October 26, 2009 · 11:36 pm

U2 Concert Review

You may have heard that U2 was in town this weekend. They were playing at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena — the 360° Tour (aka outdoor arenas).

Back when I was gainfully employed as a contributing member of society, I bought tickets the second they went on sale. Knowing that U2’s tickets usually sell out, and knowing the capacity of the Rose Bowl (92,000 seats), I figured it might be a good idea to accompany the ticket purchase with getting a room. Sometimes my genius ideas surprise even me. Getting a room is always a genius idea.

First off, let’s cover the bad — the idiots. Of course, there’s always the idiots in the world… like the people next to us in the parking area who were blaring non-U2 music so loudly that their stereo was distorted. *eye roll* Instead of hanging near their distorted world, I went up and sat on a grassy knoll under a tree and read my newspaper, while listening to Bono and Edge perform their sound checks. Far more enjoyable than distorted “canned” music. Or how about the group of people who walked by while Tony was sleeping before the concert in the back of the car (since he went to work this morning at 4:30 AM) and they saw him sleeping and YELLED at him about how he’d missed the great concert, thinking he’d wake up and be bummed. They really thought they were so funny and clever. I told them they were rude and was ready to take them on! Don’t mess with my husband! Then we had the dudes who were sitting next to us in the arena who were smoking cigars (I’m not a fan) and were surprised when the gal in front of them mentioned that some people might not enjoy the smell. I think I’m turning into a crotchety old lady!

Tony’s the huge U2 fan. Me, well, I know their music and unless you’ve had your head in a cave for over 20 years, you have too. The show was great — they set out to please their audience, and did they ever. They put everything they had into their show as musicians and kicked butt doing it. They were broadcast live on YouTube, which was pretty cool. (You can see the re-broadcast of it here: Link) They were very professional and started their show on time (with a disapproving nod toward Mariah Carey’s disastrous display of unprofessionalism at her concert in Anaheim).

The weekend went off like a well-synchronized assembly line. When we drove up there Saturday, we got every light green between our house to the freeway (not even kidding), had a leisurely dinner at Olive Garden (leftovers for concert day), spontaneously walking to the theater and learning the next showing of the movie we wanted to see started in 10 minutes. Sunday, we showed up with our general parking pass and were directed into a lot not too far from the gate we needed to enter. Better than that, we were directed to park under a tree! A great big shade tree!

I even had my very own MacGuyer moment! During the concert, a dude coming back to his seat stepped on the front of my flip-flop and the string between my toes broke! Imagining a flippy-floppy walk back to our car at midnight, I desperately looked around for ideas. I spotted a long string tied to a light cable. It wasn’t doing anything as far as I could tell, so I untied it, looped it through the plastic doo-dad, tied it over the “V” on the top of my shoe. The perfect temporary fix.

So I guess what I’m really admitting is, I stole a string from the Rose Bowl arena. When you’re watching the New Year’s football game, you can remember that and think of me. Here you thought you were gonna read a concert review…

Of course, we took pictures: Click to See

6 Comments

Filed under Entertainment can be Expensive, I did something Special, I Left Home for Awhile, I Stimulate the Economy

October 23, 2009 · 7:05 pm

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Filed under Money Hump Building, Protected, Who I am

October 20, 2009 · 9:29 pm

Love & Loathe — 10/20/09

Love:

* Coupons for restaurants. We found a coupon for buy one, get one free at Denny’s. Hello date night dinner! Today, I got a coupon in the mail for buy one, get one free at Chipotle. Hello to next week’s date night dinner!

* Aquatic exercise class. Who knew? I mostly feel like a gangly, uncoordinated dork (kinda comes with the territory being 5’11” tall and all, there’s a reason gymnasts are all petite). Fortunately, most of the exercise is all underwater, so no one knows how goofy I feel but me and I’m learning some good stretches.

* This time of year. The first fire in the fireplace, cookies and hot chocolate is just so cozy. So is snuggling on the couch.

* My feetie jammies made their first appearance of the year last night. Ohhhh, I slept so good.

* The last time I purchased gas for my car was on 10/3/09.

