Rudey Poo Bonfils Lady

   A while back I talked on the show about needing to find out what my blood type was and the difficulty I was having getting it from my doctor.  Long story short, I would’ve have had to pay for it, which I wasn’t willing to do.

So I went to Bonfils Blood Center and donated blood.  I thought it would be a good thing to do to be a donor anyway.  Might as well spread the love if you can, right?

I had no idea once they get you, they call you all the time.  I’ve gotten called at least once a week since the last time to come back in and donate.  I don’t mind the calls and it probably is a good idea.  You can make an apppointment, but may also walk in.

I drove all the way down there the other day, thinking they were open til 7 and was surprised to find they are only open til 7 three days a week, the others (this was one of them, only til 6).  So I dropped by today at 5:15pm, another day they close at 6.

I was told since I didn’t have an appointment, they couldn’t fit me in.  Ok…. but there was only one “customer” in the center.  I asked how long it would be until I could get in.  The Bonfils lady, who was probably in her mid-50’s and obviously having a bad day said it would be up to a half an hour.  I said I’d go grab a bite and come back.  That’ll leave 15-20 minutes for them to tap me, give me a bandaid and a cookie and send me on my way.  Apparently this idea agrivated the woman.  Now she’s getting a little snippy with me. 

She said, “I just told you, we close at 6.”

me, “Ok, are you sure you can’t squeeze me in, the clinic doesn’t seem to be busy.”

Whoops, I guess that was the wrong thing to say.  She’s really pissed now. “Well we are.  Why don’t you go away and try making an appointment next time.  That way when you come in and think you have the authority to gauge our workload, we’ll have a spot for you.”

Well alrighty then, appointment it is.  Kinda funny attitude, when I am volunteering out of the goodness of my heart for you.

(Please don’t let this story deter you from being a blood donor.  Bonfils is wonderful, I think I just caught this lady on a bad day.  It can happen anywhere.)

Jesse James is Trying to Ruin My Life!!!

I don’t know why he can’t stay out of my business… and my phone!!  Today we were in the office, I’m working, and as usual Jesse is like a 5 year old needing a dose of Ritalin.  If he’s not Googling himself, perusing Craig’s list, or drawing stupid pictures of Shotgun on the whiteboard, he’s bugging me. 

He asks to see my phone.  I figure since he just sold his, he wants to borrow mine to play solitaire.  Then he starts reading off my contacts… before long I realize he’s trying to find Justin’s number in my phone (see blog below) to see if I was lying about the story.  He finds it and gets awfully quiet.  He’s totally like a kid, if they’re quiet for too long you know they are either getting into trouble or sneaking off to poop their pants.  Since Jesse is potty trained, I know he’s probably trying to ruin my life.  I whirl around just in time to hear the bing bong of my phone indicating that a text message has just been sent.

Jesse says to Shotgun, “Nope, she wasn’t lying, man,” then hands my phone back to me with his stupid ‘up to no good’ grin.  Of course I check my sent messages and Jesse had sent a text to Justin saying, “I think i love u!  I’m burning for u right now.”

Jesse & Shotgun laugh and laugh.  I go in and send another message to Justin, saying Jesse was just messing with my phone that wasn’t me.  A few minutes later I get a response, “Haha, tell Jesse & Shotgun What’s up.” 

Yeah, and Jesse wonders why I don’t wanna tell him anything.  Maybe I would, if I thought for one second he wouldn’t try to ruin my life with it.

P.S.- Bret Favre is gay!

Whoops, I Accidently Texted the Ex!

   Whoops!  I can honestly say this is my first major texting blunder.  Anyone remember Justin the wakeboarding guy that I dating over the summer.  We talked a lot about our relationship on-air including the breakup… that occured ironically via text message.  (He did call later, but the damage was already done).  Well, Justin and I haven’t seen or spoken to each other since… until Sat.

I was out downtown Sat. night.  I had been out most of the day, friends and I started early as we were watching football.  After the Pats/ Jax game we went to the Downtown Tavern.  Around midnight I am standing in line for the ladies restroom and was bored. A specific fun song came on… (I can’t say what, it has a lot of bad words in it).  Last week when my friend and I were driving back from snowboarding this specific song came up, we sang it at the top of our lungs and had a great time. So this song starts playing so I text him.. “Hey, I’m listening to (insert song title here) and thought of you.”  Only instead of sending it to my friend, in my drunken state I hit one click down too far inserted Justin’s name as the recipient and hit send.  I was unaware of the blunder at this point.

Minutes later I got a response… “I am listening to Britney and thinking of you, lol.”  Followed by a second message… ”How are you doing?”  But, it’s then that I realize what I’d done and laughed heartly.  I don’t really get the first statement, is he calling me a lunatic?  Then I remember this song actually has relevance to Justin because we used to blare it on his boat over the summer. 

