Not my week

Let me start this by saying that I am OK.

Me, shaken up but OK.

My car, however, is not.

The facts: I fell asleep as I was driving home from watching LOST at my parents' house tonight. I was almost home to my apartment. I woke up when my tires went off the road in between 161 and the ramp to get off at New Albany Road. I swerved to avoid hitting the exit sign and lost control of my car, which then took out a light pole on the shoulder.

I was wearing a seatbelt, did not hit the steering wheel. The airbags did not deploy. The car hit the light pole right behind the driver's seat.

My first thought -- call the New Albany cops. 855-1234, baby. Brandy, the dispatcher who saw me every week when I picked up my police reports out there, answered, took my information and sent the Plain Township EMTs and the Columbus police.

There are benefits to being a reporter (or having been one) where you live.

Of course, all of this happens the day after I got my red light camera ticket in the mail.

SO not my week. Did you pass your bad luck this way, Teter?

Me, looking for the bus station and talking to Lin on the phone. What, a red light?

Please vote:

Going to dinner with your significant other's parents without him or her present?

OK or not so cool?

Feeling strange today

I had trouble waking up this morning. My alarm kept going off, and I kept resetting it later and later. Finally I fell back asleep without setting it, and I dreamed weird dreams. One was that I was at a store looking for a tote bag to buy, but I left without purchasing anything.

I dreamed that my family and I were walking through the woods. All of a sudden, the sky went dark even though the sun was still out. Then I saw the moon tumbling across the sky. The face of the moon was spinning like a wheel. It was possibly the scariest thing I've ever imagined. When it finally stopped, it was upside down. As I pointed this out to everyone around me, hundreds of stars began falling, creating silvery hatch marks across the night sky. I grabbed the hand of the person beside me, and we wondered what would happen next.

That's when I woke up.

A sample

From my column in this week's papers:

"I want cable with DVR. My roommate put me in charge of picking our cable or satellite service. But when I found myself checking every channel list for Bravo, I realized I was about to ask my roommate shell out $25 a month just so that I could DVR Project Runway.

Somehow, it didn’t seem worth the cash. As Heidi Klum would say, 'Cable bills, you’re out.'"

To do:

-Clean kitchen
-Cable/Satellite?
-Fix everything
-Pay SPJ dues
-DHS
-Stop being a bitch
-Qtips/lightbulbs/papertowels

One company to rule them all ...

Subject: Shoot! And my birthday's in February!

G:“... employees with birthdays in February, May, August and November will expire on Jan. 8, 2010.”

D: is this from the handbook?

LA: What about everyone else? I've spent several minutes searching my body for some sort of stamped expiration date, but I can't find one. What if I've already gone bad?

D: You must not have looked EVERYwhere.

LT: sicko.

G: Silly LA, the expiration date isn't physically stamped on. What makes you think our company can afford ink?

LT: seriously - my b-day is in August. what is this from?

G: A section of the handbook that only becomes visible if held in fire.

D: Motivational fire.

LA: I knew this company was controlled by Sauron!

D: Helios, actually.

Not exactly as I'd hoped

I haven't been that great at actually giving up Facebook. I do spend WAY less time on there, but I still read newsfeed. I've been guilty of sneaking a peek at a couple new notes my friends have posted. I mean really -- would could resist Tricia's latest "15 things I like this week ... plus BONUS number 16!!!"?

And I've cleaned out my invitations and friend requests (except for the lone request I've left in friend limbo). I just didn't want them to pile up! (Like, of course I'm TOTALLY that popular! ;) )

If the intent was to get me to spend less time online obsessing about every little change to certain people's profiles, though, then my self-imposed ban is working. I have given up facebook stalking (mostly). I can already tell that I'm a happier, less insecure person. Here's to not freaking out and staying as chill as possible.

Best party ever

Housewarming it up at my apartment:

This isn't what made it so great, but it definitely didn't hurt.

Jenn's impression of Seth's impression of print journalists

David and Amy try to euchre Jenn and Garth. They failed, but so did Lin and I.

Sara's eating Kyle's face! Or she's impersonating Mike Tyson.

Garth is serious about winning.

Lin rockin' out on guitar hero

Eh? Is it cuddle time already, Tyger and Trish?

Damn paparazzi! Always following Jeff around!

I just like this angle.

Nest buddies! Me and Sara are TOTALLY BFFs.

A fast

Well, I've decided to give up something for lent this year, after hearing Teter talking about giving up swearing.

Giving up something for lent is still a relatively new concept for me. It just wasn't discussed at all in the churches I grew up in. I'm not sure why. So until I went away to college, I'd never considered it at all. I think my freshman year I gave up desserts. That worked out for the most part -- except that I just ate a lot of other junk food like potato chips instead, so what was the point, really?

Thinking back now, I don't remember if I gave up things other years ... well ... wait ... OK, so I thought for a sec that I remembered giving up blogging for lent back in the days of my xanga, so I clicked on over there to see if I was right. I was wrong, but MAN was that a long time ago. I didn't remember most of that stuff until I saw those entries. Like that whole thing about my "stalker" -- this guy Erik, who I eventually figured out was just super-awkward with most girls on campus. He was unfortunately blessed with extraordinary good looks, though, so he kept accidentally making girls fall in love with him.

So that was an interesting detour to my past life. I kind of miss college. I got to spend time with so many different people and on so many different activities. Now I only hang out with journalists, public officials and my family. Need some diversity. (On another note, I posted a lot of poetry on that xanga. Please refrain from guffawing at it in public. You may giggle quietly, however.)

All this to say that I'm giving up Facebook for lent -- everything about it except for Scrabulous, so I don't leave Teter and Lin hanging.

I spend WAY too much time stalking people. I guess I let Erik rub off on me.

Overheard in the office

More like "stoner"

Receptionist #1: On Project Runway last night, I picked the winner and loser of the challenge and the order the order everyone was going to be called out before Heidi even called them.
Receptionist #2: You rock.
Receptionist #1: I know ... but that doesn't mean I'm made of stone.

I didn't like Huckabee at all

until I saw this:




I still don't like him, but that video is amazing.

Reasons for moving on

An exchange

Her: creepy mccreepster.

Me: "CREEPER!" is what we say in my fam.

*silence while I talk to said person. SJ's messages keep popping up on my screen. I keep cancelling them*

Her: hahahah your facial expression was great. like what the frick creeper!

Her: just creepin around.

Her: full-force creeping crawler. still just creeping.

Me: You are EVIL!

My life in photos

So far this year ...

Lin

With his dad at Pap's in Woodsfield

Pap doesn't like his picture taken

Piano at Pap's

In his living room

Randy (his roommate)

Ari on the stairs

Lin and cat