It's a Saturday night, I guess that makes it alright...

To stab people. Holy crap. I had to work last night, and let me tell you- last night was the night to piss someone off who's holding a sharp object. We were waiting for an operating room at a hospital, and they kept coming in saying they had emergency traumas coming up before us. So, I'm standing in the hallway waiting for my patient when a neurosurgeon walks up and speaks to the charge nurse.

Surgeon: Where's the guy with the knife in his head?
Nurse: He's not here yet.
Surgeon: Well, they just got on the elevator with an empty bloody cart, so where's my patient?
Nurse: That's the guy who was stabbed in the subclavian.
Surgeon: Right, and he has a knife in the head.
Nurse: No, the knife in the head is a different patient. This other guy was just stabbed in the neck.
Surgeon: Oh. *wanders away in search of a dude with a knife sticking out of his head*
Nurse: *under her breath* Dumbass.

He did eventually find his patient and bring him to the OR. I don't know who this guy irritated but holy crap whoever it was stuck him for real. Giant knife in his head...all but the handle. And he was stable! How you're stable when your brain is being tickled by metal is beyond me....but I'm not a stabbing victim so I guess there's the disconnect. Anyways...it was a wild night in surgery...just thought I'd share. Laters!

Finally!

Henna6
Originally uploaded by mance01.

I finally got the pictures of my hands all henna-d up. Still no pictures of me looking like a nut dancing around in a sari, but I'm working on it. The henna on the back of my hands is pretty much gone now (thank you surgical scrub) but you can still make it out a little bit on my palms. They say the darker your henna is the more your husband loves you. My non-existant husband must love me a lot. :)

Reactions to the henna have included: This guy I work with saw my hands and said, "What is that!? Looks like some devil shit all over your hands!" and I said, "No, it's because I was in an Indian wedding." "Oh, must be some voodoo shit then."

Others have said it looked cool.

One of my good friends saw the dot pattern on the back of one of my hands (see photos) and said he thought I had "the funk." I don't know what medical condition "the funk" refers to, but I was mildly amused by his assertion.

Sorry a couple of the pics are kind of blurry...my 10-year-old sister took some of them and digital photography doesn't seem to be her forte.

It's Time for Another Good Idea/Bad Idea

Good Idea
Sending an email to your good friend about how much fun you had tonight and how she should have come. Even though you're a little bit buzzed and you're having a hard time spelling and seeing out of both eyes at the same time. Calling your friend by her nickname and signing with your nickname are also highly acceptable since you want your friend to remember the good times and how she could have been having more of them with you and some margaritas tonight.

Bad Idea
Sending this same poorly-worded, misspelled document signed by "cupcake" to your grant supervisor at Johns Hopkins since she and your friend's first names begin with the same letter and you are typing with only one eye open.

*Luckily I caught this before I actually hit send, but I swear in the split-second it took me to notice I was about to send it, I magically became completely sober. G'night guys :)

Sweet dreams are made of these

I worked last night, got in at 2 AM and woke up at about 11 AM (only cause my sister called and woke me up.) But I had some really bizarre dreams, and for once, I actually remember them. So, in order of appearance:

- I'm at an open-air concert sitting on a picnic table. I'm not watching anyone perform, and I have no idea who's supposed to be playing. Someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around, it's Raine Maida (lead singer of my favorite band ever.) He sits down next to me, asks me what I think of his band, which song is my favorite, how's life, whatever. We talk for a long time, then he goes to perform and he dedicates "One Man Army" to me. I am very happy.

- I'm in a bedroom that includes some of my furniture and some of my sisters'. I'm being chased by the Beast from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." Not when he's the standing up nice Beast. More like when he's mad at the world and he's down on all fours and he's pretty feral (sp?) and stuff. Anyways...he's trying to kill me...I don't know why. But he can't catch me cause I keep jumping up on the furniture. And when I say jumping, I mean, Gummi-bear jumping. Like it makes the sound and everything...I have Gummi-bear powers. When I realized this, I started singing the Gummi-bears theme-song. He finally got tired of chasing me. That was the end of that dream.