I was very surprised to get a response.  I reply, “I’m well, you?” We had a brief but very nice conversation.  I’ve buried the hatchett, I have no hard feelings toward him, I don’t hold grudges, so in the end it was actually kinda nice to hear from him.  I found this funny… he said he called the station last week trying to win Brad Paisley tix.  I picked up, said we already had a winner and hung up before he could get a word in.  What if he had won though… how awkward would that have been?  It would’ve caught me off guard, I’m not sure how I would have reacted.  Oh well. 

So this one ended ok, but it could’ve been bad.  I don’t know if this was it, or if I will hear from him again soon, since we’ve broken the ice.  Eh, whatever.

More thoughts on texting:

I used to absolutely hate texting, but in the last year it’s probably become my main mode of coorespondence, as I know it has for many other people too.  I still think though, some things should not be texted.  I think texting is perfect for quick statements, taking care of business, relaying messages in a loud location where you can’t hear if you were in the phone… stuff like that.  You should never text when you are dealing with someone’s emotions.  If you feel like you’re copping out, you are.

List of things you should NEVER text:

Breaking bad news

Breaking up!

Anything in a fight

Breaking up!

Asking someone out

Breaking up!

Kayaking and Bathmats

   My roommate is a little insane.  This is the guy who lives by the motto “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right”.  That and/or “Go big or go home”.   He has a million hobbies and is equally as passionate about each one. 

One of Justin’s favorite things is kayaking.  He goes all the time in the summer.  He has multiple kayaks, I don’t know exactly how many, I’ve never seen them all at one time, but he probably has 8-10. All different sizes and functionality I guess.  I know virtually nothing about it, but I hear it’s pretty important depending on the water.

Justin and a couple of his buddies are taking a trip to Costa Rica for kayaking in a few weeks.  So to prepare for the trip Justin and his buddies are “conditioning” (keep in mind they haven’t kayaked since summer).  Justin goes to the gym all the time ans stays in great shape so I’m not really sure what he’s conditioning, but whatever.  Since he’s going to be gone for a couple weeks, he’s been working late, getting home about 6 every night, so it doesn’t leave much time for “conditioning”.  Or does it?

Here’s where the insanity comes in.  Last night Justin got home at 6 and starts pulling his kayaks out of the crawl space.  I asked him what he was doing and he says he and the guys are going kayaking.  WHAT??  Yeah, to get in shape they are kayaking the South Platte in Denver (near the R.E.I., apparently they have a course, who knew?).  But think about this…. it’s after dark and it was only 23 degrees!

Isn’t there some kind of kayking machine or a rower machine at the gym he could use and get the same result.  When I ask, I get the typical, ”You’re a dumbass” look.  He pauses obviously reserving a smartass comment and responds with, “You’re pretty”. Nevermind.

Justin got home around 9 looking like Jack Frost, shivering and with blue lips.  He said there was ice on his paddle and he damn near froze to death… shocker smart guy!! 

   P.S.- After I had gone to bed, Justin decides it’s the perfect time to wash all his bathmats.  At 1am I wake to the tumbler in the washing machine going crazy on the spin cycle.  The mats were all heavy and lopsided in the machine so the tumbler was off kilter and the whole machine was clammering around slamming into the wall.  I jumped up, my heart was pounding, startled at the commotion and ran in to turn the damn thing off. 

And I’m the dumbass.

I Want to be on American Gladiators!

   Hell Yeah!! I LOVE American Gladiators.  I used to watch it all the time back in day, I was watching old episodes at the gym on TBS leading up to the premiere of the new season.  The new American Gladiators is badass!! 

I’ve decided I want to try to apply.  Right now, even though I’m in shape, I’m not in the the condition I’d need to be in.  Frankly, I’d get beat down.  I’d get my world rocked.  But maybe that could be my new fitness goal.  I wonder when the next season starts and when they’d be auditioning for it.  I definitely wanna check that out.

I think I could do it.  It would be some really hard work and hard training, but if I could just win one show I’d be satisfied.  I’d go for gold, but I would just wanna make sure I’m not one of the wusses that go on there and totally get worked.  It’s embarrassing for them.  I feel bad when they suck.  Everybody would be watching, I wouldn’t wanna come back with a bruised ego.

That’s it, Hellga, here I come!! …. oh, lord.

