I Need Your Help

For my second job (the old one) I have to make contests for this video/audio contest site called Bix.com and I get paid per the amount of people who view and/or enter the contests I make. I have two new contests up that have $50 first prize awards. So, if you could just click on these links to view the contests even that would be a big help to me. If you want to enter them go right ahead! That would be an even bigger help.

One is a stupid human tricks contest - I already entered myself. Check it out here: http://www.bix.com/contest/801.

The other is a rock star karaoke contest that I am not going to enter (no one wants that). But if you want to enter please do so here: http://www.bix.com/contest/800.

Thank you thank you thank you!

And Just When We Thought Global Warming Was Our Biggest Problem

Then this happens.

The George W. Bush Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good
(And Want to Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too)

I love the smell of irony in the morning.

I Love Lists (said in my best Brick impression)

There is nothing I like to do more than go down a list of somethings and check off the somethings on that list that I have accomplished in my life. I guess it makes me feel like I am not totally wasting my life away. I especially like my 2001 Things to do Before You Die book and I take great pride in putting check marks besides the tasks I've completed.

So, when I came across this pointless list task, I just had to bite. Basically, there is a list of 100 movies that someone makes or steals (the one I found uses AFI's 100 Top Movies). You go down the list and bold the movies you've seen, italisize the one's you want to see (I added this part), and add 3 more movies to the bottom that you think should be on the list. Then you post your list to your blog so others can see it, complete it and add it to their site too (linking back to your post, of course).

If you don't have a blog (or even if you do), I also invite you to post your 3 movie add-ons in the comment area of this post, or refute the ones already on the list if you think they suck.

Enjoy!

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) <---- I have this on Netflicks &still need to watch it
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) <--- I saw the new one 68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) <----- I worked in the office of the producer of this movie in L.A.
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78. ROCKY (1976)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
84. FARGO (1996)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
101. THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)
102. METROPOLIS (1927)
103. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959)

My total: 28. That's kind of sad.

My 3:
104. MARY POPPINS (1964)
105. THE MATRIX (1999)
106. THE EXORCIST (1973)

Your turn!

What the World Has Been Waiting For.....

It feels like only yesterday I was sitting at the bus stop around the corner from my house, rocking my leggings and She-ra backpack, and talking about important 2nd-grader things like Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers. There were quite a few boys in my neighborhood, and many a pre-grammar school morning was spent listening to them talk about their Mortal Kombat scores and sing lyrics from Weird Al Yankovich songs like Eat It and Like a Surgeon. Mostly, I thought the lyrics were pretty funny, but to uphold my position in the girl world, I had to come to the consensus with the other girls that the boys were sooooo stupid. But what I really wanted to do after school was hang out with the boys and listen to their Weird Al tapes too.

Maybe that just makes me White and Nerdy, but if being that way is wrong, I don't want to be right.


White and Nerdy

"They see me roll on my segue."
Priceless.

But I do have to say my favorite part is Donnie Osmond dancing in the background.

Welcome back Weird Al, it's been far too long.

The Best Things in Life are Free

Especially if one of those things is music.

Today a stumbled across a site called It's Free Downloads that is making a directory of ONLY the free downloads from iTunes. That way us cheapies don't have to search through the whole iTunes website to find those little treasures. It's not just for music either - there are links to free TV show episodes (special eps of LOST and Grey's Anatomy anyone?), video clips and audiobooks. Plus, there's this free song list for Facebook members. Check that out here.

So, it's not exactly Napster circa the year 2000 (sweet, sweet times), but it also won't land your ass in the middle of a ridiculous lawsuit where the plaintiff is an artist worth 100 times more money than you'll ever see in your life. Don't EVEN get me started.

At Least I'm Not Crying in the Bathroom this Time

New Job Post #1:

I've decided that starting a new job is a little like starting a new high school - with less teen angst and better clothing choices. There is meeting your new peers and your superiors, learning where everything is located, what your schedule is like and what your options are for lunch.

Today, my second day of work, I ventured down to the cafeteria at lunch time. It made me think about twelve(!) years ago when I started the 7th grade in a new school district with no friends. Back then, I dreaded lunch time because it always meant severe anxiety. Who was I going to sit with?! What if my lunch isn't cool?! Why doesn't anyone want to be my friend?! Honestly, this terror led me to spend more than a couple lunch hours hiding in the bathroom being miserable with life and wanting the security of my old school and friends back.

Even in college, most of us spent all of freshman year in large groups flocking to the dining hall at meal times. No one wanted to get left behind. If you somehow missed the big group trip, you would frantically IM everyone else on your buddy list to find out if they had already gone too. Then if they had - the horror! The only choice then was to go get something to go and bring it back to your room and your friends (those traitorous group meal thwarters).

