Flashback…90210

Ahh…the high school days…  The days of matte red lipstick, pale matte skin, (thank God for lip gloss and powdered bronzers with shimmer) ”grunge” attire, plaid flannel shirts with pale washed Levis 501 jeans.  Let us not forget the revival of the “Peace” era.  Peace Sign necklaces, smiley face shirts and jewelery, thick ribbon velvet chokers, suit vests with said Levi jeans.  I could go on and on…

I’ve discovered something interesting.  Something, that takes me back to my high school days, something, that, now, fills up my boring, work-laden afternoons.  I’ve discovered a website where you can watch any episode from the first 3 seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210.  YIPPEE!!!  So, for about 45 minutes a day I have been escaping to 90210-land. 

Life with Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, Steve, Dylan, Donna and Andrea (pronounced Au-nd-ree-a) has never been so familiar.  This show started the first year I was in high school.  I was addicted, as was every other 13-14 year old girl.  (I actually had a dream about Dylan last night, but that’s another blog!!  Those are details for my 32 year old self.)  I will try and update the blog everyday with my learned 90210 lessons. 

Toady’s episode was from season 3 titled “Perfectly Perfect.”  The episode starts with Kelly on a stair-master, workin’ up a sweat.  Her 18th birthday is looming and her perfect life is out of whack.  At this point in the season, she is dating Dylan, and things between her and Brenda are not so perfect.  Not to mention, her mother has their home up for sale, is in the middle of another divorce, has a new little sister and a freaky step-brother aka David Silver (ex-stalker).  So, I imagine that the stresses of changing life, things becoming out of her control have freaked her out.  So, controlling her weight is the only way that she can maintain some control.  Cut to the school yard, Kelly is sitting with Dylan, Kelly nonchalantly takes out a pack of diet pills and pops one.  Ah, ha!!  This is why she’s been acting so crazy, snapping at her family, just being an all around bee-othch!! 

The sub-plot has to do with Brandon and Steve going on a dating show called Love at First Sight.  It’s here that we meet Celeste.  If my memory serves me correctly, she recurrs in several episodes after this.  Of course, both Steve and Brandon have their sights set on the beautiful brunette, however, it’s Steve that Celeste chooses. 

After several more scenes of “Bitchy Pill-Popping Kelly” we fast forward to The Peach Pit, sight of Kelly’s surprise 18th birthday party.  Brenda is there, which was in question, because of the whole Dylan thing.  The whole gang is having a great time.  Kelly, however, is feeling flushed and excuses herself to the restroom.  There we see her freaking out, the screen goes blurry, she is drinking and splashing water on her face.  Next, Brenda goes into the bathroom to find Kelly for birthday cake.  Brenda walks in and finds Kelly passed out on the floor.  Cut to the hospital.  Here we find a doctor explaining to Kelly and her mother that just because you can buy diet pills over the counter, doesn’t mean that they’re safe.  He also instructs Kelly to look into an eating disorder help group.  yada yada…

What have we learned from this episode kiddies?  Over the counter diet pills are bad, illegal pills are good!!  LOL!  No, just kidding.  Over the counter medicines are safe when you take them as directed.  They are not safe when you take them at double or triple the directed amounts.  Just ask Heath Leger, he knows all about it!! 

Till next time… same 90210 channel, same 90210 time!!

Christos Anesti…Adios Anesti

Yesterday, was Greek Easter.  It’s the one time of year where ALL greeks go to church, whether they go to church regularly or not.  The Easter mass is usually a Saturday night midnight mass.  The churches are packed and the donation basket is passed around several times.  I don’t blame the churches for sending around the donation baskets several times.  It’s time for them to make up the difference from lack of attendance the rest of the year.  But I digress, the process goes like this for the “once a yearers”…

11:30-11:45 - Show up to church – the church is dark and the cantor is chanting

Midnight – Time to take in the Light. - A single candle light emerges from the pulpit.  The priest start changting Christos Anesti (Christ has risen).  He walks down the center aisle and starts lighting the parishoners candles and the light spreads throughout the church.  The smell of candlewax, incense and burnt hair and skin start resonating through the church.

12:15 – The “Once a yearers” head out and go home for the big family feast of roasted Lamb and Lamb intestine soup.  MMMMmmm yummy!!  At this point…Adios Anesti…

More Random Sightings…

Here are a few pics that I snapped over the past week on my handy-dandy camera phone.  Hope you enjoy…

 I have to say to the woman with the cat coat…

Seriously?  A cat coat?  Tsk!  Tsk!  Tsk!

I will have more updates this weekend over the what has happened over past week. 

TTFN!

Happy Earth Day…and other such musings

It’s April 22.  Happy Freakin’ Earth Day!! 

Second note of business.  Work.  Not going so great these days.  Plan B plans are going slow!! 

