Saturday, June 21, 2008
Real Quick..
Fight night starts in three minutes. It's the fight to decide the ultimate fighter and it's between Amir and CB. I just want people to scroll down real quick to a post I made 6 weeks ago after the very first episode of the season. Who do I have down as early standout fighters? CB and Amir. I rock. That's all. Enjoy the fights!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Why Road Rage Rocks
If you know me well, chances are we've rarely if ever been in a fight, and if we have, it was actually over something important. I don't anger easily, you have to realllllllllllllly try for it. (I'd like to point out to anyone raising their eyebrows right now that frustration and worry are different than anger..I do freely admit I'm easily frustrated and even more easily worried)
Anyway, as hard as it is to make me angry in everyday life, I have awful road rage. However, it's not the honk the horn and flip the finger road rage most are familiar with. No, no....it's somewhat deeper than that. I get mad over weird things. For instance, if I make space for someone trying to get over and they decide that they want to be further up and run to the very top of the merge lane to cut some poor shmoe off, I get angry with them and give them the stinkeye if we meet down the road. Why wasn't the space I was blatantly giving you good enough? Does it REALLY do you any good to be like..three cars ahead? Similarly, the following three things are strictly forbidden in my driving book:
*There is an extra lane on the way to work that's only about a mile long. People who use this in the mornings to zoom by at 70 mph and then stop suddenly and merge earn my disdain. Screw you, motorist. Back of the line, I will not let you in.
*On the way home from work, there is only one straight lane that feeds back onto the highway. The lanes on either side are turn only, but some people ignore the arrows and decide sideswiping is really the way to go. It is not, and if you sideswipe my car cause you were trying to beat the line of law abiding drivers waiting at the light, I will sue you. Yep.
* This is kind of like the above ones, but it's the one that pisses me off the most. If it's rush hour and you zoom into an exit only lane to get ahead, and then hold up all the cars that are trying to get off at their exit while you attempt to merge back where you're supposed to be, you just wholeheartedly suck at life. I'll let you in because people are trying to go to work, but you will be tailgated and be at the business end of a woman scorned. Deal with it you ass.
I got to thinking about this on the way to work this morning and I think that road rage prevents me from being mean in real life. I get all my aggression out, and since I'm not blatant about it, no psycho with a gun is going to come after me for a horn honk...cause I don't honk the horn. I just sit and stew in my car, with a few evil looks and some creative insults thrown in. It's better than the gym.
Anyway, as hard as it is to make me angry in everyday life, I have awful road rage. However, it's not the honk the horn and flip the finger road rage most are familiar with. No, no....it's somewhat deeper than that. I get mad over weird things. For instance, if I make space for someone trying to get over and they decide that they want to be further up and run to the very top of the merge lane to cut some poor shmoe off, I get angry with them and give them the stinkeye if we meet down the road. Why wasn't the space I was blatantly giving you good enough? Does it REALLY do you any good to be like..three cars ahead? Similarly, the following three things are strictly forbidden in my driving book:
*There is an extra lane on the way to work that's only about a mile long. People who use this in the mornings to zoom by at 70 mph and then stop suddenly and merge earn my disdain. Screw you, motorist. Back of the line, I will not let you in.
*On the way home from work, there is only one straight lane that feeds back onto the highway. The lanes on either side are turn only, but some people ignore the arrows and decide sideswiping is really the way to go. It is not, and if you sideswipe my car cause you were trying to beat the line of law abiding drivers waiting at the light, I will sue you. Yep.
* This is kind of like the above ones, but it's the one that pisses me off the most. If it's rush hour and you zoom into an exit only lane to get ahead, and then hold up all the cars that are trying to get off at their exit while you attempt to merge back where you're supposed to be, you just wholeheartedly suck at life. I'll let you in because people are trying to go to work, but you will be tailgated and be at the business end of a woman scorned. Deal with it you ass.
