First!!!!!

Happy Friday.

Tee hee hee! Meat thong!

funny that a person who has a blog and communicates with gazillions secretly (well, not so secret anymore) wants to be unplugged. but then again, I have a podcast and I loathe talking to people.

go figure!

Meat Thong?? ROFLMAO!!!! Happy Friday!!

Meat thong... HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Meat thong. That just cracks me up! I'm with you - the noise is just deafening sometimes. I much prefer talking to my cat and puppy than most humans. There is a lot to be said about listening to yourself breathe.

I do not have the internet at home. I just use my computer as a big photo warehouse/glorified typewriter/gameboy. I do not even have caller ID and now my cordless has developed an agressive case of senile phone dementia (it's THAT old) so I'm back to using a good old rotary phone that scares the ever-living crap out of my cats every time it JANGLES to let me know someone's a'callin'. I don't even put the TV on unless one of my shows is on. Summertime is good for catching up on all the un-read books. I don't have a "crackberry" or a cell phone. That is right, no cell phone. Apparently there is no plan for one such a me - use only in an emergency and I want to use up minutes before buying more coz I would only talk to someone on a long car trip which would not even use up anywhere close to the required must purchase minute amounts and with Rollover, I'd have minutes out my hoohaa!

I think the never bored thing is beyond commendable and the complete opposite of a mental weakness!

I love a man in tights and LOVE to see men in jock straps. Yup I said that out loud and I have pictures of rugby legs on my page. Welcome to my gutter.

My 19 year old walks around and occasionally says this (for no apparent reason):
"meat, meat, meat, CIGAR!"

Ha. Made you laugh!

Meat Thong!!! LOL

You are too funny Laurie! Enjoy your weekend!

i actually love email, but don't care to use the phone. and i tried writing longhand recently and all of the muscles in my hands are no longer able to write legibly. it's sad really because i had really cool handwriting once. (although if you send me your address i'll mail you a postcard with stuff written on it -- we can be penpals).

and i refuse to use a palm pilot or blackberry, not that i need one. and i wouldn't date someone that wore those ear thingies either. i loathe them.

meat is a funny word by the way. don't you think?

Happy weekend, Auntie!

Love the meat thong! That one will make random appearances in my head for a while.

I also love the silence. The Husband cannot understand this. He'll come home, and I'll be sitting, reading, knitting or online with no tv or music on. It's nice. And relaxing. He, on the other hand, would have a CD on, and turned up loud. Makes it easy to scare the hell out of him when I get home :)

Meat Thong...too funny.

Oh, and those cellular phone cybor earpiece thingies, they are called Douchebag Receivers. Just thought you'd like to know.

I love quiet. After my house guests left, I didn't even talk to the cats much that first night. Five days is such a long time to not be alone!

"5) I won't date guys who wear those little cellular phone cybor earpiece thingies."

Everytime there's a new employee at one of my favorite coffee shops, I always manage to snag the poor thing aside to give a small warning. "Tom, the boss, or otherwise known as the 'Bionic Man', is really a nice person... But occasionally he'll seem to flip out and start swearing."

newbie: "Occasionally? Swearing?"

me: "Yes. It's usually another call coming in on the other line. Don't worry, it's not directed at you, and it becomes amusing after a while."

The poor owner is now known as the bionic man in that coffee shop (and the pub downstairs!). Bionic man has never been seen without the ear-cyber-doohickey. He also has anger-management issues, obviously ;)

(I finally felt the need to delurk after reading your blog for several months. I gave the link to some of my other friends. I'm not stalking you - really!)

I HATE those ear piece thingy on men!!!!!! To me it means they think they have more important people to talk to than the person in front of them. So obnoxious!

Allright Friday WOOOO! Oh wait I have to cook ribs for 50 people...damn. Plus we're getting up at 5am to go to the LA Roadster show! Niiiice reeeeelaxing weekend!

Ha! One of the horrible and southern and conservative "we don't have fun here unless you're a white male Jesus humper" church signs says this week:

Boredom is a sign of low spirituality.

So take heart, Miss Thang, you have never suffered from low spirituality. Good for you.

Oh, Laurie, you're the best.

Btw, I read recently of some guy who declared "email bankruptcy." He sent out a mass email to everyone in his address book saying that if they had emailed him in the last few months they would not be getting a response, as he was deleting everything in his inbox. He told them if it urgently needed a reply, they better resend.

