OMG…I always forget my freaking blog’s birthday. One August 15th WhatSomeWouldCallLies turned three!
My first post was This is the one that explains it all. I started this website just a few months before I decided to pack up and move to Arizona. So this page became a way to connect with friends that lived far away, and it helped me meet new friends in the desert.
Two years ago I started posting weekly affirmations like this one. And then I would post quotations like this. And I would post weekly pictures of kids using their middle fingers like this one. But it was a lot of work, and nobody ever said that they enjoyed them…so I stopped.
I finished two books this weekend (the 37th and 38th for 2010 if you’re keeping track). The first was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It was a bit folks-taley for my taste…but I did like the story and I’d recommend it. The only criticism I have (and this could be part of the reason some people LIKE it) is that I felt like each paragraph contained a lesson or words of wisdom, and that got old after a bit.
The 38th book I picked up at The Goodwill for fifty cents (less than a dollar!!!!!). It is The Indian In the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. I KNOW! When I saw it at the thrift store and I saw the price I had to pick it up. I was finishing up The Alchemist, so I knew I was going to need something to read. Unfortunately it didn’t last very long…I started Saturday over my morning coffee and finished in a couple of hours.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my Mom…so here’s a little voice mail I received recently that will hopefully keep you loving her:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Aside from a really bad diabetes day yesterday (post to come), I’ve had a tremendously lucky week. It started on Monday when the local Dunkin Dounuts franchises were celebrating something (an anniversary?!) and I walked in to buy coffee and won a card that is good for FREE COFFEE FOR A YEAR! Just for walking in and doing what I always do.
Then I got on Twitter and saw that Dunkin was having a daily trivia contest. I got the correct answer on Monday, but I wasn’t the chosen tweet. Tuesday, however, I not only got the right answer, but they chose me to get a Dunkin Donuts gift card.
Wednesday I walked into the Dunkin right by my office and purchased coffee and won a shirt that says Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink Starbucks.
But wait, there’s more!
After winning the shirt, I got to the office and was farting around on blogs and Twitter and I saw this Tweet from Fez:
And I called them up and won four tickets to Thursday’s Mercury game. We had fun at the game (even though I had an exhausting Diabetes Day). It was my first WNBA game and we were an hour late. But all in all it was enjoyable:
Don’t be jealous of my lucky streak. I have a feeling that my luck has run out. Maybe I should play the lotto quickly.
I wanted to write a blog post about photos. I’ve been snapping a lot of them in the recent past, and I haven’t been blogging them here because there are too many other places around the web to post.
I’ve posted a few photographs to my Facebook from last weekend, and I’ve also created an album there called “I ATE THIS” and it’s just photos of crap I’ve eaten.
The second Photo related thing that I wanted to post about was my DailyBooth.com account.
Do you Daily Booth? If so, follow me and I’ll follow you back. To see today’s Daily Booth photo, look on the left hand side of this page.
Some of my Daily Booths are just stupid head shots in the car. Others are me with other people. And some are me sitting on the toilet (just kidding…well, ONE is me sitting on the pot).
The gist of Daily Booth is this: each day you photograph yourself and people can comment or respond. It’s a lot like Twitter but you use photographs instead of words.
And lastly, I wanted to say that I’m always photographing stupid shit and posting it on Twitter…like this Greeting Card Fail. You have no reason NOT to be following me on Twitter.
I was kind of hesitant to post this story…but then I thought honest blogging is good blogging. Then I thought a true lady doesn’t kiss and tell. Then I thought a penny saved is a penny earned. And I started getting all of my clichés all confused.
So whatever. Here’s the story of that time when I was a selfish ass.
About 7 or 8 years ago, when I was living in California I was dating this guy (whose name escapes me…Darrell? David? Who the hell knows?!). Physically, the guy was an 8 or 9. He kind of looked like CNN’s TJ Holmes, minus the suit.
We did normal date things. Dinners. Movies. Visits to the beach. Whatever. But I started noticing that he was hesitant to get too intimate. We would make out, but when I’d try to get second base, I’d get the mormon-brush-off.
We were like three or four dates in and I was starting to realize that aside from his CNN anchor looks, there wasn’t much else that I liked about the guy. He was going to school to be a veterinarian. Loved horses. Spent all of his free time at the horse stables. And the closest I’ve been to a real horse was when I rode the stagecoach at Knott’s Berry Farm.
So it fizzled.
He was going to come over to my place to watch a movie for our fifth or sixth date, and I made a resolution. I was done. This movie date would be our last get-together, but maybe I could get more than a kiss…if you follow.
He showed up and we watched a movie. We rolled around on the bed, but I didn’t get anything that I had hoped for.
After the movie I was kind of a jerk. He wanted to hang out some more but I did that fake yawn thing and looked at the clock. He got the hint and left.
For a normal person, this story would end now. But for some reason my life is stranger than fiction, and too many of my experiences are worthy of a tele-novela plot point.