I got to thinking about this on the way to work this morning and I think that road rage prevents me from being mean in real life. I get all my aggression out, and since I'm not blatant about it, no psycho with a gun is going to come after me for a horn honk...cause I don't honk the horn. I just sit and stew in my car, with a few evil looks and some creative insults thrown in. It's better than the gym.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Reasons Delaware Sucks
I grew up in Delaware. It is a land where everyone knows everyone, where the dollar store actually costs one dollar, and whose citizens desperately hang onto it's "famed" line in a movie that's a good 10 years old. (When did Wayne's World come out?) Out of all the people I met in 18 years in DE, I talk to three of them on a regular basis- one who doesn't live there, one I have never actually met (this, remarkably, is not as weird as it sounds. UFC brings people together, and I'm not sure he counts cause I met him after I left) and one that pops back up every two years or so...we have like a year an a half left this time.
Anyway. Like most teens, I didn't have a good time in high school. I wasn't the outcast or a loser- kind of the opposite. I was just an extremely unhappy little (emphasis on this word) girl. My friends weren't friendly, but quite honestly I didn't know any better at the time. When the time came to go to college, I hightailed it out of my home state faster than you can say tax free shopping. I've spent the last five years just over the border in Maryland and really couldn't be happier with how things have turned out.
Two years after I came to MD, my parents moved to Texas, leaving only my grandparents to battle the first state. There are times when I do go back- for family, or for the rare occasions I feel like visiting one of the three aforementioned people. However, crossing the line from PA into DE (Yeah...I don't take 95) literally gives me the heebie-jeebies. I used to focus on the positive- about five seconds across the line there's a Wawa which sells cheap cigarettes, as does all of Delaware. But I no longer smoke, so heebie-jeebies it is.
So, keep all this in mind. I'm moving out on my apartment at the end of the month. The second my roommate and I decided not to renew our lease, all I could think about was getting a dog. I've wanted one for the better part of a decade- probably around the same time Wayne was making little Delaware "famous". I've been looking at shelter dogs for nearly two months, deciding what I like and what I didn't, until I came across a chocolate lab, shepherd mix. She was beautiful. She had been tied up in a yard and left starving to death and nine weeks old, but she was doing wonderfully in foster care. She'd been in since March and her foster mother was desperate to find a home. This was my dog. I knew it. I looked closer at the information. She was fostered in Newark (that's New-ARK, New Jersey-ians. I might have beef with my home state, but I know the English language), Delaware, state of the heebie-jeebies. Nevertheless, I filled out the application- five pages of questions that were not just yes or no, but that you had to formulate well thought out answers to. I provided references, a work number, and consented to home visits and a background check. I sent three separate emails, even offering a security deposit of sorts if they could just wait till I moved.
After a week long wait, her foster mother got back to me. She couldn't technically hold the dog, but there had been very little interest in her and she was nearly positive she'd still be around when I moved. I was first on the list- my answers were well thought out (that's my English degree at work), and it seemed like I really had the dog's best interests at heart. I was ecstatic. I wanted my aunt to foster the dog for a month to make sure no one else got the puppy that was obviously mine. She agreed. I asked the foster and she came back with a rude - No, that won't work. There are many animals that need homes, and we only take the ones we have room for. This dog wouldn't even be alive if she hadn't been taken in. Please consider more than just one animal.
...I should mention that this dog, mutt that she was, was coming at a cost of $225- which I was happily going to pay. However, I was unprepared to spend that much on a dog that I didn't feel the same way about. And I know other dogs need homes and that she needed room to foster- THAT'S WHY I OFFERED TO TAKE HER. Nevertheless, she still assured me that I was first on the list and that the interest had been next to nothing. That was Thursday. First thing this morning, I got an email that my dog had been adopted out. They thanked me for my interest and informed me that if I wanted another one of their dogs, I'd have to reapply- they would recall all my references, work, and apartments, and would preform yet another background check.
So. Here's what I was willing to do for this dog:
Get the heebie-jeebies going down to meet her, pay for her, get her
Pay for gas to do the above step
Pay over $200 for a mixed breed dog
Let them call up my past, my friends, my work, and come see my house
Honestly, had they asked me to do anything else I probably would have.
Things they were willing to do for me:
Lie
....that's all I got.