It is on days like today when I look back at those memories and really see how (blessedly) far I have come. I still have a tendency to be shy and somewhat awkward around strangers, but I now have the ability to walk confidently into the cafeteria where I know absolutely no one, find myself a seat and eat my lunch with no anxiety whatsoever. Did I really ever care so much? It's hard to believe.

I still don't have any friends though.

I guess my next life lesson should be "Strangers and You: How to Approach Someone Else in the Cafeteria Without Friends and Make them Yours."

Question for My PC Using Friends

Is the right side bar actually situated next to the blog post box or does it not start until after the end of the blog blox? The sidebar should be next to it (hence "side" bar), but when I brought it up on a PC today in Internet Explorer, the side bar was all the way at the bottom of the page. It looks fine on my Mac so I just want to check and see if it is just this computer or all PCs.

Thanks for your help!

Confessions of a Grey's Anatomy Virgin

In the past 3 weeks, I have had a total of 5 people almost go into coronary arrest over my utterance of the simple statement: "I have never watched Grey's Anatomy." So, to ensure that I am not to blame for anyone's premature death, I have succumbed to the peer-pressure and watched last night's episode. It was the re-airing of last year's season finale and thus I was a little confused. However, TV is not rocket-science and this show isn't exactly 24 or LOST (no offense Grey-lovers, it just isn't as complicated as those), so I think I'll be able to pick it up.

Fast forward to tonight. I just watched what I am assuming was a show to catch up people like me on the last season, and I think it did the trick. And I'll admit, I'm intrigued. I do keep having to stomp down the little voice in me that says "But what is the NEED for another hospital-based drama?!", but if it's as good as you all say, I'm sure I'll get over it.

So, here I am. It is 9:00pm on Thursday, October 21, 2006, I am in my PJs, have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and I am about to watch my first episode of Grey's Anatomy (ok, technically not the first, but the first that I'm going to understand). Come along and I'll tell you how it goes.

9:01
Well, we are off to a good start, they are using the Lullaby song I love from the Dixie Chicks' latest album. +1 (even though Medium used it last year)

9:08
The bubonic plague? Ok, ok, I'll give it a chance.

9:20
Realize I haven't been writing in here about the show. That's probably worth a +5.

9:22
Knocked-up catholic school girls throwing their baby into a dumpster and cheaters getting cheated on. +2 for piqued interest, -1 for soap-opera quality

9:25
There is a skunk outside my apartment. -10 for the skunk and another glass of wine for me.

9:32
There is a woman larger than a size 2 on the show and she seems like she actually has a part beyond the comic relief or the wise friend who can't get a date. +5!

9:36
Dr. McDreamy (that is his name right?) is going to die of the plague in the resident locker room after he eats every piece of food in there. +2, I want to see that

9:39
Someone save the plague guy who used to be on Boston Public!!! +1 for emotional involvement

9:48
Realizing this show is different than ER because no actual medical procedures are performed. No points won or lost because I haven't decided whether it's a good thing or not.

9:49
How long do you think Chris O'Donnell will be "Guest Star"ing on the show?

9:59
Finally! She put those damn panties on the bulletin board. I was waiting for that the whole time. Good move Mrs. McDreamy, even though you were the one that cheated first.
Ok, I'm obviously getting into this. +1

10:01
Told us what music was used in the episode. Good job ABC. +2
But why are your shows ending at 10:01?
At least it's not like LOST where you tell us it's an "extended episode" and it lasts until 10:02. -10 for ABC and their idiotic-ness when it comes to that show.

But, I digress.

I made it successfully through my first Grey's Anatomy episode and I enjoyed it! I hear the first two seasons are even better and Jen has decided that I'm going to watch those too. So I will admit I am excited for that.

But, back to tonight. The tally is......drumroooooooooooll........16! (for Grey's, but -8 for ABC and -10 for the skunk.)

That's a pretty good score. Of course, my points are like those on Whose Line is it Anyway?, they don't matter. However, they do mean that I will probably watch again next week.

Well, I may tape it while I watch CSI.
What can I say? Dr. McDreamy is pretty dreamy, but Nick Stokes is the hottest CSI around.

A New Look for a New Beginning

Welcome to my newly rennovated blog! It's barely shy of it's 1st birthday and I've decided it needs a facelift. I've heard cosmetic surgery is addicting, so maybe I'll be changing it all the time! Now that I use Blogger Beta (thanks to Sara), it is much easier to make changes than before. Not as much messy HTML code to fumble with.