Tomorrow is a dreaded day for yours truly.  I have been summoned to the suburb of Hoffman Estates by my boss for a meeting.  This is NEVER good.  I KNOW it’s not going to be good for me.  I have been told in such terms that I am going to be put on a performance plan.  Not good at all!!  It’s kind of like a probation, for 90 days, I am going to be put under an even heavier microscope.  Within said 90 days, if I mess up in any way, I can be fired!!  No questions asked!!  UGH!!  What makes matters worse is that I think they “the leadership people” are going to move me to Hoffman Estates, which is not good either!!  It is sooo not a commutable distance for me.  It’s like 50 miles one-way in heavy traffic everyday.  Also, with gas prices at almost $4 a gallon, there is no way I could afford to make the drive.  The train is much much cheaper!!! 

So, anyway, here I am, with a huge pit in my stomach, dreading tomorrow.  Oh well, I shall survive!!

Plan B

As I wrote in an earlier blog, my company is laying off thousands of employees.  I believe the final figure will be about 1.5% of the workforce, but when you work at a company with about a total of 306,000 employees, it’s a lot of people.  That’s the back story.  The front story is this…

On Thursday, we had a departmental meeting where my boss’s boss announced that she was leaving the company, she also announced that one of my boss’s peers is also leaving the company.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I am so happy these people are leaving!!!  Waste of space if you ask me!!!  However, I can read the writing on the wall.  When leadership starts vacating it’s time to get your shit together and look for greener pastures.

This is where “Plan B” comes in to play.  It’s been my experience that large corporate environments are NOT for me!!!  But the question is, how do I avoid working in a corporate environment, when I NEED the salary and benefits?  Well, Part 1 of “Plan B” is make my house work for me.  How do you do that, you ask?  Well, my house is configured in such a way that I can rent a portion of it out.  The rental portion would include a private entrance, bedroom, bathroom and large living area.  There is no kitchen, however the rent includes all the utilities, electricity, water, gas, cable and internet.  I think that it’s a pretty good deal!

I put up an add on Craigslist and Myspace.  I’ve gotten a few responses, and today I was supposed to have a showing with Meaghan M at 9 am.  Well, Meaghan never showed.  But we shall press on.

Once, I have Part 1 of “Plan B” in place I can work on Part 2 of “Plan B”, which I believe will be quitting my good for nothing job and doing something like being a barrista at the Starbuck or something.

Holy Earthquake, Batman!!

It’s 4:36am, I’m minding my own business, sleeping, that is, I realize that my effing bed is shaking, shaking hard!!! I live on a busy street and I thought someone crashed into my house, I heard a crash, something hit the floor. Maybe it’s my cat shaking the bed, scratching himself, he must have one hell of an itch. I put my hand on the wall, the wall is shaking!! It’s 4:37am, I get out of bed, the shaking stops! I take a look around, nothing. I was having a dream, a really intense dream!! I go back to bed and sleep for several hours.

I wake up, I don’t turn on the news, because I had a really intense dream and there’s nothing to see. I open my email to read that… It was a fucking earthquake, in the Chicago suburbs, actually, Southern Illinois!!! I think this is odd, the midwest does NOT have earthquakes!! What’s going on, is there a paradigm shift? Will California start having tornadoes? The Wizard of Oz was not set in California. They have earthquake’s, we have tornadoes, that’s the trade-off!! A double-whammy people!

To read more about the midwest quake (that’s what we call ‘em now, because we’re so used to them!) Click here.

Dropping the Axe…

Today, the company I work for, is “dropping the axe” on thousands of employees.  I mean thousands!!  People are receiving 60 day notice of termination letters.  Which means, that they have 60 days to find another job within the company or at the end of 60 days they have to leave.  Of course with severance.  Which, byt the way, ain’t so hot.  A person that has been with the company 7 years, for example, only gets 24% of their base pay as severance.  So, a person who, say, makes $50,000, will only get $12,000.  That $12,000 gets paid monthly for the next year.  I think you can do the match on that. 

As far as I’m concerned, I think I’ll be ok.  Our department is contractor heavy, and contractors would go before an employee.  My boss has asked if anyone has any interest in leaving, if I had money, then I would go in a heartbeat, and lay on the beaches of Europe.  Dare I dream!!  

Weird Sightings…

So, I see the weirdest crap on the train.  I don’t know how to classify this, however, I felt I needed to take a few pics and post.  Aye, yai, yai…  This girl has the most perfect hairline ever!!!  There’s no widow’s peak, no girly sideburns…  I wonder if she had major laser hair removal on her hairline. 

    

 

Congratulations!!

I have some very happy news to report!!!  Unlike my April Fools joke, yesterday.  My oldest friend in the world, Cheryl, we’ve been friends since we were 5.  Cheryl, finally, had her baby!!  Chiara pronounced (kee-AR-ah) was born on 3-30-08, 7lbs-15oz.  Congrats to the new family!!  Love you!!

 

Happy News!!

I haven’t told anyone this, so my friends who read this blog will be totally surprised!!  Last night, I got a surprise visit from my significant other, Paul.  We live over an hour from each other so we rarely ever see each other during the week.  So, last night he popped over with a surprise for me…

He proposed!!!  I said yes!!  I am now engaged!!  YIPPEEE!!!! 

TO FIND OUT THE DETAILS…CLICK HERE!!