I am so losing the email war - thousands of undeleted, unfiled messages that I can't just make myself delete. I kind of hate it too.

Ha ha! Meat thong! I'm going to be laughing about that one all day :)

And yes -- GO TO IRELAND!!! I just got back from a lovely trip there (and, honestly, can't wait to go again ...). People are friendly, it's easy to get around, cows and sheep are EVERYWHERE, and the men are great flirts. GO, awesome single chick, go!

Suzi, don't you just love those church signs??? I actually MISS them here, there aren't hardly any. The Milt & Edie's dry cleaners has a lot of good pithy sayings on their sign, but we seem woefully behind out here in the church sign pithy saying category.

I always thought it was just odd how I have never been bored. Once I was in college and I walked into the commons and a bunch of my friends were there all splayed out complaining of how bored they were and I tried to pretend I was, too. To better fit in, because I always felt half alien anyway.

But I think that's when I first realized I have never experienced "boredom." Is that goofy or what?

Liz, I am actually thinking that might be my first destination for my FIRST TIME EVER traveling alone. I'm getting really excited at the thought. I could probably save enough money by January, and that's when my vacation time rolls over, too.

I wonder what Ireland in January is like? Cold and rainy with sheep? Sounds like paradise to me, actually.

And earthchick, my inbox is a giant sadness and anxiety in my life. But one day I will get it all together, I will I will. Won't I?

When I am away from home and the computer (e.g. on vacation), I don't miss it really (partly 'cause I know I'll access it again). But if I am home and the interweb decides to have a nap, I get really annoyed that I can't get online and read about a divorced woman with four cats.

Also, I spend at least 75% of my free time at home in silence - just the hum of the fridge or the meow / purr of a cat. I have no TV and I don't miss it.

"Secretary spread"--I know you're not talking about Excel! You crack me up.

I can understand "unplugging", especially with all the chatter and noise in the world. But at the same time I really enjoy being online, reading blogs and what not. Enjoy your garden and the quiet times with your cats. It's your life.

LOL! Meat thong indeed! You crack me up Laurie!

The very best unwind time I ever had was when I went to Hawaii for a job assignment. We stayed at a high rise hotel on the beach and every morning was spent on the balcony overlooking the ocean. I was fortunate to have a room high enough to avoid the noise from the below and I was out there for at least 2 hours everyday just basking in the quiet serenity of it all. Of course, just when I hit my blissed out peak, the phone would ring and I would then be expected to go to work -- sitting in front of a computer for the next 10 hours. It was great while it lasted though.

OH my! Look! LOOK! I get to comment and there aren't actually about 159+comments in front of me!
How did I manage w/ the timezone situation and everything get to post a response that someone might actually read?

Well, I think that it is 2:59am for me might be why! AND, you might think.. 'Girl, who used to live in Oklahoma and is now living in a city of 16 million- doing up at 2:59am?'

WELL.. all I can say is: TODAY was the last day of school for almost 2 months! YES!!! The bulletin boards have been covered, boxes of books put away, and the key has been turned in, I managed to get all the signatures required for on my clearance sheet... and Jeannie has left the building. :D

THAT IS ALL.. I have to say.. it was the excitement and joy that must have awaken me at 2:59am (well, I did read a couple of friend emails first)

Oh, and I don't have a cell phone either. AND, I feel like we (those not talking on cellphones in public) should have little laminated cards on a ring binder and they have little sayings like: "YES, you are talking TOO LOUD!" or "Well, I agree with the person on the cell phone." (they seem to discuss some private things sometimes, don't they?)

AND.. I find it so amusing that the cell phone users get all offended if they THINK others are listening in on their conservations.. uh, YOU ARE the one talking so loud that we can all hear it!

Have a great weekend.. woo hoo..

Oh, and I love to sleep w/ the sounds of a fan making that nice 'white noise' air sound in the summer. So much in fact, that when it's too cool to need a fan anymore- I'll turn it away facing the wall for a few nights so I can still hear that soothing sound. :D

OH my! Look! LOOK! I get to comment and there aren't actually about 159+comments in front of me!
How did I manage w/ the timezone situation and everything get to post a response that someone might actually read?

Well, I think that it is 2:59am for me might be why! AND, you might think.. 'Girl, who used to live in Oklahoma and is now living in a city of 16 million- doing up at 2:59am?'

