Aunt Samantha

No, my seester isn’t pregnant.

My Pogo mini is currently dressed up as Aunt Samantha:

Get it? Uncle Sam … Aunt Samantha. 

And look at Rerun and Linus! Awwww… 

My friend Sassy wanted me to get this outfit (which cost me 7408 tokens, heh). I figured amusing her was the least I could do as thanks for renewing my subscription and helping me get various badges.

No-Brainer Fuel Saving Tips

I don’t know about you, but I am seriously T.O.’d that it costs me more than $40 to fill up. This is asinine! (thanks, Geno)

Here are my no-brainer fuel saving tips:

• Buy gas at the lowest price possible (duh). Check out GasBuddy.com for consumer-reported prices at gas stations in your area. However, this means not letting your gas tank run down so low that you’re at the mercy of the closest station (unless the closest station is on the Indian reservation!).  
• You can also save a bit if you regularly shop at Tops, but don’t go out of your way to do so. It really doesn’t make much sense to go out of your way to spend $100 just to save 10 cents a gallon.  But if you always shop there, then it makes sense, and you might be able to save 20, 30 or 40 cents a gallon or more by the end of each promotion.
• If you can, get one of the credit cards that gives you a percentage off on gas purchases.
• Walk (or bike, skate, etc.) whenever possible (duh again).  Right now, I feel like I can safely and comfortably walk about 3 miles round-trip (assuming I’m not wearing my useless, blister-causing sneakers).  One of my friends recently said that we all might get in shape due to this crisis (waves to JEG).
• Avoid idling in traffic or drive-thru lines. According to GasBuddy.com, if you are going to be idling for more than a minute, you should turn your car off because you waste more fuel idling than restarting.

Here are some of the other tips at GasBuddy.com:

•  Avoid high speeds (so THAT’S why everyone has been driving like a hat-wearing old man  in a Buick sedan lately!)
• Don’t accelerate or brake hard (oops)
• Keep tires properly inflated
• Use A/C sparingly (wait for the next one…)
• Keep windows closed (ummmmmm, it’s summer - it’s one or the other, guys)
• Service your vehicle regularly
• Use cruise control (I would if I had it)
• Avoid heavy loads (good thing I’m losing weight)
• Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle (I’m not in the market for a new one, but maybe you are)

Protected: Pride … Part Sept

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As Long as VDO is Staying, I Don’t Care…

…that Chris Noth (aka Mr. Big) is leaving Law & Order: CI and that Jeff Goldblum is joining the cast.

Noth, who was one of the original actors on the mothership Law & Order Series, reprised his Det. Mike Logan character and joined the cast of CI 3 years ago (when VDO needed to cut back to half as many episodes).

Ahhhh, VDO.

Anyway, I loved the Mike Logan character on L&O, but I never thought he fit the CI series. I think it had a lot to do with VDO’s performance as Det. Goren being impossible to compete with, as well as Logan just not being as smart as Goren. It just wasn’t believable to me. I know some disagree.

So, yeah … Jeff Goldblum. He was good in The Tall Guy, and I know Christine loved him in Jurassic Park when we saw it at the Galleria a million years ago.

And I’m including this racy photo of Noth and Sarah Jessica Parker just for the hell of it.

Samanthapatra?

In a very rare instance of craziness and getting into the spirit of something, I actually dressed up in a partial costume and went out in public last Friday night!

The occasion was a bachelorette dinner. The invitees were asked to come up with an outfit, costume, etc. that reflects a popular song one might hear in a piano bar. I didn’t even know what one might hear in a piano bar, so I didn’t have a costume idea. However, I did eventually have a costume idea that reflected a popular song one might hear in a … karaoke bar.

I remembered that one day my mom said to me, “You look like Cleopatra.” At the time, I thought, “Ha!” But I went with it.

So, Cleopatra … Egypt … Walk Like an Egyptian (the absolute worst Bangles song ever, but I used it anyway).

Enter Michelle. I told her about my idea. Unfortunately, it came to me THE DAY BEFORE THE DINNER. She offered to cut into our GNO time to go to AC Moore to look for beads. She also said she would do my hair and makeup. She did a trial section of my hair during GNO and then I went to her place after work the next day.

This is what I wanted to look like:

This is what I looked like:

I have to admit, it was a fun look to wear (although I was nervous about taking my sunglasses off in the restaurant). The little braids were a bitch to undo, though!

Sloan Concert

Last week, Michelle and I went to the FREE Sloan concert at one of the weekly outdoor summer music events. Here we are before the show:

Sloan was awesome, as usual, but…

We had to endure THREE opening acts (and four Labatt Blue Lights) … only to have Sloan cut their set short due to the rain! UGH! They probably could have played their full set had there only been two opening acts. I love rain, but not when it cuts a Sloan show short!

However, our suffering wasn’t in vain - we were in the front row! And Chris Murphy, the bespectacled guy with his arms around me in my sidebar photo (sigh) and also the guy pictured in this next crappy camera phone photo, pointed at the “got sloan?” t-shirt I was wearing and made eye contact with me (sigh again).

As for the setlist, here’s what I remember (not in order):

I’M NOT A KID ANYMORE
EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE WRONG
BURN FOR IT
IF I COULD CHANGE YOUR MIND
EMERGENCY 911
SENSORY DEPRIVATION
COAX ME
THE OTHER MAN
BELIEVE IN ME
C’MON C’MON
READY FOR YOU
PEN PALS
THE GOOD IN EVERYONE
MONEY CITY MANIACS
ILL-PLACED TRUST
FLYING HIGH AGAIN
WHO TAUGHT YOU TO LIVE LIKE THAT

It looks like a lot, but compared to a setlist I saw from an earlier show, it was short. They played for just over an hour, I’d say. Good thing it was free! But some Sloan is better than no Sloan, and I’m sure they’ll come back around in the fall or winter. And we’ll be there with bells on, lalalalalala (obscure Sloan reference).

Finally, here’s Michelle and me in the rain:

Blondie Concert

So, I finally got to see Blondie - one of my favorite groups ever - live. It was especially awesome because they played the entire “Parallel Lines” album - one of my favorite albums ever - live in its entirety.

In terms of the performance, they were amazing! Deborah Harry sounded fantastic!!!! And she did her crazy dance moves that only SHE can do.

Poor Debbie did have some wardrobe issues - one of the sparkly things from her bodice came loose … and her tummy showed when her top rode up - she kept tugging at it. But BRAVO to her for wearing fun clothes (in red, black and white - the colors featured on the PL album cover).

Her comments to the crowd were funny and wry, and I loved that she drank from a huge mug of tea in between some of the songs, too.

Of course, I wished they had played longer … they played for less than 90 minutes. After they finished the Parallel Lines album, they did a couple of songs I’m sure only a few people knew. But they also did some that everyone knew - Rapture, Call Me and The Tide is High.

Our free tickets were up front but wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy on the right, so we had to twist and only had a side view. There was a huge screen in front of us, so we could see her expressions and stuff, but it wasn’t optimal. Here’s a pic of the screen:

Security was a major presence at the front of the stage, so no one was going up. It really sucks having to watch a concert like you’re at an opera. However, we were able to go up during the encore, which is when I got this crappy camera phone photo:

Oh, and there were the requisite women who made asses of themselves the whole time - one stood up and thrashed her head to the beat of every song, while another dressed like Debbie and mimicked her movements on stage.

But the show was pretty darned great, all things considered.

Quiet

I know I’ve been pretty quiet here lately. But I have stuff to share and will do so SOON!

Protected: Pride … Part Six

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Protected: Pride … Part Cinq

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