So that is the new look. The new beginning is MY NEW JOB!!! Yes, I got a job! Actually, I got two, but who's counting? The one I accepted is working for the graphic communications department in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth (that means it's a state job). Pretty good pay, great benefits and an amazing view of downtown Boston from my office! It is all very exciting and I start Monday!

I owe a huge thank you to my friend Emily who is actually leaving the job and helped me slide into her place. She gave her boss my resume and kept promoting me to him. It really is who you know. I am greatful that this opportunity came up because it ends 8 months of job searching, something I don't wish on anyone. I am also thankful to those of you who kept my spirits up during those months. Your sympathy and words of encouragement were so helpful and greatly appreciated.

It may be hard at first to leave such a great schedule behind, and the comfort of working in my PJs, but I can't wait to get into the real work force, meet new people and learn more about graphic design. I think this is just the first step on my career path.

Definitely the start of something good.

something i took from someone who took it from someone else

since i have been harassed on MySpace by Sara for my infrequent blog postings, i have decided to top off a couple days worth of new posts with something i stole from a post on her blog. so there sara! (you better watch it, or i won't wear the horse skirt.)

she stole this from someone else's blog. you can only give one word answers. here goes:

Yourself: low-key
Your partner: nonexistent
Your hair: pretty
Your mother: strong
Your father: supportive
Your favorite item: powerbook
Your dream last night: bizarre
Your favorite drink: colada
Your dream home: comfortable
The room you are in: haphazard
Your fear: failure
Where you want to be in ten years: happy
Who you hung out with last night: StandUp
What you're not: skinny
Your best friend: thoughtful
One of your wish list items: job
Your gender: female
The last thing you did: read
What you are wearing: GAP
Your favorite weather: sunshine
Your favorite book?: Odyssey
Last thing you ate?: PBJ
Your life: stagnant
Your mood: indifferent
The last person you talked to on the phone: Chip
Who are you thinking about right now: Lucas

Did I Say That Reality Shows Are Stupid? Because What I Really Meant Was "Reality Shows Are Stupid Until a Family Member Wins Money On One"

Apparently, my second cousin (or something) just won 1/2 million dollars on Big Brother All Stars.


They say distant family members come out of the woodwork when you get rich.

Watch out Mike, cause i'm a-comin!

Just look at that family resemblance!

another reason to love Spain

Skinny models wearing thin in fashion shocker

gracias espana.

Bix.com

One of my newest assignments for my job is to promote this new contest site called Bix.com. It is basically like You Tube, MySpace and America's Got Talent combined. People make contests using video, audio or writing and anyone can enter. A lot of them are Karaoke, Lip-Syncing, Comedy, etc. Some even have cash prizes and eventually most of them will. My job is to make contests and get people to enter into them. My goal is to get as many people to sign up and participate in the site as possible. So I will keep you all updated on the latests contests and everyone can go to the site and register and start entering contests! Plus you can tell all your friends and your friends friends! =) Then I would love you forever. Also, if you want to start making your own contests, give me your username and the contests you make and the people who enter them will be added into my numbers and help me out even more.

The first contest I made is a song parody contest (except I made a typo and it's a Song Parady contest, and it's really bothering me). But anyway, I got inspired by Brad Akin's parody of "Sexyback", "Sweatyback". So if you want to enter, go here.

To inspire you, I wrote this little ditty and I'm going to have my roommate enter it:

Turn it Brown (aka, The Miseducation of Al Gore)
(sung to The Rolling Stones' Paint it Black)

I see some green grass and I want it to turn brown
No ice caps anymore, I want them melted down.
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I love that it's December and it never snows.

I see a line of cars all waiting for some gas,
A Hummer, Escalade and Ford Escape S-Class.
I see a Hybrid car and quickly look away,
Tree-hugging hippie cars will ruin my whole day.

I look inside my lungs and see they are all black.
Like using corn power will help them to turn back.
Maybe then I'll understand why we should find a cleaner way,
It's not easy facin' up when I've got big oil to pay.

No more will our green sea go turn a deeper blue,
How could I forsee the damage oil spills would do?

If I lay on the beach out in the shining sun,
I'll burn my skin all off before the night time comes.

I see some green grass and I want it to turn brown
No ice caps anymore, I want them melted down.
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I love that it's December and it never snows.

Hmmmm, hmmmmm.....