- I'm living with Keanu Reeves. But he has two girlfriends. Me and some other girl...I don't know who she is. She's older than me. I don't think she's better looking than me, but I was probably wrong. Because Keanu much preferred her to me. He was much more affectionate with her than with me. So I left him. And I went to my parents house. And when I got there I wanted to make a mozzarella and tomato sandwich, but the cheese was moldy. So I ate a straight-up tomato sandwich. Then I woke up.

I'm telling you people, I have no idea what the hell is going on in my head. Not a frikkin' clue. I haven't watched Gummi-bears or Beauty and the Beast in years. I don't think Keanu Reeves is attractive. But I will say that I love some Raine Maida and tomato & mozzarella sandwiches. So at least that makes sense. :) Laters

My Weird Habits

As it's one of those nights where I exhibit most of these habits, and I can't sleep, I thought I'd share.

- As many of you have probably noticed on your site trackers, I obsessive-compulsively check for updates on blogs. I also check my email about 5 times each second. I don't know why. I just want something to read I guess. God forbid I pick up a book and study something useful. I'd much rather keep up with weblogs.

- I listen to music and type the lyrics while the song is playing. Sometimes I replay a song several times to get all the lyrics. Then I delete them. Because I'm crazy. I also only do this to really romantic songs- and only when I'm being moody.

- I google everyone I've ever met or heard of. Based on some other blogs I read, this isn't a really bizarre habit. But I feel weird doing it- especially when I find something. Although I'm also really secretly thrilled on the inside that I know something about the person that they don't know I know. Yeah...nevermind. That is weird.

- I write in a journal. On top of writing in this blog. Could I be any more self-absorbed? Doubtful.

- I take online quizzes. Doesn't matter what the subject matter is. I'll take the "What is your celebrity style?", "Is your dog taking after you?", and "Is your man cheating?" quiz all in one sitting. Regardless of the fact that I really have no sense of style, have no dog, and have no man. I think it makes the results more interesting. :-p

So internets, before long you'll know me so well we'll be able to compete together in the "Newlywed Game." Woo!

Yes, I'm still here

Hi everybody. Sorry about the falling off the planet...I just wasn't in a blogging mood. But now I'm back, and oh what stories I have!! (Not really, but I'll put some stuff here to make it an update.) So, since my last post:

The Wedding
The wedding was a nightmare. I was waiting to post til I got some pictures up, but now I don't know when that will be, so sorry. The ceremonies were kind of cool to watch and everything, but sweet baby Jesus three days of watching ceremonies in another language is a bit much. And by 3 days, I mean 3 frikkin' days. It was not a couple hours one day and a couple hours the next. The first day I did 4 hours of driving, got there and sat through 6 hours of wedding stuff. The next day I got there at 9 AM and didn't get to bed until about 2 AM the next morning. The next morning had to be there at 8 AM and didn't get out until 5 PM and then had to drive 3.5 hours to my parents' house. I was so exhausted by the end of it, I wanted to die a little bit. However, the wedding did have its pluses.
+ Delicious Indian food. I have never sucked down so much water in my LIFE. That stuff is crazy hot, but it is soooo good.
+ Good music. I love Hindi music and my friend got most of her wedding soundtrack from Bollywood movies which I also love.
+ Getting to dance. I've only been to one other wedding in my life, and there was no dancing at it. Which was sad because my friend who was getting married totally hearts dancing. But there was dancing at this wedding, albeit Indian dances that I don't know how to do, but I'm a fast learner. It was fun.
+ I now own a sari. I can't decide whether to keep it as a Halloween costume or make pillows out of it or what. But the possibilities are endless and it's really pretty, so yay.

