they want to just come down for the afternoon/evening. It'd be nice to go and eat a big fat cream puff. I havent had one of those in years. I haven't had much fun lately...it's been just a lot of working and sleeping...but my apartment is really clean. I can say that I'm sure it will get worse before it gets better because school is a month away. UGH. Plus, I'm supposed to be a Student Ambassador - so I have to spend two days w/ new freshmen. Oh well, it will be an extra $250. Time now to go eat a lil something for dinner and go tanning. Not much else to do so I might as well try to look good.