* We have plans to spend time together this weekend, going to the sold-out U2 concert at the Rose Bowl. I bought the tickets the day they went on sale, months ago, for Tony’s birthday. The best part of this is how over-the-top excited he is about going. I really love that I gave him something to look forward to.

Loathe:

* Burning the skin on the roof of my mouth. The hot chocolate was definitely hot, though, in case you were wondering.

* Owners who are not conscious of “dense neighborhood” living etiquette and leave their dog outside in a 25′ x 8′ back yard all day. Oh, and it’s a lab. That’s kind of a small area for such a big dog. So the poor thing barks all day – great big WOOF-WOOFs — which is annoying, but when she starts whining, crying and snuffling at their back door like a forlorn puppy? She’s normally a good dog and that whimpering stuff breaks my heart. Here’s hoping that maybe they just sometimes forget to leave their dog door open…

One Last Thing:

I stood in line for 30 minutes today. Not for a Disneyland ride, but to pay $262 for my illegal ride in the bike lane.

I ignored the kids in front of me who talked non-stop about everything from Dancing with the Stars to the fact that they were certain there was no such thing as fresh water fish — all fish are salt water fish, they declared.

The people behind me were gonna go in front of the judge and tell him that they just couldn’t afford the ticket, so he was gonna have to reduce the fee and they still wanted to go to traffic school. Yeah, good luck with that.

I got up to the window and reached for my credit card only to discover it wasn’t in it’s pocket in my purse. (*insert scared look here*) Yikes, so I’d waited in that line for nothing? I looked at the end of the line and couldn’t see it, it was wound around through the line guides and out the door.

Coolly, I asked if they take AMEX. Nope. (Pfft, what kind of place IS this anyway?). I could go check my car, she said, and just come up to her window if I found it. On a whim, I pulled out my stack of membership cards. Oh, you know, the CVS, Hallmark, and grocery store cards? Thank God, my Mastercard was right there. Don’t’cha know, Disneyland and MC go hand-in-hand. Phew!

Soooo, now I have until February 18th, 2010, to go to traffic court online. Guess I’ll have to fit that in my busy schedule somewhere.

14 Comments

Filed under Love/Loathe

October 20, 2009 · 11:03 am

It Rings!

I told my mom yesterday that I’m pretty sure my phone’s ringer doesn’t work. No one is calling me. I get text messages just fine, but no calls.

Today, just 5 minutes ago, my phone rang and a number displayed I didn’t recognize. A company! Calling off my resume!!

I cleared my throat and in my best professional voice (trying to sound as if I’m not sitting here in my feetie snowman jammies), answered, “This is Jammie J.” A nice male voice said, “Oh, sorry, I think I have the wrong number.”

Two seconds later, it rings again, same number displayed, so I answered, “Hi, I think you still have the wrong number…” This time he argued with me, “No, I’m looking for Donna. Donna Legand? Perhaps she’s a co-worker or something?”

I looked at the cat on my lap named Tug, over at the cat snoozing contentedly in his cat bed named Snug. I responded to the man, “This is my cell phone and I have no co-worker named Donna. I’m pretty sure you have the wrong number…” I almost finished with, “But if you’re looking for a kick-ass executive assistant, I can be your girl for the right price!” But I didn’t. Hard sells to wrong number callers? Really not my thing. Although in this economy, maybe it should be.

At least I know my phone rings…

8 Comments

Filed under I feel Amused

October 15, 2009 · 11:19 pm

Panties in a Twist.

OK, maybe I’m taking this the wrong way, having been recently terminated by a company where I *loved* my job and the company for whom I worked. Especially when I’m fairly certain that they reallocated my duties to 2 or 3 people, who they are paying less, who aren’t getting medical benefits, and who are working longer hours as a result.

I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, the program isn’t even available in my state (at least, I don’t think so), but in last Sunday’s Parade Magazine, I came across this article: Link

And here’s a link to the horse’s mouth, so to speak: Link

In a nutshell, in case you don’t feel like reading the stuff at those links, in response to the incredible amount of unemployment filings, Georgia has created a program that enables employers to get free labor for up to 6 weeks, the state of Georgia even picks up the tab for worker’s compensation insurance. At the end of those 6 weeks, it’s at the employer’s discretion if they want to hire the person who has basically, for all intents and purposes, been an “intern.” (My word, not theirs.)

