HP is the devil once again...

I was at work by 6:30 yesterday (in the morning!!) so I got off at 2. This gave me plenty of time for an early showing of Harry Potter. Apparently I wasn't the only one that thought this was a good plan. My preferred showing was sold out leaving me an extra hour at the mall.

Not only have I spent $15 on this movie, but that extra hour cost me $300. I am resolved to never go to that movie theater every again. I can't resist any temptation to spend money. At least I now have more sweaters and waterproof ski gloves than I will ever need. Wait a sec, you can never have enough bright green sweaters. Otherwise how would I get comments about my wicked green eyes? :)

Alumni Stickers

I was just thinking today that I don't think I've ever seen an Ivy League alumni bumper sticker or window cling. I wonder if there's some kind of snobby "I'm too good to pull tacky flair on my car" thing for them. I would think that given where I live there would be plenty of those around. Of course there might not be any reason to put these things on the window of a tinted Mercedes since no one can read it anyway.

I want a window cling that says "Valpo Alum: Chock Full of Virture."

Coming soon...

Lisa put out a teaser, so I can too... Look for a joint HP blog one day. I'm not going to say soon because Lisa (Phd) and I need to research and apply an appropriate amount of sarcasm to our deeps thoughts. All I'll say is: dancing around like a circus monkey does not an angry champion make...

Sleep is for the weak

It's 10:30 and I'm about to leave to see Harry Potter at midnight. I went to bed at 3 last night, which was stupid because I feel like I'm going to pass out. (Don't even ask: I couldn't nap because I had to take the roommate to the airport which involved high blood pressure from stupid drivers on a 75 min trip that should have taken 20 mins.) I have to go to work for a meeting at 8 and then I'd better be released. I need to be prepared for happy hour at 5. Isn't it good to see I have my priorities straight?

They keep adding midnight shows at the theater I'm going to so I'm probably going to have to fight some hooker for parking and her little brat for a decent seat. This movie better be worth it. There had better be some moms "verbally bitchslapping" or I will be very upset. I have a feeling this outing will be nothing to CoS, eh comrades? (yes, that phrase was meant to be in code.)

Act your age, Tara

Here is further proof that I shouldn't be trusted with a camera. The following photos were taken of me while visiting my Dad and Lord Thomas while they were in Gettysburg last week for the infamous toy soldier show.

As if that's not going to encourage me to hop up there... Look at those photo skillz!

I braved the park rangers to have some special time with my new boyfriend. I call him Jimmy.

I wouldn't be a good sister if I didn't scale boulders and poke my brother in the ear with a stick to annoy him. Mission accomplished--look at that concentration.A trip to a national battlefield wouldn't be complete without tacky pictures on a cannon. I apologize for the embarrassment this caused to those there with me--Lord Thomas was itching back to the car as he took this pic.

Random observations...

1. Virginia - Living in the South can have some advantages. My brother was telling me that Illinois is 50 degrees, raining, and has the potential for snow. It was 70 degrees when I was outside at 9pm (*cough*to get Harry Potter tickets *cough*). Damn right.

2. ER - I saw a commercial for ER and some kind of plane crash. Here's my question: how many huge catastrophes like this happen in Chicago? If so, would they happen twice every year during November and February? I recall a helicopter crash as well as many other random events and I haven't watched the show in years. Good call, NBC. You should have cancelled 5 years ago when you still had 11 viewers left. Even my mom stopped watching.

3. Interrobang - Is this not the best punctuation mark ever!? Why can't they put this on the keyboard!?!? Please learn about this essential tool.

4. Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor. Another fantastic release by a great artist. Or is it?! XM carried her live event in London to mark the release of this CD. There was plenty of buzz ahead of time from people like Elton John who were bashing her for lip synching. It was VERY obvious that she was not doing that... I don't think she's been doing enough Yoga lately. She sounded out of breath and off-beat. I'd prefer to blame it on the quality of the satellite feed because I can't truly slam on the artist who brought us Vogue and Like A Prayer among other classics. I guess there's one bad thing I'd say: I don't like the Britass kissing. Seriously sweetheart, you're from Michigan. Remember that and keep it real. I may like Brits and their fiction, but I don't pretend I'm one of them (even if I did marry one and live there for a couple years - remind me of this one day if I try to pull "a Madonna").

5. Harry Potter - I would dedicate a separate post to this, but everyone will already call me a nerd for what I say here. Thank you, Lisa. You make me more secure in my nerdiness. I have finally conned someone into going to see it with me at midnight on Thursday!! Best part: I have to be at work at 7:30 the next morning and I can't get out of it because I have a meeting. Maybe I'll sleep through the meeting so I can go home early in the afternoon... then I can go see it again! Just kidding--I would if I didn't have intern happy hour. Ooooohhh, only it's not intern happy hour anymore because I'm an intern graduate as of Sunday! Hell yeah! This means I'm free to apply for jobs in Germany, where good skiing and hotties await me. Wishful thinking. Remind me of this when I'm moving to Alabama in 2008 because I still can't find a new job.

Can dogs smell fear?

I think one of my worst fears is coming true. I think I might be becoming... a Redskins fan. Don't tell my family; I may get disowned.