WELL.. all I can say is: TODAY was the last day of school for almost 2 months! YES!!! The bulletin boards have been covered, boxes of books put away, and the key has been turned in, I managed to get all the signatures required for on my clearance sheet... and Jeannie has left the building. :D

THAT IS ALL.. I have to say.. it was the excitement and joy that must have awaken me at 2:59am (well, I did read a couple of friend emails first)

Oh, and I don't have a cell phone either. AND, I feel like we (those not talking on cellphones in public) should have little laminated cards on a ring binder and they have little sayings like: "YES, you are talking TOO LOUD!" or "Well, I agree with the person on the cell phone." (they seem to discuss some private things sometimes, don't they?)

AND.. I find it so amusing that the cell phone users get all offended if they THINK others are listening in on their conservations.. uh, YOU ARE the one talking so loud that we can all hear it!

Have a great weekend.. woo hoo..

Oh, and I love to sleep w/ the sounds of a fan making that nice 'white noise' air sound in the summer. So much in fact, that when it's too cool to need a fan anymore- I'll turn it away facing the wall for a few nights so I can still hear that soothing sound. :D

Night- cause, I really must try to go back to sleep... even if it is the last day of school for a couple of months.

OMG Shannon --that's it.

If the innernet were gone or denied to me, I would REALLY WANT it. But since I'm online all day at work for hours and hours on end and I have all this stuff I'm behind on and feel stressed about, I'm ready to unplug at a moment's notice.

I think I am kind of permanently five years old -- pitching a hissyfit either way ;)

Happy Friday! It so *does* look like a thong. A Meat Thong. It's not you, it's them.

BTW, I walked around FatCatLawFirm yesterday, saying "Lurker, lurker, lurker..." Say it out loud, it's fun, yet addictive. I got at least 3 other people doing it. They hate me now.

Smootches.

I think those ear thingies are obnoxious too. Guys who wear them (I rarely see a woman with one) walk around , no, strut around acting all importantish. They're so Star Trek the next generation. What I think will be funny, since the technology is changing so quickly, is how extra stupid those things will look in photos in a few years. Sort of like when you see an "old" movie and there is someone talking on a cordless phone the size of a men's shoe with a 5-foot long antenna on it. Megadork.

I will comment on the IRELAND choice too! I'd always wanted to go there and I did a few years ago- it is a wonderful place. I loved it.. THEY SPEAK ENGLISH! *I'm know that might be funny to some- but, when one lives in foreign countries- it was so nice to go somewhere where they spoke ENGLISH!

I was there for about a week.. and I will say that I did start craving fruits and veggies.. (they eat more meat and a lot less fruit and veggie options) and found some oranges in the market the last day I was there-- and tried to buy just a couple of oranges and they wouldn't let me- only sold them by the KILO! TOO many to try to eat in one day. :D

I loved Ireland. AND.. I mostly loved how they could tell that I was a litle bit of Irish. They'd actually 'ask me' if I was Irish!

But, I might get to (keep your fingers crossed) move to Italy next year- you can come and visit there if you'd like. Foreign countries are even better to visit -- if you know someone there (not to mention cheaper too).

Funny blog today.

Re: The digital camera -- I just got one myself last year, and I think that I am in danger of becoming attached to it in the way that most people are attached to their cell phones. I feel your pain of addiction. Or your delight, as the case may be.

Oh, and speaking of vacations, I would like one that doesn't involve moving, jury duty or childbirth. Yup. Living the high life!

Funnier than meat thong is meat PANTS??!!!

My boss has one of those blue tooths. Its very difficult when he is actively on the phone. But he's a pretty nice guy, so we cut him some slack. And it means he's "hands free for driving" while operating an automobile. Not OPTIMAL, but better than nothing.

Meat thong! OMG! That will be stuck in my head all weekend now! LOL!

I read ALL the comments, just so you guys know that SOMEONE is reading what you say, even if you are number eleventy-six or so.

Hi, Laurie! Have a great weekend!

Maybe this is not the place to admit that my new phone came with a bluetooth ear-thingy and I loved it! so much more comfy than my other earpiece. But I only used it when I was driving or shopping.

But i lost it three weeks later and have managed to survive just fine...

So I guess I would date a guy who wears them - BUT NOT when he's out with me. That's just rude.

I also don't date guys who tip badly at restaurants. Puh-leeze! I loves me a man with a generous spirit.

Happy Friday!! Don't get sunburned at the beach in your meat thong! :)

That was 8 random things - you are an overachiever too!