The intern receives a stipend of up to $300 (total over that 6 week period) to defray expenses (in addition to unemployment benefits), a “foot in the door”, and on-the-job training.

The state benefits, because they claim 58% of the interns (program participants) are landing jobs at the companies at which they are interning, thereby reducing the amount of unemployment payments the state is doling out.

According to the article, other states are interested in replicating the program, and there is a concern that the unemployed working for free could become a mandatory stipulation of receiving unemployment benefits. Which I find somewhat ironic – the state and former employer financially carrying their former employee while they retrain at a new company? (Unemployment is a program funded by employers who pay taxes on wages paid to employees.)

Furthermore, I’m not seeing how it would benefit someone in my shoes. Someone who’s not trying to change careers, someone who has years of experience doing what they do, and someone who has advanced skills that are suitable for the position they’re seeking. Someone whose bills are based on the position at which they’ve honed their skills over the years. UI doesn’t pay my bills, not even close. Add a measly $300 stipend for a 6 week period? Nope, still not even close.

Back in August of 1999 (the irony of it being 10 years ago, exactly, is not lost on me), I lost my job due to company closure. My boss at the time made the grandiose offer of, “If you continue working here, if we get our funding, we’ll pay you then.” My response to that was, “Thanks, appreciate the offer, but I don’t work for free.” The company never received its funding, it closed its doors… so, if I had stayed, I would have been working for free. Basically the same risk the people who participate in this program take… at the end, you either get “funded” or you don’t.

At that time, there just wasn’t anything out there for my skill set. After a few months went by, you know what I did? I went back to college. Shocking, right? Here’s something else, I continued to receive UI and when the benefits ran out, I went to court, stood in front of a judge and made my case for my UI to be continued. The judge agreed with me and extended my benefits. Ironically, shortly after that, I landed a position as an executive assistant… my trusty old standby.

I don’t recall that I registered with any temp agencies at that time. If I didn’t, I don’t know why. But I think temp agencies are much more beneficial to a candidate than Georgia’s work program. If a temp employee maintains a certain number of hours per week for a period of time, they’re eligible for health benefits through the temp agency. In addition, the employer pays a fee to the temp agency, so the employer has an investment beyond “training”… in other words, they are truly looking to hire someone. In Georgia’s work program, it appears as if there’s a huge loophole for employers to abuse the system — to enroll, get free labor for 6 weeks and then just wave their hand and say, “Meah, not a good fit.”

Maybe I’ve totally misinterpreted this and I feel like there’s a couple points I forgot to make (it’s late, I’ve vented my spleen and I hereby forgive myself), but that’s how it appears to me and I’ve read the stuff, like, 6 times now.

What are your thoughts? If you don’t have any thoughts, just wave and say “Hi”. No offense will be taken. Well, maybe a little offense, but I’ll get over it.

18 Comments

Filed under I feel Irritated, Money Hump Building

October 14, 2009 · 3:52 pm

When it Rains.

We bought Boney Barney on clearance three years ago after Halloween. We took him out of storage in 2007, but forgot to set him up with our Halloween decorations, and when we were putting stuff away, he kind of got missed. Happens to the best of us, decorations from holidays past get to sit out all year long. So he sat there in the dark garage off to the corner all by himself.

Then one night it was raining when I got home from work.

Normally I cover my car in the garage because, if I don’t, the cats use it as their personal ski area and hammock, any time of the day or night.

When it rains, I don’t want to get my car cover wet or damp, so I use a car squeegee. I have issues, I know. It’s OK, though, that’s why I’m a member of the Miata Club. I’m validated there. We all clean our cars before we go on runs, but it’s not an uncommon sight to find people giving little details of love to their cars while we wait for the run to start.

Anyway, back on topic. So, one night it had rained and there was my car, sitting there vulnerable to feline abuse. I happened to glance over and see Boney Barney sitting there in the dark. As surely as it happens in cartoons, a lightbulb lit up over my head.