Facing my fear- Snowboarding

   Ok, I’m not scared of snowboarding, but I am scared of going fast.  I broke my wrist snowboarding.  It was after I learned and I was at that awkward stage where I could get down the mountain but was trying to gain speed.  I was getting a little ahead of myself and thought I was going to hurt myself so I split off from my group and took a green.  I was going to meet up with them where the blue we were on meets up with the green again.  Boy was that dumb.  Just after splitting off I caught an edge and flipped upside down.  I don’t really remember what happened, I just remember thinking I’m about to break my head or my wrist.  The wrist it was.  I now have a plate and some screws… awesome.

I had been snowboarding a couple times since breaking my wrist.  I had hurt my sciatic bone (not sure how), but then through it completely out of place when I fell snowboarding.  OMG, that frickin HURT!!  I had to get physical therapy to get it back in place.  Apparently this injury is common in women and the pain is comparable to a herniated disc or childbirth.  I started thinking maybe I wasn’t cut out for snow sports!

Well I took a season off, and I went for the 1st time last Sat. and I did awesome.  I tell ya, it’s a completely different experience being 30 lbs. lighter and being in shape.  I had soooo much fun!  And I did awesome, I’m still working on gaining speed, but I’m doing much better.

I only took two major dives.  One I jacked up my right shoulder and rolled my board end over end a few times.  The other I caught my heel edge…OMG, it happens so fast, you’re cruising, then all of a sudden WHAM, you get slammed down before you know what happened.  I was whipped down and slammed the back of my head (good thing I was wearing a helmet or we probably would’ve had some major problems).  That one hurt.  I still have a really sore neck.

But I came and I conquered!  Catch me in the half pipe next time.

Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride

    Tis the season… the ‘08 wedding season is already underway for me.  I’ve already been invited to a wedding in Feb. and been asked to be a bridesmaid in a wedding over labor day weekend. 

I am very excited about the wedding I’ve been asked to stand in.  It’s for one of my best friends, Jacki, who lives in Chicago.  She’s been dating this guy since high school for some ridiculous amount of time, 8 years or something.  They were “taking things slow”… I get it, they’re young, blah blah, blah, but damn, it’s about time.  She moved out to Chicago a couple years ago to be with him, they just moved in together about 4 months ago and recently got engaged.  Her ring is beeeeeeautiful!!! That nug was worth waiting for!

Jacki and her fiance are from Colorado so she was in town for the holidays.  We went to dinner and she popped the question.  Ahh, this is all so sudden… jk, Hell Yeah!!  I love weddings.  I love being in them and this one is going to be very special because it’s the first wedding I’ll be in that isn’t for a family member.  The wedding is here in Colorado and I’m the only one in the bridal party who’s in state so I get to help with a lot of the details.

I’m also excited cuz the colors are black and red.  We’ve already discussed dresses, we’ll either be in red, satin, strapless or black, satin with an all red bouquet.  And this is not one of those brides who purposely makes her bridal party look stupid so she looks better.  It’s gonna be a fabulous wedding and since it’s not family… it’s on!!  September is so far away!! I’m soooo excited.

New Year’s Resolutions

   Does anyone actually make New Year’s Resolutions anymore?  Has anyone ever stuck to one for an entire year?  I’d like to meet someone who has. 

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.  I do, however, think of the new year as a clean slate.  Kind of a new beginning.  I like rolling into a new year, it feels fresh even though it’s just another day.  But the tradition of making a pact to change something in your life just because it is a new year is a little baffling to me.  Why wait for a new year?  If you’d like to change something why not start the day you think of it?  If you were to pick a day for a new beginning, why not pick your birthday?  That’s like a new year… a personal new year. 

January, I hear is the month of the highest depression.  I’m sure this could be argued depending on your source.  But I would say it definetely is for me.  I am one of those who suffer from post-holiday depression.  I also suffer from being broke in Jan. because of the holidays, which is also depressing.  There’s so much build up around the holidays, so much to look forward to, so much fun to be had, that it sucks when it’s over.  What’s there to look forward to now?  Presidents Day?  Valentine’s Day?  Oh yeah, Valentine’s Day… don’t get me started.  What I mean is January is pretty depressing anyway, which may be a good reason to try and better yourself with a new year’s resolution.  However, I’ve never known ANYONE to keep it, so it’s just setting yourself up for more depression and feelings of failure. 

I personally don’t make them, because most year’s I have to sit and make one up just for the sake of having one.  Of course I’m not going to stick to it, if I have to make one up, I obviously don’t have the passion and conviction to keep it.

I guess what I’m saying is, if you want to change something, change it.  Change it anyday.  If it happens to fall on New Year’s so be it and good luck. 

If you’ve ever had a resolution last… I’d like to hear about it.

I Was Set Up

   No not framed, I was set up with someone at a friend’s Christmas party.  My friend Andrea works as a counselor at an elementary school. She thought her party would be a great opportunity to introduce me to another teacher at the school whom she thinks would be a great match for me.