-If you want to come visit the strange and exotic land known as Minnesota I've got an open beach chair on the shore anytime you want to occupy it - and I'll let you use my super duper bug spray -

Hee hee.....Meat Thong! Awesome....for the love of meat thong!

Do the meat thongs come in bar-b-que flavor?

I would die with out my computer and internet access. when my beloved crashed on Christmas Eve last year i spend the following days of December either at the library or at an internet cafe checking e-mail and surfing the web. If ever there was an addictive drug in my life it was internet.

I hate the phone. I don't answer my phone at home. My close circle of friends and family know to call me at home then call me on my cell if it is truely an emergency. Otherwise I check the message once or twice a week.

I have the most basic cell phone available, will never use all the minutes assigned to me, and hate it when people are walking around the office talking to the walls, ear thingy in place. But--I saw an elderly couple at the zoo in San Antonio--elderly as in pushing 80--having a lovely day, and as they passed by me I saw her bright pink ear thingy nestled carefully in her white, carefully groomed, kind big, Texas hair. Made me giggle, and I smiled all day because of it.

Hahahaha! Meat thong!

I actually encourage people making jokes at the expense of my Web site. I didn't pick the name and the first thing I thought was that it half sounded like a vegetarian page and half like a lesbian one. I find it comical, and hey, it brings up the topic of meat ... even if it is just thongs.

You should patent the idea of meat thongs, but please consider vegetarian ones as well :)

(p.s. 8 does not equal 7, but it's okay you can just k2tog)

I was at the drivers license place the other day and the woman in front of me had her photo taken with her phone thingie in her ear. She even turned her head slightly so it would show better. What's up with that! Is that even legal?

And Suzi's "Jesus humping", uh, you know where my mind went, what with today's theme. And, it being free-association day, I began to snicker remembering the old Sunday school teacher who held a thumb in the air and shouted "Rule of thumb: what would Jesus do?". You can imagine what his pre-teen class did. Every time.

Good thing it's Friday. I'm getting too rowdy for the office.

#1,4,and 6.....exactly.
meat thong...fell into a heap of giggles and snorts.

ROFLMAO meat thong! secretary spread! (read: just looked at my behind s-p-r-e-a-d- out all over this rolly chair!)hahahahaha

YOU are way too funny. And I love writing with pen on paper. So much more satisfying than typing. And a personal touch. :)

Meat thong?

And I hate that people wear those ear thingies all over the place. Isn't it irritating to have something over your ear all day, unecessarily? And rude!

I'm one of those people who vibrate with computer anticipation. The Husband and I have five computers at home: his, mine, firewall, Linux box, and laptop. We also run an off-site server, hosting some gaming discussion forums, my blog, and a site for a local business (comic book shop). Each of our main comps has battery backup for 30 minutes in the event of power failure.

Speaking of which, when the power goes out (which it is prone to do in the summer thunderstorms), I can amuse myself with reading or knitting. My poor husband aimlessly wanders from room to room, sighing.

Last year I went for 5 1/2 whole days without Internet or e-mail. My family was astonished ... but then I was an early adopter when it came to email and Internet. Now for the phones and physical devices? Hate them, because no matter when you buy them, next week there's a new model with twice the features and 2/3 the price you just paid for your discontinued model.

Vacation? Go to Rome. Or London.

How exactly did you take that picture of the meat thong from your car? Do you have a camera mounted to your rearview or were you endangering the lives of the motorists around you for our blogging pleasure? :)

I find it very easy to unplug if I have other things to do. But eventually I start worrying that someone might have exploded my blog and I feel the need to make sure everything's still running, sort of like that nagging feeling that I left the oven on.

My sister gave my son that spiderman statue (in your photo) for his birthday and it scared the bejesus out of us more than once, thinking someone was lurking in the toy room in the dark.

heee heee, you're a hunt-n-pecker....

It's the complete female reproductive system! How quaint!

Oh my, I'm laughing and crying all at the same time. Laughing because you're a riot and crying because I just found you and we've lived so so close all this time. (I'm in Hollywood) Can't wait to keep reading about your escapades.

Lo

meat thong.... snort!

Laurie - I am soooooo 100% with you on #1 !!!! What I hate more than anything is inane chatter......I love silence too!!! Have a quiet weekend :-)

You make me chuckle! I'm with you - love silence.

Big marblebag thong...??