For you see, Boney Barney is motion activated and when he gets activated, he says in a guttural voice the following things:

“Oh my achin’ bones, this after life isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. But I can drink all the antifreeze I want now. Hehehe.”

“Hey, what’d you wake me up for? I was just having the best nightmare. All the cats in the world were turned into zombies and they ate their own litter! *howl*”

“My favorite sounds are sloppin’ worms, mushy brains, blood & guts, squishy fish, squashing bugs, rats in traps, crackling bones and dyin’ cats. *howl*”

*howl* What can I say? I ain’t got much bite.”

“I like to eat bugs & maggots & dead rotting meat, and drink soiled water that tastes like feet, give me a scabby dead rat any day, served up better with stink & decay! *BELCH*”

“*howl* What’s for dinner? Stinky salmon, rancid roadkill, bug stew or my favorite, barfed up buzzard guts! Mmmmmm. *belch*”

boneybarney

We’ve tried the ScatMats, which I’ve had for years and years (my previous cat was kind of dumb), but these cats of ours have simply learned to stay off the spots the mat is placed, doing the perimeter dance with squinty eyes, leaving lovely tracks in the shape of the mat with their delicate paws. They’ve figured out that as long as they don’t touch ’em, they don’t get shocked.

And so it is that Boney Barney gets a stage for his talents whenever it rains, and lately most anytime. Pretty exciting for just a boney dog. At least he thinks so. The cats aren’t thrilled with it, in fact, they’re somewhat frightened of him. Truth be told, that’s kind of the idea, since they’re not supposed to be on my car anyway.

Earlier this month, Tony called me and with a note of despair in his voice said, “They changed Boney. The ones in the store this year say boring and PC things.” He was so sad, as am I. Because I was planning on buying two more when they went on clearance, one for the trunk of my car and one for the kitchen table.

Despite our disappointment, I still might.

10 Comments

Filed under I Stimulate the Economy, Kid Substitutes

October 13, 2009 · 1:45 pm

Love & Loathe — 10/13/09

Love:

* Wearing my Halloween apparel. Fuzzy “Boo” socks, scary underwear and t-shirts make for a very happy Jammie J.!

* Poached eggs for breakfast.

* Swimming laps in the rain.

* Kisses from my nephews. Completely delectable. Num, num, num.

* I got dark chocolate covered rice cakes (brought back from Ireland) in the mail from my east coast sister-in-law and persimmons from my father-in-law (Tony says I’m clearly the favorite daughter-in-law because of that!).

Loathe:

* How Firefox delights in crashing every few websites I open. Hello, Firefox? How about we get the crashing bug fixed?? Can I help you in any way, because I’m available for employment!

* How people in this world have become so non-responsive, which I think is incredibly rude. Is it really so difficult just to send back a two word e-mail or text message, like “Not yet…” or “Not today…” or “thank you”. Yes, silence is it’s own answer, but how did we get this way and how did it become OK?

* Ants that transported in with the persimmons. Blech. A necessary evil, but still… blech.

One Last Thing:

How I freak my husband out when he comes home from his second job… just leave a certain bottle sitting in the middle of the bathroom counter, all loud and proud like this:

What I heard was, “Uhhhh, sweetie? What is this? This isn’t funny.”

Me, “Yes, it is. That’s ALWAYS funny!”

17 Comments

Filed under Best Husband, I feel Amused, Love/Loathe

October 12, 2009 · 12:34 pm

Don’t Got Nuttin’.

Soooo, here we are, beginning of October. No, wait, we’re almost MID-October. If I were at my old job, I’d be harvesting articles for the newsletter! Man, it’s hard to change my mind from that job’s routine — it became such a big part of my life. When they let me go, it’s kind of like I got on a plane and went to another time zone and can’t reset the time on my watch.

(new subject)

When I was a teenager, I was bestest-estest friends with my cousin who lived in Washington state. I loved to go visit her, and we’d stay awake way too late during those visits and giggle like the little girls we were. She loved to play the organ and we would compose the silliest songs you ever did hear. They made no sense to anyone but us.

I had a crush on her neighbor boy, but she had an actual boyfriend! I worked with kids at the community center back home, she was a lifeguard! She was beautiful, just a little more brave than me and I adored her!