I don't know if the same thing would have happened if I was a Maryland rescue. I like to think it wouldn't have. But now, they can keep their dogs. When I move, I'm going to the LOCAL shelter and paying $90 for my new dog, that I'm sure I'll love. But man..this stings. Someone asked me why I'm blaming the state instead of the foster network. Because Delaware represents a very difficult, very upsetting time in my life, and I can honestly wonder if I'd still be alive if I had ended up staying there. I associate very bad things with the entire state, and this is jsut one more. I do blame the foster for lying, it wasn't cool. But I still can't stand the state.
Screw you Delaware. I won't be back for quite some time.
Anyway. Like most teens, I didn't have a good time in high school. I wasn't the outcast or a loser- kind of the opposite. I was just an extremely unhappy little (emphasis on this word) girl. My friends weren't friendly, but quite honestly I didn't know any better at the time. When the time came to go to college, I hightailed it out of my home state faster than you can say tax free shopping. I've spent the last five years just over the border in Maryland and really couldn't be happier with how things have turned out.
Two years after I came to MD, my parents moved to Texas, leaving only my grandparents to battle the first state. There are times when I do go back- for family, or for the rare occasions I feel like visiting one of the three aforementioned people. However, crossing the line from PA into DE (Yeah...I don't take 95) literally gives me the heebie-jeebies. I used to focus on the positive- about five seconds across the line there's a Wawa which sells cheap cigarettes, as does all of Delaware. But I no longer smoke, so heebie-jeebies it is.
So, keep all this in mind. I'm moving out on my apartment at the end of the month. The second my roommate and I decided not to renew our lease, all I could think about was getting a dog. I've wanted one for the better part of a decade- probably around the same time Wayne was making little Delaware "famous". I've been looking at shelter dogs for nearly two months, deciding what I like and what I didn't, until I came across a chocolate lab, shepherd mix. She was beautiful. She had been tied up in a yard and left starving to death and nine weeks old, but she was doing wonderfully in foster care. She'd been in since March and her foster mother was desperate to find a home. This was my dog. I knew it. I looked closer at the information. She was fostered in Newark (that's New-ARK, New Jersey-ians. I might have beef with my home state, but I know the English language), Delaware, state of the heebie-jeebies. Nevertheless, I filled out the application- five pages of questions that were not just yes or no, but that you had to formulate well thought out answers to. I provided references, a work number, and consented to home visits and a background check. I sent three separate emails, even offering a security deposit of sorts if they could just wait till I moved.
After a week long wait, her foster mother got back to me. She couldn't technically hold the dog, but there had been very little interest in her and she was nearly positive she'd still be around when I moved. I was first on the list- my answers were well thought out (that's my English degree at work), and it seemed like I really had the dog's best interests at heart. I was ecstatic. I wanted my aunt to foster the dog for a month to make sure no one else got the puppy that was obviously mine. She agreed. I asked the foster and she came back with a rude - No, that won't work. There are many animals that need homes, and we only take the ones we have room for. This dog wouldn't even be alive if she hadn't been taken in. Please consider more than just one animal.
...I should mention that this dog, mutt that she was, was coming at a cost of $225- which I was happily going to pay. However, I was unprepared to spend that much on a dog that I didn't feel the same way about. And I know other dogs need homes and that she needed room to foster- THAT'S WHY I OFFERED TO TAKE HER. Nevertheless, she still assured me that I was first on the list and that the interest had been next to nothing. That was Thursday. First thing this morning, I got an email that my dog had been adopted out. They thanked me for my interest and informed me that if I wanted another one of their dogs, I'd have to reapply- they would recall all my references, work, and apartments, and would preform yet another background check.
So. Here's what I was willing to do for this dog:
Get the heebie-jeebies going down to meet her, pay for her, get her
Pay for gas to do the above step
Pay over $200 for a mixed breed dog
Let them call up my past, my friends, my work, and come see my house
Honestly, had they asked me to do anything else I probably would have.
Things they were willing to do for me:
Lie
....that's all I got.
I don't know if the same thing would have happened if I was a Maryland rescue. I like to think it wouldn't have. But now, they can keep their dogs. When I move, I'm going to the LOCAL shelter and paying $90 for my new dog, that I'm sure I'll love. But man..this stings. Someone asked me why I'm blaming the state instead of the foster network. Because Delaware represents a very difficult, very upsetting time in my life, and I can honestly wonder if I'd still be alive if I had ended up staying there. I associate very bad things with the entire state, and this is jsut one more. I do blame the foster for lying, it wasn't cool. But I still can't stand the state.
