September 28, 2002
Homecoming 2002
I missed the parade. The football team got walked on. Aunt Marlene lost her purse. It was cold and windy. Tara, my 14-year-old cousin and freshman flyer, got dropped on her head during the very first acrobatic cheer of the game. I was too tired to go mingle with all the other alumni.
Homecoming was still great.
Posted by criminal at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
The Long Road Home
Why is it that things never happen the way you plan them? I meant to leave Worcester sometime before 4am Friday morning. Assumng 10 hours of actual driving and 1 hour of fueling and bladder emptying, I would have arrived in Flint at 3pm, in plenty of time to get a great spot for the Carman-Ainsworth homecoming parade. Well, I didn't roll out of bed until nearly 4, and by the time I was packed, showered, funded, fueled, and on the road, it was after 5am. That didn' worry me - the non-stop rain and fog worried me. The rain didn't stop until I got west of London, Ontario. And even then the sky looked menacing. I made my usual rest and refuel stops, never needing a nap. I waited for more than an hour at each border crossing and drove like Mario Andretti in between them. The whole time I worried that my first homecoming in 5 years would be rained out, but as I crossed the bridge, the sun peaked out from behind all of those rain clouds and brightened up my day. Unfortunately, my 6pm arrival meant that I missed the parade.
Posted by criminal at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)
September 25, 2002
Lyrical Mood
Beck released his new album, Sea Change, yesterday. It feels like an all-night drive: sad, lonely, mildly introspective, and soothing. I've never considered Beck to be that great of a lyricist - he was always too busy making an artistic statement to make an emotional plea - but he's finally done it. Sea Change's lyrics are timeless and effortless. Some critics have called them cliched, but if they are, its in the best way. He has his thumb on my mood:
:: End of the Day ::
I've seen the end of the day come too late
Seen the love you had turning into hate
Had to act like I didn't even care
But I did so I got stranded standing there
Standing there
It's nothing that I haven't seen before
But it still kills me like it did before
:: Guess I'm Doin' Fine ::
Now I bade a friend farewell
I can do whatever pleases me
It's only lies that I'm livin'
It's only tears that I'm cryin'
It's only you that I'm losin'
I guess I'm doing fine
:: Lost Cause ::
No one laughing at your back now
No one's standing at your door
That's what you thought love was for
Baby you're a lost, baby you're a lost
Baby you're a lost cause
I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of fighting
Fighting for a lost cause
:: Side of the Road ::
There's something better than this
There's some place I'd like to go
To let all I have learned
Tell me what I know
About the kind of life
I never thought I'd live
Tell the ugly truth
Show me what it did
Let it pass on the side of the road
What a friend could tell me now
Posted by criminal at 11:32 PM | Comments (1)
September 22, 2002
Big Fat Greek TV
I just read that CBS is bringing My Big Fat Greek Wedding to the small screen. The movie and its leading lady had us rolling in the aisles. It should make for truly entertaining TV.
Posted by criminal at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
Winning Weekend
OK. So the Spartans lost this weekend, but the Woverines, Pats, and Packers all won. Not only did my teams win, but my fantasy team is on its way to winning as I write this. As long as Atlanta's Michael Vick keeps lighting up the field, I'll be able to claim my first virtual victory.
I spoke too soon. The defense did such a good job stopping the Bengals that they didn't need to use Vick much anymore. They outscored them 30 to 3. Vick had a good night, but not good enough. Damn me for keeping my boy Brady on the bench.
Oh pooh. I forgot about Mike Alstott. How on earth could I forget about fine specimen of manhood? He's one of my starting runningbacks and scored 8 points last night - which allowed me to beat the Warriors 78-77. Hooray for Alstott!
Posted by criminal at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
I've Got Flava
 I am Vanilla Flavoured.I am one of the most popular flavours in the world. Subtle and smooth, I go reasonably with anyone, and rarely do anything to offend. I can be expected to be blending in in society. What Flavour Are You? |
Posted by criminal at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2002
Groovy Gen
take the which one of the trading spaces cast are you? quiz!
Posted by criminal at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)
Feeling Blue
Maybe it was actually a craving for blueberries, but I felt inspired. This is the new design. So far, everything except the photo galleries have transitioned well. Because I'm not terribly anal, I haven't checked the colors on other displays or the css on multiple browsers. So, do you like my blueberries?
Posted by criminal at 07:11 PM | Comments (2)
Friday Five for September 20, 2002
1. Would you say that you're good at keeping in touch with people? I'm miserable at keeping in touch with people. Just ask my parents. I have some issues with keeping track of time - in other words, I barely know that it passes. If you write me an email on Monday, I won't realize its time to reply until the following Monday. Not to mention that I've never been a big fan of the phone so I don't try to keep in touch that way.
2. Which communication method do you usually prefer/use: e-mail, telephone, snail mail, blog comments, or meeting in person? Why? I prefer to meet in person, but that's not always feasible. Electronic communications only convey part of the message, and its the missing parts that I like best.
3. Do you have an instant messenger program? How many? Why/why not? How often do you use it? I use AOL Instant Messenger on just about a daily basis. Now that I have DSL, I can leave myself logged in all the time. I have accounts on MSN, Yahoo, and ICQ, but I never use them. At one point, I downloaded Trillian to try to use them all, but I really didn't care for it. There aren't too many people I want to contact on other messenger programs, so I don't worry about it.
4. Do most of your close friends live nearby or far away? My close friends are all pretty nearby. Because I'm not very good at keeping in touch, those close friends that have moved away just aren't as close anymore.