I got my ears pierced the first time on one of those visits with her. She shaved her legs for the first time on one of the visits. We would try out each others shower soaps and sniff each others arms. The kind of stuff that I suppose sisters would do together, but I never had a sister and she didn’t have a sister at that time.

One time when I went up there, she and her two brothers picked me up from the bus station in their pickup truck. We drove all the way back to their house in first or second gear, laughing all the way, because the transmission wasn’t working.

When we were separated (doesn’t that sound dramatic?), we would write each other the longest letters, pages and pages, going on and on about absolutely nothing. When I wrote my letters, it was all about how long can I make nothing but silly last?

That’s kind of where I am today. I got nuttin’ new to report and I’m just trying to make the silly last.

I guess I better get to the silly. I have a to-do list I have to get workin’ on…

10 Comments

Filed under Who I am, Women Before Me

October 8, 2009 · 11:25 pm

Different Muscles.

I attended the aquatic class at the gym tonight. It’s free with our membership and it’s something I’ve kind of wanted to do for awhile, but haven’t because, “I’m working.” I have a list, sort of, of things like that.

So, hear ye, hear ye, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at our gym, there is an hour long aquatic exercise class. I know about these classes because when I swim laps at the gym, we lap swimmers aren’t allowed in the pool at that time. The reason I was interested in trying the class is because the few times I showed up before the class was over, I waited beside the pool watching them, and I was impressed by the stretching exercises the instructor was presenting.

Stretching before and after swimming is something I really need to be more diligent about doing.

Ummm, here’s the thing. I thought I was in shape. I mean, I know I’m in shape. I can swim laps, with different stroke types, for over an hour and barely even get winded. My arms are defined, lung capacity expanded, blah blah blah.

But tonight? Tonight, I am sore. Not “I just hiked Half Dome in a day!” kind of sore, that is the holy grail of being sore for me, but I’m sore enough to notice. Huh. *shakes head*

I know, from overheard conversations, that a few of the attendees have had surgery or are recovering from injuries and are there are doctor’s orders. But, really, why they all don’t have the physique of Greek gods or goddesses is beyond me.

Anyway, my sore muscles hereby promise that we will never diss that class again. Ever.

In fact, I might go back.

10 Comments

Filed under Entertainment can be Cheap, I'm Never too Old to Learn, Mermaid Envy

October 6, 2009 · 4:01 pm

Love & Loathe — 10/06/09

Love:

* A freshly emptied trash can!

* Getting checks in the mail. Today was “pay day” and I got more than I expected. Grow, money hump, grow!

* I registered with a temp agency today. My intake person told me that they’ve recently started getting admin jobs at my level again. This is good news, people!

* All my fish are in one tank, meaning my male is in there. They are very busy chasing each other in circles and I love watching them.

* Swimming. I’ve been lengthening my swim times, I’m up to an hour of non-stop laps and I feel as if I could swim all day long.

Loathe:

* So far, the fish haven’t mated. It’s only been a couple of days, and I’m OK with them taking their time. It just means my girls ain’t easy. Mmm-hmmm, their mama taught them right. But they better mate at some point.

* Our refrigerator’s automatic ice-maker is on the fritz. It makes ice erratically, which is incredibly annoying.

One Last Thing:

A few nights ago, I crawled into bed around 1 AM. Tony had already been asleep a couple of hours. I was very careful to not move the bed or do anything that would jolt him awake. Although, usually my care is unnecessary because the dude sleeps like a rock.

I turned on my side to settle in, arranging the covers just so and I felt gas pressure. So I let my fart flag fly. It was quite a bit louder than I had intended, it startled even me.

It got about mid-note and Tony rolled on his back and moaned out an emphatic “Noooooo!”, pulled the sheets over his face and resumed snoring.

Which left me shaking quietly with laughter. The man didn’t even wake up, but his subconscious knew it wasn’t a good thing. I’m thinking it was a good thing that he didn’t remember it in the morning.

14 Comments

Filed under Best Husband, Kid Substitutes, Love/Loathe, Mermaid Envy, Money Hump Building