Screw you Delaware. I won't be back for quite some time.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Vacancy- A blog in real time.
Attention: If you have your heart set on watching Vacancy starring Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Ethan Embry, and some other dude, stop reading now cause this will totally spoil it.
Occasionally, my roommate, her boyfriend, and I will enjoy a terrible scary movie off of the Fearnet channel. They're always good for a laugh and we've passed many a lazy Sunday, snowstorm, or otherwise dreary day with them. Tonight, my roommate is gone, and consequently her boyfriend is not here, and I have no one to make snarky comments to, so I thought I'd write them down.
In the first scene, we find Luke and Kate fighting in the car. They have a deceased child and this has torn their marriage apart. Luke swerves to avoid hitting a raccoon and messes up the car. Kate asks why they got off the highway in the first place (an all-too common movie mistake.) Ethan Embry helpfully helps them fix the car at a rural gas station. But- Uh-oh...the car breaks down only a mile later. There's no cell phone signal (because they got off the highway, you see) so they walk back to the gas station, but Ethan has left for the night. Oh darn. However, there is a creepy rundown motel (cash only, dontcha know, wink wink) and the couple decides to stay there. Luke asks the off motel owner for a phone but he only has a pay phone. He gets a pocketful of dimes he ends up not using but I have a sneaking suspicion he'll need them later.
In the gross room, our couple does some bickering- the carpet is THREADbare, there's a DEAD roach in the bathroom, but then has a special moment. It's a shame there's not a way some traumatic event could happen to show these two crazy kids how much they love each other. The phone rings, interrupting them. But there's NO ONE THERE!!! There's a knock at the door- but there's NO ONE THERE!!! Luke goes to the manager and demands an explanation. The manager says he'll check it out and Luke goes back to the room to watch some TV. There's some videos on top of the VCR and he pops one in. Oh man!!! It's a snuff film!!! And there's boobies!!!! And- here we go- it's in the same room our intrepid couple is in RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Ethan Embry and the odd motel man are the killers!!!! So much to handle.
They attempt and fail to escape. Ethan shows up in some facepaint and chases them. An apple Kate was eating way back in the car shows up in the room. Luke manages to get to the pay phone (I knew he'd need those dimes. Thanks, Anton Chekov!) but the person he calls for help KNOWS HIS NAME and tries to run him over. Oh No!
Back in the room, Luke gets upset and punches a mirror for a weapon. Cause there's nothing like a shard of glass against a real knife and a revolver- oh yeah- the eccentric manager has a revolver.
Then- a trucker shows up! Is he a savior or is he in on it? He gets a box from the manager and leaves. The couple begins to escape through the tunnel the guy used to plant the apple. But the tunnel is filled with mice. EEEEEW.....miceeeeee. Kate can't take it, and Luke tells her "babe, you can't scream" Ah. He's calling her babe. Maybe he likes her again. At the end of the tunnel, they find the sniff film control room. It's pretty sophisticated equipment- I guess that's why the carpet in the room is so threadbare.
Luke and Kate look for weapons better than glass and Kate finds a phone but just as she dials 911, odd motal man and Ethan walk in. They are confused and bumble a little bit until they figure out the phone is still connected and the woman is still waiting to hear the nature of Kate's emergency. Ethan purses the tunnel chase, while odd motel man goes outside and screams "they're onto us!" Well, that'll teach him to put away his snuff films next time.
Luke and Kate wind up in the gas station next door and knock shit over for no apparent reason. They start fighting again. Kate cries. Luke comforts. God I hope these two can work it out. Luke is sad he got off the highway. Kate is sorry they have a dead child. It's a heartbreaking denouement. They make out. I think it was in Luke's contract he got to make out with Kate. The police come, but- oh man- Luke and Kate are next door, not in the motel. The cop is fat and bald and has a country accent and a flashlight. He decides to "take a look around" and flash his flashlight in places. Country po-liceman goes into a room. The lightswitch doesn't work, but he's got a flashlight. Music begins to play in the background. Ba-bum- takes a step. Ba-BA- bum- takes a stepp. The music picks up as he sees a TV start to play. IT'S A SNUFF FIIIIIIIIIILM!!!