5. Are you an "out of sight, out of mind" person, or do you believe that "distance makes the heart grow fonder"? In many ways, I follow the "out of sight, out of mind" philosophy, however, I tend not to follow it with people. All of those people that I never see or haven't seen or talked to in ages still bounce around my head. The more important they were to me, the more I wonder about what they're doing and how they're feeling. And a little distance either makes or breaks a relationship - take my relationship with my family for instance. Now that I don't even live in the same state as them, I appreciate them more than I ever have.
Posted by criminal at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2002
need a new look
Criminal Grace needs a new look. As much as I love this one, I don't love the way it displays on my laptop. And since this is all about me, I should be happy with it, right? My hot cocoa brown looks lavender and that bothers me. I'm not a lavender girl. Web safe colors, here I come.
Posted by criminal at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
gridiron gals
For the last couple years I've been thinking about joining a women's football team. Today, I did more than just think about it. I did a search in google and came up with a few leagues with teams in the area. The New England Storm are part of the Women's Professional Football League, which seems to be very well planned out. Then there's the National Women's Football League, which has the most teams including 3 locally: The Massachusetts Mutiny, The Maine Freeze, and the Connecticut Crush. Not only does the NWFL have a fair number of teams in New England, but they have two in Michigan. Next, and possibly most promising because they have tryouts in late October and November, is the Independent Women's Football League. Bay State Warriors, the Rhode Island Riptide, and the New Hampshire Freedom are part of the IWFL. There are even more leagues in the south and on the west coast, but only those three have teams in the area. Now I just need to do a little more investigating and decide who I'd most like to play for...
Posted by criminal at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)
new motivation
Not that I've ever needed a lot of motivation to get to the gym - using up energy is usually enough - but I've found that I have two new sources. The first being to slim down before having breast reduction surgery and the second being to get buff enough to make it into one of the women's football leagues. I'd love to go jogging/running to build up endurance, but until I get a couple things off my chest, that's a no go. My plan is to do more cardio to burn fat and get myself in top form and to lift more free weights. Running will be limited to sprints and drills on the field. I can't wait to get to the gym tomorrow. I'm even tempted to go twice...
Posted by criminal at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2002
Big Boobs, Big News
OK. *deep breath* In about two weeks I'll be having my first consultation with a plastic surgeon about the possibility of breast reduction surgery. I've only been talking about this for the last 8 years. This is such big news that I'm tempted to have a shirt made up advertising the impending vacancy on my chest. I want tbhe world to share in my joy. Now that we've actually made a real step towards getting it done (and I say we because my mother has been a big help and a major supporter of my choice) I want to start a journal just for it. I've seen dozens of websites dedicated to breast reduction surgery and the best, by far, were personal accounts of the whole experience. I'm talking more than the nuts and bolts of the surgery - those that were comfortable enough to share their hopes and fears and insecurities were the most instrumental in my final decision to take that first step. Now, I want to be able to help other women make their choice, and I feel a good journal would do the trick. Now if I could just come up with a good title...
Posted by criminal at 01:22 AM | Comments (4)
DSL
Did I mention that I have DSL??? I love it. My cables haven't come in yet, so I don't have the network in my room set up. For now, I'm stuck on my laptop on the sofa in the living room unless I want to dial in. Being able to download music when the mood strikes me makes up for having to sit on this damned futon with a little laptop. Hooray for DSL.
Posted by criminal at 01:15 AM | Comments (0)
coldplay
I'm not entirely sure why, but I've had a hankering for Coldplay recently. With the new DSL I was able to download enough songs to satiate my hunger. Somehow it sounds sad - not quite melancholy or depressive - and feels like its growing and moving through sadness. And I like that right now. No wallowing. Just appreciating the pain for what it is and moving on. If don't know who they are, its probably because you've mistaken them for Dave Matthews Band. Check out their biggest hit, Yellow, or my personal favorites, We Never Change and Shiver. From We Never Change:
We never change do we
We never learn do we
So i want to live in a wooden house
Where making more friends would be easy
I wanna live where the sun comes out
Posted by criminal at 01:11 AM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2002
Are you ready for some football?
Hot damn. Its football season. How happy am I? Words can't express my excitement. Not only do I love the game, but its my version of Baywatch - eye candy everywhere I look. As I write this, I'm watching the Sunday night game on ESPN. Hooray for laptops.
Posted by criminal at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)
new digs
I said before that I was moving. Well, I'm finally moved. Everything but a few boxes of books and Christmas things are stuffed into my apartment. Actually, I've been able to weed out a lot of things that I just don't use or need anymore. It makes me happy to see less stuff. I even let Eric and Nikki adopt a few of my plants. I'm down to Trailer Park, Trailer Park II, Auntie Eminem, Unkle Kracker, and Beer Belly - which is less than half the number of plants I had when I moved out of my place on William street. Sad, but much easier to deal with. I did buy a beautiful Gerbera Daisy when I got my shelving units, but it was blown out of the window a few times and never quite recovered. I'm going to try one again once the weather gets cool enough to warrant closing the window. Otherwise, the apartment is great. There's a clawfoot tub with a showerhead that, for once, is taller than me. The ceilings are incredibly high and I love the breeze that blows across the building when my door's open. It is out on a major street, so there's an awful lot of traffic noise, but I've already gotten used to that. This is the way old three-family homes are supposed to be.
Posted by criminal at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)
once again
You'd think with all of the exciting things happening in my life I'd be blogging more. But once again, I cave under pressure. The first problem was that I went a couple weeks without real internet access, so didn't update much. Then, when we finally got our phoneline and I could hook up my new laptop, I had so much stuff to update that I just didn't bother. So yeah. I'm lazy. So I'll try to bring you up to speed on my life in the next few days.
Posted by criminal at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)