I know about silence and unplugged. Once I get to silence and unplugged, then I don't want noise; it takes everything to extend myself OUT again to cover email and call backs. I do have cell phone, blackberry, interweb (work and home) but no TV. However, I LOVE reading the most (funnies every morning) and just quiet. Before I go to bed and about 20 minutes after I wake up - I want reeeal quiet. Time to sort out the voices in my head, give each a little attention, get them focused.
If DH isn't home in the evening, I just walk around in the absolute quiet...quiet sort of hums. I used to love going to Death Valley and to hear the quiet crack and hummm - it seemed my ears couldn't get enough of it.

Yep, I bet you've never been bored - you are AAA type person - a spiritual/emotional catalyst.

Loved this post, Laurie. But re point #6 (I honestly don't think I have ever been bored): obviously, you've never been a dance accompanist.

Unfortunatley, I have to give the credit to urbandictionary.com, but d'ya know what guys who wear those cyborg things on their ears are called? Blue Tools!! Maybe Blue Tools wear the Meat Thong?

HAHAHA....oh, I crack myself up...

I had a teacher who used to say, "Only boring people get bored."
I have made that my mantra, and I'm pleased to say that I've NEVER been bored either.
And I don't watch t.v.!
Way to not be a boring person, there are too many of them in this world as it is.

Meat thong is the funniest thing i have heard all day. Just when I think you can't get any funnier, you do.
Ditto on the silence, and the earpiece thingies. They look so stupid.My silence sometimes includes my iPod...because I love to jam and not have to talk. Or listen.

I am an obsessive comment reader and halfway through I was praying that people would stop saying Meat Thong. I just recently stopped shouting "Snakes on a Plane" at inappropriate times....

And is it wrong of me to wish for singledom when my perfect Cone of Silence is disturbed by the boy? Because I do....

Oh, CAP - ME TOO! I like quiet now and then (although I sleep in earbuds with that UFO-hunting guy on the radio) and I taught calligraphy so pen'n'paper are us (until my "benign tremor" put an end to it and now I am lovingk on keyboards). And bored? NEVER! That's a gift, you know, but I find myself very entertaining. But do without the innernet? No CAP? No Harlots or YoYos or Faith or Panopticon or any of those guys? Ain't happening. At my age, the novelty will NEVER wear off, I mean! Where else can you find out how to make poutine and speak Ojibway and get a fab knitting pattern, all in about three minutes? (Not even in Sci Fi when I was a girl...and Hector was a pup!)

Have you ever driven behind a Culver City Meat Co. truck with the philosophical cow's face staring at you? "You Can't Beat Our Meat!" I nearly drove off the road first time I saw that...

Those cyborg ear-things are just bad news. I've seen "Doctor Who", I know what happens!

Laurie, Ireland is (almost) always rainy. I lucked out last week when I was there and there wasn't a drop of rain. In January, however, you can bet it is cold, wet, rainy, and dark. You'll be lucky to get 6 hours of "sunlight". But if you do make it this way, there's a couple of ex-pats in England who'd totally drink and talk cats (and maybe some knitting?) with you. =)

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=btdownload11&date=20061211&query=blackberry+accident

There was a guy in our state (Washington) that caused an accident by checking his blackberry during rush hour. This is not the most amazing thing though. The most amazing thing is that the guy owned up to what he was doing to cause the accident!

Regarding the email thing, I haven't checked mine in 2 or 3 weeks, and now the email avoidance is sort of taking on a life of its own. I mean, nothing seems to be going wrong due to my lack of reading email, so why should I ever check it again? I don't even check how many unread emails I have.

It's been incredibly liberating.

I do get online every day, though, because I have to read my horoscope and check the weather (both of which are mystical predictions of how my day will go, and neither of which ever mention "better check your email or else").

Oh my, now I'm going to have "meat thong" in my head for days. I'll probably say it in front of someone I shouldn't, too.

We have some of those funny church signs around here. Too bad I can't actually remember any of their stuff now that I want to.

When I am home alone, I usually have it quiet--no TV or music or anything. Once in a while I'll get in the mood for music, but pretty much the only time I'll play loud music is when I'm doing housework and need something to keep me moving!

I really don't get how people can have the TV on all the time. Annoys the crap out of me. Even when I lived alone, I never did that.

Oh, and I don't have cell phone. Nearly made a 20-ish cell phone salesboy faint when he asked me "what plan do you have now?" and I said "I don't". He couldn't even talk.

I reckon if I had as many people wanting to be my friend by email as you do, I'd want to unplug too. But I don't, so every comment on my blog and every email is welcome! (except for the spammy ones and the ones where people spell so badly I can't understand what they are saying and delete it thinking it is spam and then feel guilty cos my brain's translation program finally sorts out what there were saying...)