Meanwhile, Ethan tries to break into the station. The country cop fumbles out with his gun drawn and tells the couple to get in the car. But it won't start. Cop gets stabbed. The couple runs away and Luke gets all manly. He wants to go steal the managers gun. He hides his wife in the ceiling (naturally) and, with the shot zeroing in on his eyes, tell her he loves her (whew.)Doesn't work. Lukey-poo gets stabbed. He army crawls to where odd motel man is standing and filming. They drag Luke away but where's Kate? She picked a bad time to start caring about him again cause all her crying and carrying on up there in the ceiling almost gets her caught.
Morning comes. Kate crawls out of the ceiling and towards Luke, cause I guess they didn't drag him far enough. Ethan comes up behind her and she runs away. Thankfully, Ethan has seen fit to fix their car in the midst of his killing spree and park it outside the motel. She starts the car and Ethan breaks through the sunroof. She runs into the side of the motel and kills him. Odd motel man is sad when he finds the body. Don't piss off the ringleader, Kate. Back in Snuff film central, Kate finds a sledgehammer- the mark of a great filmmaker, obviously but odd motel man strangles her. They scrap for awhile. The guy wins and its not looking very good for Kate. Kate shows some moxie, mostly by screaming fuck you and running, oh, and by shooting him. That helps. Odd guy dies. She runs to Luke's side- oh my god, he's aliVE!!!!! She needs help, so she goes rooting around dead odd man's pants. Kate gets back to the phone and calls for help. Back outside, Luke and Kate make out till the police come.
...Super.
ps. The movie was directed by a guy named Nimrod. You can't make this stuff up.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
UFC 83
Not a long analysis like the other one, I promise. Why? Look to your left. That one second to the left is Matt Serra, who has apparently morphed into Derek Zoolander two days before his fight. He'll lose because he has to spend his time being really really ridiculously good looking, not getting punched in the face.
Also, Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping (the bookends) are the top dogs in woefully mismatched fights. Franklin/Lutter might be fun, but Franklin's only issue right now is current god o' fighting Anderson Silva
As for McCarthy/Bisping....McCarthy right now is the equivalent of all those scenes in movies in which the painfully jealous loser shoots off at the mouth while our hero comes up behind him and those in front of him frantically make exaggerated "cut it off!!!!!" motions. I've never heard more hilarious, one sided and HORRENDOUSLY untrue trash talk.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sad face/happy face
maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.....
so three crap-ola things:
1)I signed up to volunteer at Hopkins Children's Center. They can only interview from 9-4:30 Mon-Fri...ummmm no, Hopkins...that's when I work.
2) My sherdog account (a fighting website) got deleted. I know this doesn't mean much to you, but it keeps a running tally of your posts and no one really pays attention to you and everyone's really really mean on the forums till you have over 100 or so. I had 250....now I have to start with one :(
3) It's 74 and sunny. Do I know that cause I went outside and basked? No...I know that cause i looked at weather.com at my desk during a break from nonstop work. Boooooooooooo.
Good things:
1) hour and a half of work left
2) The Office starts tonight. There will be ice cream cones and chips and dip at my apartment. You may come on the condition that you be quiet while the show is on.
so three crap-ola things:
1)I signed up to volunteer at Hopkins Children's Center. They can only interview from 9-4:30 Mon-Fri...ummmm no, Hopkins...that's when I work.
2) My sherdog account (a fighting website) got deleted. I know this doesn't mean much to you, but it keeps a running tally of your posts and no one really pays attention to you and everyone's really really mean on the forums till you have over 100 or so. I had 250....now I have to start with one :(
3) It's 74 and sunny. Do I know that cause I went outside and basked? No...I know that cause i looked at weather.com at my desk during a break from nonstop work. Boooooooooooo.
Good things:
1) hour and a half of work left
2) The Office starts tonight. There will be ice cream cones and chips and dip at my apartment. You may come on the condition that you be quiet while the show is on.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
UFN- Roundup, Final Thoughts
To start, I know my obsession with UFC is not for everyone- if you aren't interested, you can stop now (Ryan Best, I'm lookin' at you), if you are interested in how things turned out read on.