Please remember that when I said “goodbye” that night, I had every intention of never seeing this guy again. I like a little hard-to-get…but I’m no fan of unattainable.
Later that night I got an email. The gist of the email was this, “I like you a lot. I’ve been less-than-honest. I was diagnosed with HIV about a year ago and I thought you should know before we get any more intimate.”
Fuck.
What were my options after that?
1. I could ignore his email. Dodge his phone calls. And look like a complete ass.
2. I could respond that I wasn’t really interested in him, and it had nothing to do with the HIV. And look like a complete ass.
3. I could lie and continue to date him for a while and slowly break it off. Stringing him along and looking like a complete ass.
What would you have done? I ended up going with number two. It was the only honest approach…but I’m sure I came out of it looking like an ass in his eyes.
What would you have done? Additionally, would you pursue a relationship with someone if you learned early on (way before you LOVED the person) that they had HIV? I’m super-curious.
I’m sure I’m not the only one that dreams of working for himself. What follows is a list of businesses that I’d like to run on my own. All that’s missing is a bit of seed money.
LAUNDROMAT/COFFEE SHOP – I even have a name for this one. The Lint Trap. If you’ve done your laundry at a laundromat, then you know why this business would be successful. The Lint Trap would be a clean, modern, comfortable laundromat with a full coffee bar and pastry shop. Free wi-fi. Come sit in our comfortable chairs and relax while you do your laundry.
And forget your quarters! All of our machines take Lint Trap Credits. You buy credits at the counter using cash, debit or credit. And the machines will all have card readers on them.
And if you don’t want to do your laundry, it’s no biggie. We’d still be a super hip place to hang. Open mic nights. Community meeting space. Everything you want in a locally owned coffee spot.
CLEANING SERVICE – I know this is a bizzarro dream to have…but I want to clean your house.
Mike’s Maids will come in and do your annual top-to-bottom just in time for the guests that you have coming over. Or for a smaller fee we’ll arrange weekly or monthly cleanings for you.
How are we different from other cleaning services? Well, I’m not sure about that yet…give me some time to think up our unique angle.
ONLINE BOOK SELLER – I did this for a small time, and I really wouldn’t mind going back to it. I want to sell books online. I buy enough of them, so it only makes sense to try selling some of them using Amazon’s Associate thingy.
I made a bit of money, but I’d like to really get serious about it. Like start going to used book stores searching for good deals on books that I knew I could make more for.
BLOGGING – Okay…impossible dream. Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could somehow get paid to blog. And I’m not talking about blogging for some company. I think it would be awesome if I could write stories about my silly life or insipid articles about what kinds of businesses I’d like to run…and get paid for it.
What about you? If you could start a company, what would you start?
I also finished the 5th Babysitters Club book, Dawn and the Impossible Three.
This was the 36th book that I read in 2010.
Can you imagine the looks of confusion and double-takes I get when I’m sitting at a coffee shop reading these books?
When I originally decided to read the Babysitters Club books I committed to the first ten. I want to get a good grasp on why these books were so popular. And even though I think I pretty much get it, I’m going to stick to reading the first ten.
And I know you’re wondering…Stacey is still my favorite.
You can click-through and go take a listen. Brian and I played the game Scattergories for episode one.
And since we’re new, we’d love to hear any feedback you folks have. If you have suggestions on games we should play on future shows, or if you have editing or sound suggestions email or call.
We actually ended up “recording” the first episode twice [Click here to see why]. And I would go out on a limb and say that our second recording was a bit less spontaneous and had less energy. So I’m confident that future episodes will only be better than the first.
I may have a new guilty pleasure author. Her name is Kristin Gore (the daughter of Vice President Al Gore). She writes these Sammy novels that are melt-in-your-lap delicious. BTW if you’re counting, this is the 35th book I’ve read in 2010.
Sammy’s House and Sammy’s Hill are best described as Bridget Jones meets The West Wing. They’re cute and predictable and take place in Washington D.C.
In Sammy’s House, Sammy works for the VPOTUS and her boyfriend Charlie is a reporter for the Washington Post…drama! And they don’t talk about work. But then…omg…Charlie asks her to confirm a story that could take down the administration. And guess what she does?
This book is definitely chick-lit. But the political angle adds a bit of story that makes it more enjoyable. I’m not joking. If you like The West Wing and you like romantic comedies, you’d like Kristin Gore.
Sammy’s House is the second book in the Sammy series. If you want to pick up a Kristin Gore novel, I’d suggest you start with Sammy’s Hill.
PICTURES!!
About 7 or 8 years ago, when I was living in California I was dating this guy (whose name escapes me…Darrell? David? Who the hell knows?!). Physically, the guy was an 8 or 9. He kind of looked like CNN’s TJ Holmes, minus the suit.
I also finished the 5th Babysitters Club book, Dawn and the Impossible Three.
I may have a new guilty pleasure author. Her name is Kristin Gore (the daughter of Vice President Al Gore). She writes these Sammy novels that are melt-in-your-lap delicious.