I hate this kind of thing, but agree to go and meet this guy.  So here’s the deal, I know I’m going to meet him.  He’s been told about me and a few select others know what’s going on as well.  Needless to say it’s awkward from the beginning. 

He comes fashionably late with his roommate. So I’m already outnumbered and I have this catty bee-otch after me already (read about the Alpha Female below).  There are several teachers from that school at this party all of whom he knows and I don’t.  I only know my friend Andrea and her husband.  Since they are hosting the party, they are getting the food set out, taking jackets, pouring drinks, doing what hosts do, I’m on my own.  I’m out of my element, I know nothing about kids or teaching, I feel like I’m on the spot.  This is not going well. 

We get into the White Elephant game and things start loosening up.  I can tell this guy has a great sense of humor.  Then we play a drinking card game and we are on the same team.  Things aren’t so bad after all. 

But as the night progresses we don’t get a lot of time to talk, people keep watching and nudging.  I had no intention of staying so I’d only been casually drinking.  But this guy was in it for the long hall.  He’d been doing shots, getting down with this card game.

Well later in the night, we finally are somewhat alone and he is trying to ask me out.  In hindsight I could’ve been a little more helpful here, but I enjoyed the display.  This dude was obviously hammered, which happens.  Really, no big deal.  I knew what he was trying to say, but it wasn’t coming out right at all.  He was trying to say that this was a nice meeting, but not the time to try and have a serious conversation and he wanted to take me to dinner.  He was stammering and stumbling and losing his words.  I started laughing.  Andrea came into the conversation and tried to help him out, but then she started laughing too.  He pulled his phone out to get my number, went to flip it open and dropped it.  He had a really hard time picking back up, I wasn’t confident he would even be able to put a number in his phone at all.  I chuckled, gave him a fist pound and left.

Obligatory Bottle of Booze & The Alpha Female

  Saturday night I went to a friend’s Christmas Party.  This is my friend Andrea, in her thirties, married, 3 kids… doesn’t get out much, but is fun as hell and throws an annual NO KIDS ALLOWED, Christmas party.  I always have fun for a while, but always end up leaving.  She always makes it White Elephant, which I typically hate, but for some reason hers are really fun and I always end up with something truly hilarious.  Plenty of food, booze and good people.  Only trouble is, it’s always couples, usually older, with kids… fun for a time, but not an all nighter. 

Anyway, I stopped at the liquor store on my way to pick out a bottle to give the hostess, it’s the polite thing to do when someone invites you over to their home, provides the food, drinks and hosts the party.  I just thought it was hilarious, when at the check out, the clerk looks at the bottle and as he’s wrapping as I had requested says, “Oh, this must be the “Obligatory ‘Thank You for inviting me over to your house’ bottle of booze”.  I chuckled, “As a matter of fact, it is.”  He continues to say, that’s such a chick thing.  Guys will never do that unless accompanied by a chick.  And the reason why, is men would just get the cheapest crap in the cooler so parties would be stocked full of the crap no one wants to drink.  Good point.  I enjoyed that conversation.

On to the Alpha female, which in all honesty is why you began reading this post.  You’ve heard of the Alpha Male.  The dominate one, marks his territory, challenges any others he finds threatening, usually the cocky ass no one wants to be around…. well it happens in females too.  Only Alpha females are way more cunning, vindictive and downright bitchy!

I encountered the Alpha female at this party and it was not pretty.  I’ve met this woman before and always recognized her as such, but never this bad!  She is in her 30’s, single,  fairly attractive, blonde.  I’ve heard a lot about her and her past, so I am prepared for “the way she is”.  I can’t go into detail because I’m still trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. 

As soon as I enter, Andrea tries to introduce us, I’m met with the dirty sideways glance, and the snooty, “Yeah, we’ve met before” response.  I dismiss this deliberate attempt to put me in my place.  Throughout the night it just gets worse, this chick eventually won’t even look at me, doesn’t acknowledge my presence, blatantly turns her back to me in a mingling circle of friends.  Oh, it was so childish.  I was so amused by her obvious insecurity.  Damn, lady, put your claws away!!  I don’t want your boyfriend and I’m not going to get into your pissing match! I wouldn’t even bother to bring this up, but other people noticed and brought it to my attention.  What could I say?  I just laughed it off. 

I thought this kind of passive aggressive bullying goes away as you grow and mature.  I guess not.  It just goes to show, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  I had fun despite the bad apple.

Oh and my white elephant gift… someone stole the “Show Me Your Tits” trucker hat I originally opened, so I settled for two rather nice glass picture frames.