The Movies
I've gone to the movies a lot lately. It's something to do in a room that is nice and cool. Because let me tell you, it's hot as hell down here in Alabama. Since my last post, I've seen:

Fantastic 4 which was alright, but I would've been okay renting it instead of seeing it at the theatre. There was a ton of build-up about their powers and all that jazz, but then when it came to actually getting the bad guy I swear they took care of him in two minutes. Two minutes. Hour and something of build-up for two minutes. It was pretty damn anti-climactic. But, it was an okay movie...had lots of funny parts. And if, like my sister, you just want to see it for that torch-boy and his body you will be okay with it. I know Erin enjoyed it. I will say though, you could tell it's based on an old comic book. Because really? Flexibility and being made of rock are not hot superpowers in this day and age. Kids that are playing superheroes aren't wishing they were made of rubber, no matter how handy it might be. They'd rather have steel claws. X-men beats the pants off of Fantastic 4.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which is an AWESOME movie. I loved it. I've seen it twice already and can't wait for it to come out on DVD. I didn't want to see it at first because between Tim Burton directing and Johnny Depp's chicklet teeth on the commercials, I thought they would just ruin the old movie. How wrong I was. The movie is hilarious and Johnny Depp is awesome in it. Also, Freddie Highmore is my favorite little boy on the planet. I would take him home in a heartbeat. I'm not such a fan of little boys in general, being raised in a house with five girls and having really irritating boy cousins. But Freddie Highmore is the cutest little boy in the world. I heart him muchly. Go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!!...and take me with you.

The Island hadn't come out yet but my friend had free tickets to a sneak preview. So, I went to see it with him. I hadn't seen any commercials for the movie and really didn't have a clue what it was about. It was pretty good though. It's all about clones and using them for organ donation, which is a subject which is pretty near and dear to my heart (organ donation, not cloning for that purpose.) The movie was only rated PG-13, but I will say that some of the imagery was pretty disturbing to me and I would have rated it R. Some of the chase scenes are too long, but it's exciting and there are attractive male and female leads, so something for everyone. :) Really I think my friend mainly went to watch Ewan McGregor wander around in a tight tracksuit....he loves some Ewan McGregor. So, overall a pretty good movie- I would recommend it.

Our Lady Peace
Their new single, "Where Are You?" is out now and you can get it off iTunes. The song is not their best, but it's Raine's voice so I like it. I'm worried about the album, but I'm going to keep praying about it. Keep your fingers crossed.

Chinaboy
That stupid boy I like who has "booger" tattooed on his back has returned to this continent. I haven't seen him yet, but I really want to. I wish I had a camera, because I would totally take a picture of his tattoo and post it here. What a spazz. I don't really have much to report on him yet, but I'll share when something happens.

Visitor
This past weekend I had a friend come into town from Seattle. He wanted to go clubbing in Birmingham and all that jazz, so we decided to go out Saturday night. He got here Friday. We didn't do much Friday, just watched a movie. But Saturday we decided to go canoeing with two of my friends. They've been several times and I've never been able to go because I've had to work. I thought my friend who was visiting was a really outdoorsy person because he likes to hike and all that jazz. For some reason I thought this also translated to "knows how to canoe." Yeah, not so much. We got caught on every rock in that river. And he kept yelling at me whenever we'd get stuck. It really got on my nerves a little bit. At one point we got caught between two rocks and I had to get out of the canoe and free us and then kind of half-swim to catch up to the canoe but I couldn't kick or anything because there were rocks everywhere. Then, we got to the big waterfall. It's not really a drop, well I guess you drop a couple feet, but it's more horizontal. But when you go over, if you're not balanced right, you'll flip and there are rocks all over. Needless to say, we flipped. I land facedown on a rock underwater while all the seats and wooden bars in the canoe rake over my head. Thank God for my thick hair which basically acts as a helmet. I probably would've actually been hurt were it not for all the padding. Then after the canoe left, the current swept me over all the rocks til I could finally get up on a rock. Stupid flip-flops were lost, legs scraped up, knees bruised. Not cool. It was fun to sit at the bottom of the fall and watch inner-tubers come over scraping their butts on the rocks. Everyone was really drunk, so I guess they didn't feel it that much but it was pretty funny. Overall it was fun, but a little bit painful. Then I needed a piggy-back ride to the car because I'd lost my shoes and there were rocks and bits of glass everywhere. My friend from Seattle tries to give me one and he can't even hold me up without groaning. Needless to say I felt like a total chunk. Luckily my other friend carried me with no problem. Cause walking all the way to the car would've sucked a little bit.
Saturday night we went to a couple alternative lifestyle clubs with my friends. Always a good time. Funnily enough, I look up and there's one of my co-workers stuffing dollar bills into a drag queen's bra. I tried to hide so he wouldn't know I saw him, but of course one of my friends drags him over to meet me. He looks up, sees who I am and freaks out a little bit. I said, "I am so not here. You didn't see me" (because he works with my Mom a lot.) He says, "Yeah, I'm not here either. I've never been here and I sure didn't see you here." And that was about the end of it. Then he went back to smoochin' on the drag queens. It was pretty funny to see someone you only know professionally when he lets loose. Good for him. :)