Man, Spidey is rockin' his leotard! I also love the quiet...too much on-going noise makes me twitchy and headache-y. Also, I have traveled several times overseas all by my lonesome, so I can pass along some single girl travel tips, if you need any.

When my daughters were small and first complained of boredom, I told them as long as there was a book to read, a thought to think, a story to imagine, there was no reason to be bored. I never tried to keep them "entertained" by letting them sit in front of the TV; we would read, go on picnics, do puzzles, crafts, listen to books, play. They grew up realizing that life was too interesting to be bored. I've never really heard them say they were bored, except when they too were trying to be "cool". I'm of the opinion that if a person is bored, they must be a boring person.
Never being bored is a sign of mental strength!

Spiderman looks like a woman from the knees down! Seriously delicate knees there!

No silly. Spiderman doesn't hold a zucchini in his tights. That's where he holds all his extra web.
Duh.
:)

ODE TO MEAT
When god made little girls
He made them out of lace
He didn't have enough
So He left a little space
When God made little boys
He made them out of string
He had a little left
So he made a little thing
Thank you dear God!

I will confess to enjoying my computer and email, but I can go on vacation and leave it behind. I broke down and got a cell phone when my old car started acting wonky. I have found it a very useful thing for trying to get in contact with doctors and have been very happy to have it on occasion when my car died in the middle of nowhere, but other than that I don't use it much. I get very annoyed at people who are permanently attached to theirs. Like the student who was text messaging during my scintillating lecture yesterday. Grrr. I do have a Palm, but that's only because I can't remember where my head is without it. I'd never check it in traffic--that's scary! I guess what I'm trying to say in this long, rambling post is that not all of us gadget types are obnoxious about it. We also like silence (I don't own a TV) sometimes.

*snickers*

I honestly don't think I could live without your blog to cheer up my day! I'm addicted to self-help books as well. I'll have to pick up your book when I *find* a new job.

of all the things that I could say, the only thing that I want to say most is: thank you for inventing the word "crackberry."

Meat Thong *hahahahasnortoops*!

I don't think I've ever been bored either. I have days where there is nothing to do, but I don't think I've been bored. There's always something to read/reread, knit, think about, or people to watch. Girly keeps me pretty entertained when we are standing in line. That is one kids that is probably going to feel like an alien too. Poor kid what with the weird mother and her love of singing random songs and dancing to them in public or in front of a mirror.

Meat thong {{{shaking head violently to get THAT image out of her head}}}}

nope. didn't work.

I ran across your blog a couple nights ago and feel the need to commiserate/agree with/shout Halleluiah about the following:

1. Silence. Love it, too, but mostly in the car. At home, I start feeling too lonely if I hear only ticking clocks throughout the house.

5. Earpiece thingies. I'm not high enough on the social ladder to know folks with these. But a contractor came over to the house to pitch his estimate for some work, and he was sporting one. He took it off after walking through my living room and entering the dining room. He had this apologetic look on his face when he did it, as if this was the mid-20th century and he had forgotten to take off his fedora at the door.

6. Boredom. What's that? The lack of boredom is one good thing about being ADD-ish. Except, flying away to imaginationland has occasionally made me look like a space cadet. (I guess I'm still allowed to use that term in the new millennium)

Meat thong = ewww!

Silence = YAY! I LOVE silence. Sadly my husband is a man who will have the TV on in one room, the radio in another, and he'll be upstairs listening to music. Fortunately, we work different hours ;-)

I would definitely recommend Ireland for the uncommonly welcoming natives, similarly Italy and Australia (although as a blonde in Italy you would end up with a severely bruised backside from all the pinching). My other reason for loving Italy is this: http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b345/cakehole/106-0616_IMG.jpg - none of this "normal" weight starting at 80lb nonsense; in Italy you are expected to be woman-shaped, dammit, even by the official scales.

First of 'Meat Thong' hilarious!
I find I like to write long hand as well. Sometimes its best to put the pen to paper and get the thoughts down that way. I don't have lap top (yet) so to write outside here the sunny Valley I have to have pad of paper.
And I'm like you I'm not bored either when I'm in my head. And People Watching? Funnist thing ever!
Have a great weekend!

Hm. Are you sure we aren't kin? Because our Random Things are identical.