On space heaters and whore shirts

First of all I'd like to give a nice shoutout to Al, who is now engaged. Let's just say her email with that news was not surprising. :) This news gave Laura and I some great material (not that we needed anything to encourage us...) I always know a good conversation is coming when she calls me after midnight on a weekend. That's when she usually comes up with something good like 'skillerometer'. I now consider Laura the next of my friends who should get married. She won't necessarily be next, but I think she's the most, shall we say, equipped to handle such a thing. Congrats, Laura for reaching the top of that lucrative list. One day soon I can see you curled up to your space heater with that special someone. Then you won't need to wear "moderate whore" apparel to catch some unsuspecting young man in your clutches.

Laura did mention that my idea of being a stay-at-home mother wouldn't be such a bad idea. I feel that I should clarify my previous post about this. The "mother" in this phrase should be replaced to something like wife/personal shopper/party planner/social coordinator. I think we all know that it's not a good idea to have me and mother in the same sentence. I would be better at playing tennis at the club all day than planning a PTA fundraiser. Just a thought--I think I'll leave that fun stuff to people like Al (and one day Lisa), who will be great at it. :)

T-Wirs: Movie Critic

Today was another wonderful Federal holiday. I love the months of October-January because I get an extra day off every couple weeks. :) Today I spent my time off shopping and at the movie Pride and Prejudice. I haven't seen the 13 hour version, so my experience is fairly limited. That doesn't mean I can't talk like I'm knowledgable...

Here are a few of my observations... This movie had the worst hair ever. I know it's based on another time, but I doubt they had the big hair mullet back then. If so, I obviously was born during the wrong era. While it appears the hair people took a day or two off, I'm convinced the producers didn't hire any makeup people at all. If you go to IMDB to see the pics of these actors, they look okay. Maybe I was sitting too close to the screen, but some light makeup would have been a good idea. Keira Knightley got to wear some eyeliner, but that's about it. Since they hooked her up with that, they had to butcher her hair to make up for it. Worst bangs ever... except maybe for some 80s feather action. Since she's come up... I have to say: that girl needs to eat. I think a decent gust of wind would have blown her skinny ass across the Atlantic. Sometimes it was hard to tell that she was a girl. Good thing they gave her a dress and long hair.

I'll reserve my character comments until someone else has seen this movie, which I'm sure will happen. The English majors will be flocking to the theater to see the most recent torching of a beloved classic novel. Let's just say there were characters that were not as I would have picured them... especially Mr. Mullet.

Michigan still hates me: some things never change

First of all, I'd like to give a nice 'kiss my ass' to Metro. Thank you for the accurate information posted on your effin website. Thank you for the 45 minutes wasted waiting for a bus that would never come and thank you for making me have to 1) drive my car to the airport and 2) park in the $15/day parking so I could make my flight on time. Anyway...

Nothing puts things into perspective quite like a good sprint across the airport lugging a laptop and 4 days worth of dirty laundry. I think there's some kind of conspiracy that stipulates that anytime you're running late for a connecting flight, the two gates will be the longest possible distance from each other. Somewhere between the time I lost the feeling in my shins and my arrival at the gate, I realized that I really shouldn't have rushed myself because I could have spent my time in better ways. Anytime I fly through Detroit and can't get a Coney dog, I get slightly moody. Plus I'm pretty sure there was some good football on TV and a few beers at the airport bar with some cool guys would be good for anyone.

The purpose for this weekend's trip was the Michigan State vs. Purdue football game. Originally my cousin was supposed to attend (before getting screwed by the man). Ends up he was playing for State. Not really, but his twin was down there. This guy had the same goatee and anger so frequently exhibited by Bri-Bri. (Any anonymous comments to this post are definitely from him. Don't believe anything he says.)

The best moment of the weekend: being called a horse's ass by my mother when I came out sporting a Michigan State shirt. I have photos, but that's not something I feel comfortable with posting on the internet. This isn't the kind of image I want out there for blackmail purposes. THE ONLY REASON I FELT OKAY WEARING THAT SHIRT WAS BECAUSE MICHIGAN HAD THE WEEK OFF. I only hope my mother doesn't use any pics from the game as the Christmas card picture. That's something she would do.

All Purdue fans should thank me because I'm pretty sure I jinxed State. My bad.

More police drama...

I can't believe I've neglected to put up this post until now... This is your newest installment of the crazy crime saga of Liverpool Court. To bring everyone up to speed... Several months ago someone tried to break into my roommate's bedroom window at 3am leading to many hilarious memories (including a sleepover in my room, my willingness to go kick someone's ass with a tennis racket, and a particularly revealing bit about concealed firearms. Oh, and a relatively not cop--but that may have been because of the situation...)

Before I proceed I must point out that my neighborhood is very safe... at least it normally is. It's filled primarily with rich white people and people like myself who cram 3 people into a 2 person townhouse. Back to the story...

This weekend it was a police shootout about a 15-second walk from my house. The best part? It happened at 1 in the afternoon. I probably would have been able to hear it had I not been rocking out to some BPM 81. :)

Sugar Daddies

I used to say that I would never want to be a stay at home wife. After working this job for almost two years, I realize that I was completely stupid. It's really not such a bad idea afterall...