Kenny Florian pulled it out (plus one in my column, I didn't do very well with picking the big fights)
Kurt Pelligrino had me jumping up at down the first round of his fight with Nate Diaz...and then feeling crushed. Whatever Nate, I still hate you, and FYI, I don't care if you train with him and he's your brother Nick Diaz is not a "top fighter." Sorry.
Houston Alexander got KTFO....in eight seconds. Nice. Fight fans love superman punches. Mazzagatti was in there causing the dramz again, and much as I hate him, this was a good call, Alexander was out. The Karo call was not, but we'll get to that in a second.
Gray Maynard put on a decent show and pulled out a decision. I loved that he recognized he wasn't ready for the top tier of 155, but that he was working for it. A little modesty goes a long way. I'm a new fan.
Alves beat up Karo...which I did call correctly. However. Steve Mazzagatti can't seem to ref a fight without screwing up. I've been against him since the Lesnar debacle, which I still maintain is the reason Lesnar lost the fight and almost got his damn ankle broken in half. Good job by Alves, who would have won this fight regardless, but it definitely could have gone on longer.
Matt Hamill impressed the hell out of me. I eat my hat on that one.
As for the undercard, I actually picked fairly well:
Thomas lost a decision
Gamburyan choked out Cox. (I think he's going places as long as his shoulder stays intact)
Sotiropoulos scored a win
Guida won..but my mom could have picked that one
Tommy Speer got rocked. That one made me sad. He's a good kid.
TUF-Thoughts
We all know I love Forrest Griffin more than any other fighter, but I've never really had any feelings either way about Rampage. After last night, put him in my column. They both seem like dudes you could have a beer and a chat with, and I love that. (Although I am, of course, rooting for Griffin in their matchup in July)
As for fighting to get into the house- AWESOME idea Dana White!!
Early Stand Out Fighters:
Amir Sadollah
CB Dollaway
Early Stand Out Big Douchebags In The House:
Jeremy May
Paul Bradley
Much love to Crystal for the wings. I still would like to take your dog home.
Kenny Florian pulled it out (plus one in my column, I didn't do very well with picking the big fights)
Kurt Pelligrino had me jumping up at down the first round of his fight with Nate Diaz...and then feeling crushed. Whatever Nate, I still hate you, and FYI, I don't care if you train with him and he's your brother Nick Diaz is not a "top fighter." Sorry.
Houston Alexander got KTFO....in eight seconds. Nice. Fight fans love superman punches. Mazzagatti was in there causing the dramz again, and much as I hate him, this was a good call, Alexander was out. The Karo call was not, but we'll get to that in a second.
Gray Maynard put on a decent show and pulled out a decision. I loved that he recognized he wasn't ready for the top tier of 155, but that he was working for it. A little modesty goes a long way. I'm a new fan.
Alves beat up Karo...which I did call correctly. However. Steve Mazzagatti can't seem to ref a fight without screwing up. I've been against him since the Lesnar debacle, which I still maintain is the reason Lesnar lost the fight and almost got his damn ankle broken in half. Good job by Alves, who would have won this fight regardless, but it definitely could have gone on longer.
Matt Hamill impressed the hell out of me. I eat my hat on that one.
As for the undercard, I actually picked fairly well:
Thomas lost a decision
Gamburyan choked out Cox. (I think he's going places as long as his shoulder stays intact)
Sotiropoulos scored a win
Guida won..but my mom could have picked that one
Tommy Speer got rocked. That one made me sad. He's a good kid.
TUF-Thoughts
We all know I love Forrest Griffin more than any other fighter, but I've never really had any feelings either way about Rampage. After last night, put him in my column. They both seem like dudes you could have a beer and a chat with, and I love that. (Although I am, of course, rooting for Griffin in their matchup in July)
As for fighting to get into the house- AWESOME idea Dana White!!
Early Stand Out Fighters:
Amir Sadollah
CB Dollaway
Early Stand Out Big Douchebags In The House:
Jeremy May
Paul Bradley
Much love to Crystal for the wings. I still would like to take your dog home.
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