Things Annoying Me Today

1. We have this girl at the office who's graduated from lawschool but isn't licensed to practice since she hasn't taken the bar yet. So last Thu we got an assignment to write a pleading that was needed ASAP. We had 2 issues we had to tackle & she got to pick the one she wanted. I got done with my portion this morning & emailed it to her to combine it with hers. We agreed that when she combined both portions she'd send it back to me so I could proof it. About 4pm this afternoon, I got an email from her with the completed document attached. Also noticed that she'd copied the attorney who'd assigned it to us. When I opened the document to read her portion, what a disaster! Just sloppy writing through and through. This wouldn't have been as irritating had she not kept talking about how great she was at research/writing & had she given me the document to proof like we'd agreed. Guess she thought she had it in the bag.

2. I stayed up late last night so I had a splitting headache this morning. So I took some medicine from the office medicine cabinet that said "POWERFUL PAIN RELIEVER" on the package. No brand or anything. For the remainder of the day I felt like I was having an outer body experience. I think the pills had too much caffeine plus it didn't help that I washed them down with the coffee I'd been drinking to keep me awake.

3. People who keep calling without leaving voicemails drive me nuts. Someone did that all weekend. I hardly ever pick up calls from numbers I don't recognize. So you'd think the person calling would figure this out after the 7th unsuccessful try. But nooooo. Let's keep calling & see if she'll finally pick up. I admit that sometimes I do cave in if it gets to be stalkerish but a tongue lashing awaits the person on the other end. It usually jends up being some poor guy I gave my number to in a moment of temporary insanity. But you know what they say about karma. One day I'll be the one getting an earful from a guy I've been phone-stalking. Can't wait.

4. Seems like I'll have to partake in $4 gas by week's end. Noticed this evening that most gas stations have gone where no one in Columbus wanted them to go.

5. John McCain ads that are running on t.v. It's still June!!! Couldn't they have waited to run them after Labor Day weekend? This election is bound to get real ugly but I now have confidence that Obama will hold his own. Did you see Wes Clark on t.v. yesterday saying that being shot down & taken as a prisoner of war doesn't make McCain qualified to be commander-in-chief? Ouch. Even McCain didn't have a come-back to that one. What are you going to say to a 5-star General?! Signs of yummy things dems have in store for him.

And the Raspberry Award goes to . . .

Miami Vice (2006)! It has to be the worst movie I've seen in the last decade. Poor acting by Jamie Foxx & Colin Farrell & a plot that was even worse. I made it through the first 45 minutes but couldn't take it anymore. Just terrible on every level.

It's a travesty what's going on in Zimbabwe. Mugabe claiming a "land-slide" victory in a run-off where he was running un-opposed. It would be laughable if the situation wasn't so dire. I don't think though the violence will escalate to genocidal levels as I don't think Zimbabwean political affiliations are tied to ethnicity. However, the brutality going on against non-Mugabe supporters continues. So what does the world call for? Sanctions. I bet you if this was an oil producing country, W. would be drawing up the invasion plans for McCain to execute in 2009 as a welcome gift. But since it's nothing but the country with the highest inflation rate in the world, sanctions it is. It's a sad day when African presidents hang on to power damn the cost. But not to worry. I have a solution to all this madness . . . have an independent military (including police). Get a 5-person crew to command the troops. Have this 5-person crew appointed for life by other military/police brass so they aren't subject to the influence of whatever government is in power. They would oversee the elections & once the people have spoken, the military would step in to make sure there was a seamless transition of power. But since this would never happen, I hope to see Mugabe at the Hague being tried for crimes against humanity in the very near future. What he's done to that country over the years is downright criminal.

When my car was in the shop last week, I rode the bus to & from work. It's about a 20 minute "free" ride with my student ID. It's really not free since we pay about a $15 fee in our tuition for public transportation but let's not dwell on the technicalities. I got my car back but I plan to continue riding the bus so that I don't have to pay $110 next month for parking. So anyways, I listen to music as I ride & this motivated me to finally open my ipod shuffle that I received a few months ago from Westlaw (for points earned for using their legal search engine). The moral: I don't understand why people are so obsessed with everything ipod. First, I had to download itunes to get the software required for it. Then I had to charge the shuffle . . . using my computer! You have to sit the little bugger onto a docking station which then connects to your computer via a usb cable. So what happens when it runs out of juice & I'm not near a computer? Ridiculous. This compared to my current mp3 player that requires only a AA battery which lasts for about 50 hours of play time. It warns you when the battery is low & all I do is toss out the old one & insert the new. Only thing I like about the shuffle is it's size. I got a very bright color because it's miniscule. So I'll give it a one-week trial run then I'll toss it if it doesn't grow on me.

I only have one more month remaining at my summer job. The one attorney who gives me most of my work keeps asking me if I'll continue working through the Fall. I don't know yet. I'd like to but I'm not sure if my school schedule will let me work 10-20 hrs during the week. Plus during the school year I like to get jobs that are close enough to walk. But either way, the chips should fall into place in the next few weeks once I get my school schedule finalized.