11th grade English teacher: "Boredom is a sign of inferior intelligence." Thank you, Mr. Carter.

As for Crackberries? My last job MADE me use one -- AND an ear thingy, while on the job. This was the idea of the New Boss From Up Nawth. When I was handed my ear thingy, I could not get past this: "But why is it called a blue TOOTH if it goes in your EAR?" We were in the middle of Katrina recovery and running a temporary public animal shelter in a giant, unused coffee warehouse, but I couldn't convince her that a plain, regular, cheapo cell phone didn't cost as much to replace if it fell in a pile of dog crap.

Meat thong. Love it.

I love your blog. You are so damned funny. Just wanted to say that I have no cell phone, no blackberry, no palm pilot, prefer writing longhand also. I miss writing letters and getting them in the mail. Email has its perks, but it is also a junk mail depository. I love my computer for roaming the net to find people that crazy quilt like I do. And I love to shop on the net. I buy everything -- fabric and sewing goodies, shoes, mystery novels, gifts, flowers, clothes, DVD's, CD's -- you name it. Shopping in my jammies! It's a dream come true.

I really chuckled about the meat truck emblem as the GM Daewoo has what I call a "jock strap" emblem! I am always amused that designers don't see these weirdo graphics on thier products. Even some of the Jaquar cars have a toilet seat shaped grill. Really, we wouldn't hade a good laugh if they straightened it all out!
Barb

hee hee. Drew said huntin pecker. tee hee.

Whenever I see someone wearing one of those ear things, all I can think is, "what are you trying to prove?"

I haven't been bored in years. Silence is peaceful to me, but I think to some people it's a vacuum. I need silence once in a while or I get worn out.

I'm not sure I dare to comment. I guess it's better than sending email. I love being online, but I will do my best never to be assimilated* and wear one of those things over my ear.

*Completely different from assockilated. Resistance is futile.

Oh, YOU are FUUUUUNNneeeeee!!

Now pick up that handbasket and run!

There is a meat truck that I sometimes see in my neck of the woods (Echo Park/Silverlake)they have a funny little ditty as their motto,
"You can't beat our meat". Makes me laugh every time I see it. It takes so little...

I checked out the kayak.com site but in their Popular Trip Ideas section it says "Best Holiday Getaways for 2005" Hmmm..... should be REALLY cheap :)

kelly

I hate those earpiece things too. My husband just got one, and I give him a lot of crap about it. I can sort of understand using it in the car as a hands free device, but I do not get why people walk around town with them in their ears. They look like they're talking to themselves.

That's a zucchini thong, Laurie. Really, can't ya tell?

I love silence too--no music, no TV, nothing but birdsong in the background, and even birdsong can get on my last nerve some days (I have doves on my roof that coo incessantly and make me think of Pigeon Pie.)

And the earpiece things? Every time I see a guy wearing one, I wait for him to say, "Welcome to McDonald's, can I take your order?" Not sexy.

A couple of months ago I so WISHED I had my digital camera on me when I was driving for many miles behind a truck for the Culver City Meat Company.

Their slogan, emblazoned in great big letters on all sides of the truck: "You can't beat our meat."

I couldn't agree with you more on the quiet thing, outside and inside. And also on the electronics in the car thing. You cannot deny, however, that you did snap a photo of the meat thong from behind the wheel.

:)

Bossy is obsessed with her (2008) vacation plans too - and here's a little something addictive that dovetails with your cheap crack flights:

http://iambossy.typepad.com/i_am_bossy/2006/11/advice_of_the_d_3.html

That meat logo looks creepily like a diagram of a uterus that they use in high school health class.

I must say, when I saw that logo I thought it looked like a thong too...perhaps that southern sexual repression making itself known? Speaking of...I think Spidey needs a meat thong.

Never being bored is not a mental weakness...I believe it actually takes years of practice to develop :) Most of this practice happens when you're a kid and your parents just let you loose all summer to amuse yourself. Southern summers are great for this! Did your mom ever say, "In or Out! I'm tired of swatting flies!"? Well, mine did and this meant we had to be creative since we had couldn't go back in to get stuff when we got bored with what we already had.

In my case, I also had the advantage of having a mother who would ONLY buy us toys on our birthdays and Christmas (mostly because we were poor but also because her frugalness is legendary and buying junk in the toy department would ruin her reputation). So we made up games with random household stuff.