Sooo, that's about all that's been going on. Sorry I've been too lazy to post, I'll try to be better. Laters!

Assorted Rants

My Car Died :(
I survived the hurricane with little to no effect. Spent the night at C's house (she has digital cable. Digital cable..drooooooool.) The main reason that I spent the night at her house- aside from the fact that it's buckets of fun- was that my car died. That's right. My beautiful baby passed out on me. I was driving to C's house after church, singing along with Fiona Apple, and all of a sudden Fiona was gone. And so was my clock. And my speedometer. And my gas gauge. And all things electrical in my truck. Luckily I made it to her apartment, but of course the thing wouldn't start back up later. So, I spent the night. I blame the car trouble on my lust for the Honda Element. I thought I could look as long as I didn't touch, but apparently my baby's not into that. C's place was good times....Dublin Mudslide is God's gift to the world. Thank Ben & Jerry for being the conduits through which God has provided this miracle.

Battery at the Car Dealership
So, this morning, Daniel comes over and puts a new battery in the truck. (Yay him. Boo for me and my inability to change battery.) But changing the battery does not fix the battery light, and the voltage in the battery starts going down even while I'm driving the truck. Dad says, "It's probably the alternator. Take it to the nearest Chevy dealership." Holy mother of God worst mistake ever. I have resolved to learn all things car maintenance in order to prevent myself from ever having to seek auto services again. Holy crap alternators are expensive. And they become moreso when people take three hours to install them. Sweaty, smelly people. I know how they smelled because when I finally regained control of my vehicle, I jumped in the car and almost had to jump back out again. So overpowering was the stench of sweat and body odor that I'm gagging a little bit right now just thinking about it. Thank God for Febreze. Anyways, I got my bill at the car place and I really really really wanted to hurt someone that worked there. Badly. Especially the less fragrant members of the staff who must have rolled around on my upholstery.

Monsoon Wedding....or Hurricane Wedding I Guess
I'm leaving tomorrow for my friend's Indian wedding (pictures of Samantha looking like a complete idiot to come.) My MIA roommate/best friend/reason that I'm friends with the bride in the first place has bailed on being a bridesmaid. I'm really really mad at her....because it means that I will be stranded 4 hours from home for 3 days with a LOT of braindead people. It'll be a miracle if we all make it back alive. So, I'll be back Thursday evening. Laters!!

Hurricane Dennis

It's supposed to make landfall tomorrow evening....wish us luck!! Luckily I live in a concrete building with virtually no windows, so I'm pretty sure I'll be okay. Poor people on the beach- it's 2004 the sequel. You couldn't pay me to live in Florida. As one of my friends put it, "Florida is the diving board to hell." hehe.

Stormy Weather

For the next few days I'll be chillin' with Hurricane Dennis. Keep your fingers crossed for the power to stay on. I'd hate for my soy nuggets and meatless hot dogs to spoil. :-p (I'm probably the only one who has that hope.) I'll report more tomorrow if I can retain electricity. Laters!

