2.25.2005
Paranoid
ARUBA tomorrow! We leave really early -- 6:30 a.m. flight, which means a 4:45 a.m. pickup. Not thinking about that, though, just thinking about getting out of here at 2:00.

I'm paranoid... my neighbor went home sick yesterday, then came back in today and said she feels the same way as yesterday. !!!!!!! Go home! She seems okay, but I'm still drinking a ton of water and avoiding her airspace.


2.22.2005
IQ test
I took a free Psychology Today IQ test online. My score was 129. Not bad, although my Mensa application won't be arriving in the mail anytime soon.

I haven't posted in forever! We were incredibly busy with houseguests last week: Joe's friend Jack, who stayed with us all week for the LinuxWorld conference, my father-in-law, and Hunter the cat. Things went well with all, except for when Hunter puked on the carpet yesterday morning. He ate a stray pretzel nugget that was on the floor, which are evidently bad for kitties.

Joe turned 30 yesterday. It's so weird that he is officially out of his twenties, and weirder still that my friends and I are all headed there too. With a couple of exceptions, we are all 27 or 28, and officially too old to pull stupid crap. People are getting married, or choosing not to marry, talking about kids, or deciding not to have them. I guess this is what happens, you know? We still get together and rag on each other and act silly, but we're also becoming smarter, more considerate, more responsible, more respectful of our families, better at being friends, and ultimately, I think, better people.


2.11.2005
I may not have graduated magna cum laude...
... but I am definitely more creative than the dimwitted egomaniacs on the Apprentice. That show is slowly pissing me off since every single task is about marketing some product for some corporate partner, but I still watch it. Last night the apprenti had to come up with a 30-second movie (a.k.a. commercial, you jargon-speaking fuckers!) for Dove body wash. One was dubbed "vegetable porn" and the other was "disgusting." Nobody won and Kristen the bitch was finally fired. Joe and I had a 5-minute minute conversation after the show where we came up with 84 ideas that were a million times better than the vomit they produced. Here's the one I liked:

A girl is walking her dog in a park in the city. It's summer. She looks rushed and has a bunch of bags because she was doing errands. Accidentally she drops her dog's leash and he runs away and jumps into a huge fountain. He won't come when she calls him and she can't reach him. So she has to go into the fountain and get him. She's going to get soaked, so she gets an idea-smile on her face and takes a bottle of Dove body wash out of one of her bags. She gets in the fountain, bathes in the spray, whatever. Then it cuts to her walking back home, holding the leash, but she's wearing a pink bathrobe and a towel on her head and she looks happy and refreshed.

I'm no Donny Douche, but I think that's pretty clever at ten p.m.


2.10.2005
Viva la weirdness!
One of the things I've learned is that people's weirdnesses are what make them worth getting to know.

Generic people suck... embrace weirdness!



2.09.2005
Tease
It's been really spring-like lately... fucking awesome. Last Saturday Judy and I went to the gym and it was not quite 50 degrees but to us it felt like 70. We got iced coffees and opened the sunroof and felt great. But just as some of the snow was finally melting, we're supposed to get another foot. Sucks, sucks, sucks.

We're headed into a busy couple of weeks... on Sunday Joe's friend Jack is coming to stay with us for a week while he attends a technology conference downtown. Then next weekend Joe's dad comes to visit for Joe's 30th birthday. The week after that we leave for Aruba! Holy shit. I can't wait.

In other news, I lost another pound, for a total of 12. Not bad for 7 weeks. That's a little more than 1.7 per week. And I definitely think I'm building muscle, so going forward I may feel more dramatic differences in my clothes and appearance than I see on the scale. That would be sweet.


2.07.2005
Overslept
Stupid alarm didn't go off this morning. Joe woke me at 7:21 like "Aren't you getting up?" I thought it was Sunday and said "Why?" and he was like, "Uh, to go to work?" Then I figured it out: "Fuck, it's Monday!" I called and warned I might be late but I wasn't. I should have stopped for coffee.