Nothingness

My car stalled on Wednesday so I had it towed to a shop. It had been having an intermittent problem so I knew a complete stall was in the working. Found out the next day this would set me back $800. The price I was originally quoted was about $150 higher. But I asked the manager to fax me the estimate so I could talk it over with my husband. I guess there were some charges for which he couldn't justify because the estimate price was lower. I called one of my mechanics from craigslist & he told me that the price was justified because it was a very labor intensive problem. When I called to get an update on Saturday morning, they were still working on it. "Oh boy, the mechanic is having lots of fun with it." I think the manager was being sarcastic.

My birthday was on Thursday & the lovely people I work with brought in lots of food to celebrate. Even sang happy birthday for me & I got to take the first stab at the most yummy cake one of the secretaries had baked. It was just a lovely day which more than made up for the car fiasco I had dealt with the night before.

The weather here is just fabulous. It's probably been in the upper 70s for the past couple of weeks. Sunny with blue skies.

Fair Weather Fan

Boston Celtics won Game 4 last week against the Lakers. But I wasn't there to witness the 24-point deficit comeback. Why? Because I knew the Celtics were for sure going to lose when they were trailing by 20 or so points at the half. So what did I do? I told myself that I needed to go to bed because I had to be up early in the morning. Not so. I just couldn't stand seeing the Celtics getting it handed to them. Little did I know the greatest NBA come-back of all time was about to go down.

Round 3 of the U.S. Open golf tournament was yesterday & I stopped watching it when Tiger was at the 13th hole because I had to watch the re-run of Celtics-Lakers game 4 which was showing on ESPN classic simultaneously. Not so. The only reason I switched over was because Tiger kept hitting his ball into the rough & I just didn't want to see him keep bogeying the holes (he'd had a rough going). So what did I miss during the switch-over? Tiger made an eagle putt on the 13th hole & chipped the ball for a birdie on the 16th hole. Ugh. I was so upset that I had missed both those shots. But luckily, I switched back in time to see him make another eagle putt on the 18th hole & take the lead.

Lesson learned from my "fair-weathering" on these 2 occasions . . . weather-all. So the final round of the golf tournament was today & Tiger got off to a very rough start (double bogey & bogey on first two holes). What a nightmare. But I perservered on. Watched the entire 18 holes & was rewarded with the most dramatic birdie putt by Tiger on the final hole which moved him into a tie for the lead & forced an 18-hole playoff round tomorrow.

As I write this, it's Game 5 of the Celtics-Lakers series with 6:10 left in the 4th quarter. The Lakers are up 80-73. I'm off to bed. I have to be up real early in the morning!

Gone!

Today I'm standing with Senator Obama to say "Yes We Can!"
~Hillary Clinton~

Finally!

Feel Good Story of the Day!

Obama's Weekend Off: Date with Wife, Hosting Sleepover for Eight 7-Year Olds

After appearing here, Obama traveled to a rally in northern Virginia's D.C. suburbs, then headed back to his hometown of Chicago to take the weekend off. He's looking forward to "a date" tonight with his wife, Michelle, a round of golf on Saturday ("the best I can do is the low 80s," Obama said) and a bike ride with his children on Sunday.

Not that he is expecting it to be entirely relaxing. On Saturday night, Obama will face a challenge familiar to many American parents: Eight 7-year-olds are due at his house for a birthday sleepover in honor of his daughter, Sasha. "These kids are planning to make pizza so who knows what our kitchen will look like," Obama said. "They shouldn't call these sleepovers. They should call them wake-overs."

-Huffington Post-

Go Away Already!!!

Like a bad rash, Hillary Clinton refuses to go away. She said today she'll "suspend" her campaign & support Obama this Saturday (and this was only after the Dem leaders told her to hang it up). But yet she reserved the right to have her name on the nomination ballot at the Denver convention this August. WTF?! She should've endorsed Obama last night when he clinched the nomination but instead she gave one of the most classless speeches I've ever listened to. I knew it would go downhill when she was introduced as "the next president of the United States." She is a power hungry vindictive woman who refuses to recognize there's a new Sheriff in town. Obama. Get used to it!

Tax Woes

The goddamn IRS won't leave me alone! Found out I owe them about $1500 for unclaimed income. When I filed my taxes a couple years ago, I didn't claim interest I got from an investment account. Now Uncle Sam wants his money back plus interest. I just can't win. I must be on the "terrorist watch-list" equivalent with the IRS since this is like the third time I've gotten notice that I owe them money. I have friends who haven't filed taxes in years but they never get audited yet here I am - a law abiding citizen who files taxes every year yet I can't get a f*&%$#g break. Pisses me off.

On a cleaner note: I get my hair done every week. However, due to working over the summer I'm not able to visit the salon on my regular hours & so the people who get to do my hair are less than mediocre. The moral of this story: I've decided to be doing my own hair at home.

I ordered a portable hood dryer last week from Amazon ($40), bought styling products from Sally's ($15) and today took a stab at it. I washed & deep conditioned my hair. Then I put rollers which is not the easiest thing to do. It took me a little over an hour but I must say my roller set kicked a$$. Then I sat under the dryer for about 50 minutes. The dryer I bought rocks. It's fairly quiet, has four heat settings (I dried my hair under the medium setting), and the hood can adjust in a way that does not get heat in my face & I can watch tv. My hair turned out even better than it does when I go to the salon. Must've known that I'll be needing that money to pay off my outstanding taxes.