Yeah baby!!

It's a start!!

How to Keep Me Awake at Night

Send me weird dreams. I guess it started when I couldn't fall asleep in the first place because of the whole London thing. I probably didn't climb into bed until about 2 AM. But then I kept waking up. First, I dream that I'm married. I married an Olympic skydiver (I don't think that even really exists) right before he had to jump in the Olympics. Then he went off to jump and I was all hunky dory and I was at my house with my family waiting for him to come back. (I don't know why I didn't stay to watch, or watch it on TV at my house or anything like that.) And we were eating pizza. And all of a sudden I see the ring on my finger and I look up at my Mom and say, "Oh my God. If he survives this jump, I'll be married. MARRIED." And she just looked at me with this "I told you so" kind of look. All of a sudden, someone knocks at the door, and it's him in his little jumpsuit thingie and he has cuts and scratches and leaves and crap on him. And I jump all over him and start kissing him and he says he loves me and then I wake up. And I mean, I wake up like hyperventilating. Because that kind of crap freaks me out. I couldn't fall back asleep for a while because my heart rate was insane.

Then, I finally fall back asleep, and I dream I'm living the book "Angela's Ashes." If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. (I don't highly recommend the movie- read the BOOK!) But over the course of the book, a few of the kids die...and in my dream, I knew that they were going to die. So basically I spent all night trying to keep the kids alive. I was feeding them, and checking temperatures, and belting the drunken father right in the mouth for not bringing any money home. Basically doing all the things I really wanted to do when I read the book. Then one of the kids got sick and that woke me up cause I knew they were going to die and it was my fault for not doing a better job of taking care of them. Again with the heart rate and hyperventilation. So it's now 12:30 in the afternoon and I'm just climbing out of bed because I finally feel like I've had some sleep. Maybe that's what happens when you have tofu curry right before bed. Go fig. Laters!

You know who sucks?

Whoever did this is a total fuck, and I hope God really gets their asses.

Speechless

I really don't know what to say about today. The world is so insanely sick, and I wouldn't even know where to start fixing it. America was attacked in 2001, and we sought vengeance. The UK joined us and now they're being punished. The Madrid subway was similarly attacked last year, possibly by the same group that carried out this morning's bombings. Africa is being ravaged by AIDS and extreme poverty, and we're all destroying the planet. I was trying to find something halfway positive to read right before I went to bed, and even the review for the movie I want to see was crappy. Not a good day.

To everyone in London- I'm praying for you. Tomorrow will be better.

OLP Album Cover

OLP Album Cover
Originally uploaded by mance01.

August 30th people. I can not WAIT!

Raine at Live 8

Raine at Live 8
Originally uploaded by mance01.

OLP performing at Live 8...they sang a modified version of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire", their first single off the new album "Where Are You?" and "Innocent" from Gravity. I cannot WAIT for them to start touring again.

Healthy in Paranoid Times

Tomorrow, new OLP single is released in the US. WOO!! For now, you can order the new album on Amazon and have it sent as soon as it's released August 30th... and it's a dual disc release!! Woo!

Also, OLP performed at the Live 8 concert in Canada. They were awesome... You can go to this website to sign the petition to "Make Poverty History" by asking the G8 leaders to forgive the debts owed by Africa to various countries. That way African leaders can focus their resources on AIDS treatment, the millions of orphans of AIDS, and extreme starvation. You can also upload your picture to their website to be placed on the street that the G8 leaders will drive through to get to the summit in Scotland. Over 5 million people have signed the petition already...hopefully the G8 leaders- most notably our representative- will take notice.

Raine: Your point of view in life is unique, and
you take any experience or event and pull it
into your lyrics to turn a song into something
deeper. You're creative and have a tortured
soul, and aren't really that open to everyone,
even though you're the band's lead singer and
frontman.


Which member of Our Lady Peace are you?
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