The Pats are the Superbowl champs again. It's going to suck when they lose the title, because we are definitely starting to get used to all this winning.



2.03.2005
100 things about me
1 I got this idea from Carly, whose list was very interesting.
2 My birthday is two days after Christmas.
3 Four of my past crushes’ birthdays are within a week of mine.
4 They are Eddie Vedder (12/23), my ex Mike (12/29), Davy Jones from the Monkees (12/30) and Joe McIntyre from New Kids on the Block (12/31)
5 Astrologers say that Capricorns are not compatible with other Capricorns.
6 So I married a Pisces.
7 I think astrologers are mostly full of shit anyway.
8 I was born two weeks late.
9 If I had been born on time, I would have been a Sagittarius.
10 My parents called me Melissa after they heard the name on a soap opera.
11 I was almost called Lisa.
12 I’ve been listening to my mix CD over and over for 4 days straight.
13 Especially track 12 (“Still in Love Song”) which, for inexplicable reasons, makes me think of Mark Bellhorn.
14 No, I am not still, or was ever, in love with Mark Bellhorn.
15 If I could get into great shape, I would enjoy hiking, rock climbing and mountain-biking.
16 I’ve climbed one mountain in my lifetime.
17 That was during Sergeant Camp, a week-long adventure camp for kids that my entire sixth-grade class attended.
18 I remember my counselor was named Willy and he combed his hair with a fork and ate beans with a stick.
19 That’s where I became best friends with Amanda—we went in hating each other and came out inseparable.
20 I drink, on average, 84oz of liquid during the work day: 32oz of water before lunch, 32oz after lunch, and then a 20oz Diet Coke in the late afternoon.
21 I had a recent phase where I kept thinking ghosts might be in my house.
22 It seems to have gone away, which is good because it was completely ridiculous.
23 There’s a guy who sits near me who sneezes about seven times in a row, once every fifteen seconds or so, every day around quarter of 11.
24 Nothing makes me feel happier than when my house is sparkly clean.
25 I waste a lot of time at home trying to beat my high score on Snood.
26 I love the Dr. Phil show, especially when he lays into stupid people: “What in the hell is the matter with you?”
27 I was a tomboy when I was young.
28 The thing that irks me most about adult life is accepting that traveling the world and living the fabulous life are not viable options for normal people who need to pay the mortgage.
29 So far I’ve been to 20 states (MA, ME, NH, VT, CT, RI, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, TX, IL, CO and CA).
30 I’ve also visited 12 foreign countries (Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Malta and Monaco) and evidently Aruba has been independent since 1986, so that will make 13.
31 I’ve been in 8 subway systems (Boston, New York, Washington DC, Toronto, Montreal, London, Paris, and Rome); DC has the nicest among them, Rome the crappiest.
32 I am not very good at talking to children.
33 In a fifth-grade invention contest, I won first place for inventing a re-closeable soda can. I don’t know why I didn’t just invent the 20oz plastic soda bottle, because I could have been a gazillionaire.
34 Second place went to a kid whose brilliant idea was scratch-and-sniff deodorant.
35 I used to get my poisonous feelings out by writing letters to people but not sending them.
36 I don’t do that anymore; I don’t get lovesick or waste time disliking people.
37 For the most part, I am confident, secure, and accepting of myself.
38 I am a lazy, unimaginative cook, which is a big part of my poor eating habits… it’s a lot easier to make chicken nuggets than chicken piccata.
39 I can never find casual shoes that look good with jeans and can be worn comfortably all day.
40 I hate shirts with round necklines that are just a little too open; they either have to be up to the neck or down to the boobs.
41 Same thing with V-neck shirts that are too high… the V should be a deep V.
42 I started drinking, smoking and having sex all at seventeen, the Year of My Corruption.
43 Random words that I like: caterpillar, solipsistic, homonym, noodle, braggadocios.
44 My favorite scents are coconut, grapefruit, vanilla frosting and lilac.
45 My favorite creature is the firefly. They can fly and light up their ass: very cool.
46 I won Student of the Month in high school because I was a junior taking senior anatomy.
47 Sometimes I wish I was part Irish so I could be a part of the whole South Boston, St. Patrick’s Day parade, Irish pride thing.
48 Instead, I am half Italian and a jumble of English, French, Polish, and French-Canadian.
49 My kids are going to be all of that plus Syrian and Russian… our family will be a veritable United Nations.
50 With the exception of a few Christmases, Easters and weddings, I haven’t been to church since my confirmation.
51 My parents go to church every week, but neither of them can articulate exactly what it is they get out of it.