As for people watching...my mom would actually take us to the airport just like parents would take kids to the zoo, only the airport is essentially free (if you park in the cheap lot). We would watch the planes take off and imagine what the most interesting-looking people were going to do when they got to their destinations. Of course, all of this was before security tightened up. I'm kind of sad that I won't get to take my kids down to the gates to for fun like my mom did.

Thanks for your post about unplugging! I think it's brave for a blogger to admit she hates email, and I totally respect you for it!

PS Opening with a meat thong and closing with Spidey's zucchini made for a perfectly constructed post...I'll be giggling all day :)

I want to invite you to vacation with me in Port Protection Alaska. There is no TV, no internets, a radio that only gets local public broadcasting (where every afternoon they ask the person who owns the yellow dog with the blue collar to pick her up at the grocery store), lots of fishing boats and rugged fishermen (and women), and no cell phone service. My cabin has one old black dial telephone on the wall that sometimes works.

There is a wood-burning hot tub. You are guaranteed to see whales and you'll get sick of the stupid bald eagles. We will go fishing for salmon and halibut, shrimp and crab, and eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

If you can afford to get a flight to Wrangell, AK I'll pick you up on a boat there and take you to the island. We can probably convince Drew to join us. We can knit and drink wine every night on the deck. I'll post photos to my blog to tempt you further.

Laurie -- Los Angeles to Dublin $498 round trip, Aer Lingus. All July. Think of all the sheep. The yarn will be totally fresh.

And you should see the size of the zucchinis in Ireland!

If it's too expensive, I always know a good Irish bar in Bakersfield.

My friend, Linda, in Ajijic, Mexico, directed me to your site. I read it when I can, at work, between writing in my own blog and transcribing the occasional affidavit. Tee hee!

I think men believe that ear thingy is an extensive of their, ahem, "member". Not a very auspicious extension but an extensive nevertheless. Remember, every inch counts. LOL

I LOATHE cell phones and crackberries. At a recent "girls night", I threatened to murder my hostess' crackberry. She almost didn't give me any wine ... LOL

Just a counterpoint on the ear thingie. I'm not a guy, but I was grateful to have mine last week. My mother-in-law was in the hospital, and I would have hated to have my cell phone up against my face for the hours I spent on the phone with doctors and nurses and case managers and family.

The headset meant I could get my phone work done (which I detest, BTW) and be comfortable while I was doing it. And when I used to use a wired headset, the wire always managed to pull the phone out of its secure location and then drop it onto the hardest surface I had been near that day. Wireless means my phones survive longer. I recognize that my lack of coordination causes my phone to hit the floor, but please humor me and let me blame the wire?

I know this is completely off topic, but it is my birthday, therefore I do what I want.

I have to tell you that your new hairdo is AWESOME!

Carry on.

Koffie

OMG! I have been looking for a short notice travel site forever, it will be ages before I get to take another vacation, but with these links, perhaps I can feed my travel "jones" until I can do the real thing.... Thanks,

Ya know, it WILL be Friday (again) by the next time you post.

Cyborg ear-piece?
Hell, I refuse to date a guy who won't turn off his damn cell phone before he meets me at a party!
'Cuz fella, if your cell phone is on at a party, it says:

A- I'm a callow jerk who accepts an invitation but keeps my phone at the ready in case I'm not being sufficiently entertained (as opposed to putting a little effort into being a charming guest who MAKES the party).

B- I'm a poser-idiot who wants everyone to think I'm SO popular that I can't be off the network of my adoring posse or they might go into ME-withdrawal

C-I'm looking so hard to get laid that I've set my phone on alarm "vibrate" to go off every fifteen minutes or so in order to get out of any conversation I might be having with a girl who's not drunk enough to beer-goggle me yet.

This is the kind of idiot who will invite you over to his place and STILL not be able to resist checking his text messages every half-hour.

Boys, us girls are complex work-- you need both hands and ALL your brains if you're going to git somewheres.

Here's a cute site where you can make your own church sign!

http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/

Ireland in January? It'll be cold, wet and more cold. Now in New Zealand, come January, it will be summertime - with snow covered mountains in the south, tropical beaches in the north and millions of sheep in between.

Come and visit! This isn't just the home of insanely dangerous sports, you know. We have fabulous coffee, wonderful food and you won't meet a friendlier bunch of people!

I know you said you're crazy busy at work right now, but I hope everything is OK in CAP-land, Laurie

AJ, maybe Laurie really did unplug?

Meat thong?? It's a uterus and fallopian tubes, duh!

Love your blog.