I wanna see the world turn, world turn brown,
Brown as dirt, brown as poo.
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky.
I wanna see it turning, turning, turning, turning brown.

someone IMed me this link today:

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

it is one of those sites where you put in your birthdate and they give you a whole sheet about you and things that happened on your birthdate and birth year.

it also told me this about myself:

"Of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritable and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self-confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner."

crap that's accurate, except the first part (Oh, wait, there's my "lack of self-confidence"). actually, come to think of it, it does say "unusual" and not "immense" or "breathtaking," so i guess that could be right too.

i also found out that Rachel Bilson (The OC) and i have the exact same birthdate, same year and everything. guess that's really not that interesting to anyone but me. but i guess none of this is. haha. oh, well.

i know i should just get over it, but...

i am going to ask one request of everyone i know who reads this blog (most of who are just friends and family): if you call me up or see me somewhere, please refrain from asking me if i have a job yet. i don't and i am tired of discussing my lack of job. it's no one's fault that it is a hot topic of conversation, it's such a central point of life. believe me, i know.

also believe me when i say that when i get a job, EVERYONE will know. i will probably get a megaphone and drive through boston yelling it to the world. maybe i'll even call up delilah and dedicate some cheesy song to myself in congratulations.

so keep sending the job fairy vibes my way or whatever, and listen out for the song, the megaphone, a phone call, etc. i absolutely appreciate your interest in my life and of course your well wishes, but understand why i just don't want to talk about it.

thank you.

the (2nd) greatest idea EVER

if deciding to have alicia's bachelorette party be 80's themed was the BEST idea i've ever had, this has to be the second best*:

Adult Ding Dong Cart!

ok, for those of you who aren't from western mass. that probably just looks dirty, but it's not. the ding dong cart is the ice cream truck that drives around your neighborhood in the summer giving teenage mutant ninja turtle pops to kiddies. but why should they have all the fun?

the answer: they shouldn't.

so, the plan. if i don't get a real job that i like by next spring i'm going to buy one of those ding dong carts. instead of selling ice cream treats by playing "Turkey in the Straw," i'm going to sell jello shots, frozen margaritas, pina coladas and keg beer by tricking my truck out and playing "Sexyback." every friday from 8pm-3am would be a flippin goldmine! i can see the BU students running already.

then during mardi gras i could drive my sweet ride to new orleans. spring break time i'd go down to daytona beach and, of course, mexico for cinco de mayo! i'd be more popular than the Girls Gone Wild bus!

ok. no i wouldn't. BUT i'd still be pretty damn popular.


*i had help in developing this idea while talking with my roommate jen, so she should also get some of the credit.

sometimes 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 0

Because I have so much that I could possibly talk about, I don't feel like talking about anything.

Summer

In summer things seem different
They shimmer in the heat from a scorched road
And glow in the glare of the sun
An illumination of life,
Of aliveness.

Listen and you can hear the life expanding
Like my heart when i think of summer's past
An ache to feel as alive as the day again
To shimmer and glow,
And burn.

Summer is alive
And I want to be too.

because i'm not this witty on my own

who remembers the Advertising Slogan Generator from like junior year of college?!?! I do! I do! For some reason the memory of it just came to me today and of the countless (and let's be honest, pointless) hours I spent inserting my name, other people's names and, let's be honest again, dirty/bad words into the text box and hitting "Sloganize!". I think I even had a list on my computer of the more funny and innapropriate ones. then becky made magnets out of the ones with our names on them for our fridge at the cottage. she didn't use the dirty ones though (unfortunately).

so, let us all flash back to the days when we had countless hours to waste laughing at pointless but highly entertaining web pages. here are some examples of ones I did today, but if you haven't experience the Slogan Generator for yourself you have to check it out.


"A day without shitballs is like a day without sunshine."

"Pure Allison."

"Allison tested, mother approved."

"You like Allison, Allison likes you."

(uh oh, parental units, look away now) "Top breeders recommend Allison."

then there's this one that almost made me choke on my pineapple slice and die - "You're in good hands with George W. Bush."

And lastly, one that will bring dignity and maturity back to this blog.........




"I can't believe I ate the whole poop!"



yes, i have two degrees. and my parents are so proud.

a message to my favorite blog-stalker, aka Janet

i am still here, i swear. i have not formed a secret blog away from your stalker-eyes but have instead been busy packing up my apartment to move this friday. plus there hasn't been anything ridiculous enough going on for me to make fun of. it's quite unfortunate actually.

instead i will tell you about a dream i had last night that i found really amusing upon waking. i don't really remember most of the specifics, but what i do remember is sitting on an old rug with my roommate erin when it suddenly became a magic carpet and started to fly us into the sky. so we decided what better thing to do on a magic carpet than to sing ALL of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin in our best (aka worst) singing voices. i sang aladdin's part and she jasmine's. we even did cheesy arm motions. it surprises me that we make fun of ourselves even in my dream.

all around it was like a normal night at the apartment.

well, except erin usually sing's aladdin's part.




i hope you enjoyed janet. this post was all for you. sorry i didn't talk about Hanson. oh, there, i just did.