52 I think fifteen years old was the peak of my teenage looks, but the only thing supporting that theory is a few pictures of me dressed up like a court jester for a Halloween party.
53 My first date was when I was twelve years old.
54 I didn’t know it at the time, but he was gay and trying out girls just to make sure.
55 Twelve seems really early to date; I can’t believe my parents let me go. I’d like to think they sensed how much of a non-threat to my purity he was, but it was really because they knew his mother from church.
56 He called me about fifty times before my mom made me say I would go out with him.
57 Wish I had remembered to use that as an excuse for later on when I was totally brash about my sexual ambitions and my dad was horrified to even be near me.
58 The only famous person I would really like to meet is Eddie Vedder, even though I would probably feel like an ass no matter what I said or did.
59 But I wouldn’t want to meet him in a concert context; it would be so much better if our coffee orders got screwed up at Seattle’s Best or something.
60 I have a thing for expensive handbags. I’d like a dark brown Balenciaga Motorcycle bag, but the price is more than a little prohibitive: $1,400.
61 I wouldn’t buy a fake, but I also wouldn’t judge someone who did.
62 Once I got in trouble for checking out some of my dad’s Playboys from the 70s, which were hidden in a box in the cellar.
63 He used to have a subscription which my mom made him get rid of.
64 I also got in trouble for throwing bricks into my next-door neighbor’s above-ground pool.
65 And for running up a $400 phone bill which I paid by stealing my parents’ checkbook.
66 For Christ’s sweet sake, that was a fucking stupid thing to do.
67 My favorite healthy foods are spinach, green grapes and cottage cheese.
68 My favorite unhealthy foods are pizza, doughnuts and peanut butter M&Ms.
69 Today for breakfast I had coffee, a cheese omelet and two sausages.
70 For lunch I had a small salad and chicken soup minus the noodles and carrots.
71 I’m staying away from tuna right now because on Monday it made me feel like shit.
72 I wear very little makeup: just mascara and lip gloss. For occasions, I add shimmer powder, eye shadow, and eyeliner.
73 My favorite nail polish color is a dark red called London Bridge is Falling Down.
74 I’m sick of having to park so far away from the gym… I wish (a) fewer people would go or (b) the weather would get warmer.
75 Next year I would like to acquire a really nice black winter coat that is perfectly tailored.
76 I would also like a red one.
77 This year, after years of wanting to, I am finally taking Patriots’ Day off to go to the 11:00 a.m. Red Sox game and the Boston marathon.
78 I hope it’s at least jean jacket weather by then, if not no jacket at all.
79 I’ve done hardly any work today; I had one task this morning and it was complete by 9:30.
80 This list has taken me hours, though.
81 All the cars I’ve possessed since getting my license, in order, are: my grandpa’s silver Chevy Impala with which I hit a wall learning to park, my aunt’s white Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais, my grandpa’s maroon Buick LeSabre, my aunt’s teal Oldsmobile Achieva, my black VW Jetta, and my current gray Honda Accord.
82 My family had a system of trading down cars, can you tell?
83 My grandpa gave my dad his old cars for free, but my aunt charged. I bought the Achieva for $2,000. It was 6 years old and had 38K miles on it.
84 I put 38K miles on the Jetta in less than half that time.
85 Grandpa also used to tell us he had a money-making machine in the cellar because he always gave us crisp, brand new bills when we visited.
86 He’s going to be 85 this year, and is nearly deaf from when he drove a tank in WWII.
87 He has souvenirs picked off dead Nazis in his old army trunk, including a flag and a knife.
88 Joe and I always pose for pictures the same way. We have about ten shots of ourselves that look exactly alike except for different clothes and hairstyles.
89 I’m noticing that because three of them are on my desk.
90 One is from New Year’s 2000 when I had my kickass tiara and Joe had his gangster hat.
91 Another is from our wedding.
92 The third one is from a night when we got all dressed up to go to a Christmas party but it was impossible to get a cab so we decided to blow it off and stay home.
93 I remember what I was wearing: a dark silvery gray ballgown skirt and a black twinset.
94 It’s the same outfit I wore to Joe’s sister’s wedding. They took place the same year.
95 Joe’s wearing the same outfit he wore to the wedding too: black suit, white shirt, silver tie.
96 Oh yeah, this is supposed to me about me…
97 I’d like to skydive someday.
98 I would trade bodies with someone who was really hot if it could be done by means of magic, but I would never have plastic surgery to try to get there.
99 I am unashamed to say that Bon Jovi’s “Wild is the Wind” gives me chills.
100 “Still In Love Song” is on again. Talk about going full circle.


2.01.2005
High school quiz
What year was it?
1994ish

What were your three favorite bands or musical artists?
Pearl Jam, Letters to Cleo and Green Day.

What were your favorite clothes?
I dressed like I was going to do yard work… jeans, flannels and hiking boots. Ever hopelessly suburban, I accessorized with Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts, bead necklaces and a copy of Thoreau’s Walden.

What was up with your hair?
It was big. I think I was always in the process of growing out a perm.

Who were your friends?
Cheryl, Mindy, Jen, Alvina, Jeff, other Jen, Beth, Marianela, Adam, Melina and Dave – people whom, with the exception of one, I have not seen in years.

Where did you work?
Bob’s Stores… that place was fun.

What did you do after school?
Worked mostly, hung out and drove around. I don’t remember doing homework. I did a lot of bullshit extracurricular activities for the benefit of my college applications so I must have put in an appearance at a few of those: tennis team, drama club, school newspaper, the short-lived Outdoors Club (where Walden came in handy), academic decathlon, and the Massachusetts Alliance Against Racism and Violence.

Did you take the bus?
Occasionally, but mostly I drove. I had to bring my dad to the train station at 6:30 a.m. in order to have the car.

Who did you have a crush on?
I had the same crush all through junior high and high school, a kid named T.J. who had gorgeous ice blue eyes.

Did you fight with your parents?
Not really, although I was pissed when they made me go to summer school for algebra.

Who did you have a CELEBRITY crush on?
Eddie Vedder, Billie Joe Armstrong and Jody Reed, the runty Red Sox second baseman.

Did you smoke cigarettes?
No. I didn’t do bad stuff in high school at all. Even after senior prom all we did was drink a bunch of wine coolers.

Did you lug all of your books around in your backpack because you were too nervous to find your locker?
Ah, no. My friends and I used each other’s lockers depending on how close they were to certain classes.

Did you have a 'clique'?
Sadly, yes. My class was so small and so fragmented that you couldn’t really jump groups or be friends with everyone. Unless you were very socially courageous, you found a group and stayed in it.

Did you have "The Max" like Zach, Kelly and Slater?
No. Some people hung out at a place called Parish Park where the police would break up the crowd every ten minutes, but I never did.

Admit it, were you popular?
No. The popular people in my class were a curious mix of obnoxious clowns and student council brownies. I liked the punks and art class types who were a year or two below.

Who did you want to be just like?
I wanted to be the super-me. I wanted to be able to flip a switch and make every guy want me and make every girl want to be my best friend.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A novelist.

Where did you think you'd be at the age you are now?
I guess married with children, but that felt so far off that it was just a probability, not something I could picture. I just remember vague, unbelievable ideas of myself having an apartment and a real job.


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