What a sick and twisted world we live in...

Need proof?

Here you go:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/brandsonsale-store/51104-costumes.html

and if that's not enough, how about this:

http://www.sundayherald.com/43796

On Hold....

Grrrrrr... I have been on hold with Charter One Bank for over 10 minutes. My debit card expires at the end of the month and they haven't sent me new one yet. I called about this earlier in the month, and they told me not to worry, that I'd get my card before the end of the month. Well, it's the end of the month, and I still don't have my new card! So, I'm on hold, waiting to talk to a "customer representative" and find out where my card is.... low and behold, I'm on the line with a real, live, person right now! Wow, that was only 23 minutes o of my life spent listening to Charter One ads and elevator muzac. Ugh. And to top it off, I can't even check my balance online because the website is down! Grrrrrrrr!!!! I hate banks!.... Ok, new card being sent. Should receive within 7-10 days. :-P Pfffffffft!

Back to "Normal"

Well, life is back to normal, or as normal as it gets around here. I survived the suits (District and Regional managers) coming in yesterday. I'm not as openly pissed off about inventory getting fucked up -- though we still have to re-do it on Sept. 12. Wednesday Rob and I had the day off. We spent it doing laundry, cleaning the apartment, and then we met Rob's mom and grandma for dinner at Macaroni Grill. The apartment is so clean now! Wow! Well, ok, it being a few days later, there's bird seeds all over, but that can just be vacuumed up. Today Rob and I also have the day off. We were planning to go to the renaissance Faire with Tammy and Tom today, but we're foregoing that because of the rain. Looks like a movie is on the table now. Tom wants to see Alien vs. Predator and Tammy, Rob, and I want to see Hero. Right now Rob is watching a cartoon called Kenny the Shark. All I'm going to say is: a little a girl with a talking pet shark.... Ummmmm, yeah, ok, uh-huh, whatever. Rob wants you all to know that it was either Kenny or Pokemon. Admittedly, not much of a choice, but Oy vey. It's like a train wreck... it's horrendous, but you can't stop watching. Oh god, help me! I'm going to sign off now and go read for a bit. It's still too early to think clearly.

Fuck This Shit!

Iventory sucked. Flat out, fucking sucked. We were OVER 3/4 of the way through when the Telxon (scanner) that Mel and I were using screamed at us and gave us an error. We called, I talked to the Inventory Help Line, got it fixed, was left under the impression that this is something that sometimes happens, no big deal, information was recovered, yada, yada, yada. So, went back to scanning. Was under the impression that I could continue scanning and it wasn't necessary to upload data into the computer NOW! Um, big fucking mistake. Telxon screamed at us again. I went through the same process to recover the data, only this time, oops! All gone. That's right. All fucking gone! No way to fucking recover the fucking data! I feel like a fucking idiot for not following my first impression and downloading the date into the computer. Have to re-do all of the fucking inventory another fucking day! FUCK! I think I'm going to cry. I don't want to have to do inventory all over again in a month! My staff doesn't want to do inventory all over again! Fuck! This really fucking sucks.

I'm going to bed now.

Seriously, NO MORE caffine before bedtime!

Ok, when I said no more caffine before bed, I meant it! The dreams I had last night! Whooooooa, mama! Crazy, let me tell you! In fact, I think I will:

It starts out with me at a strip mall that's under construction. I go into a high-end card and gift store (think Papryus) looking for toy for my ferret. (Why I think I'd find a toy for my ferret here, I don't know, but...) I find what I'm looking for, after help from the clerk: a catepillar/dragonfly-esque baby toy. I look the toy over and decide to go next door and get a cup of coffee. (Now, in my mind, I'm thinking, haven't I had enough caffine? Naaaah. I can always have more caffine. An icy frappachino-esque drink would be nice...) So, I go next door, and the coffee place looks pretty much like a coffee bar. Open, warm, earthy tones, jazz music playing, and tall, black chairs at the coffee bar. But a very limited menu. (You know how when you walk into a Starbucks you're bombarded by a list of the plethora of ways that you can have your coffee? Well, not here). Basically, I had a choice of..... coffee. Yup. Just plain, old coffee. Not even decaf. As I'm about to leave, the young man working behind the coffee bar (he even looks like a typical Starbucks employee: green apron, blonde-tipped hair, and horn-rimmed glasses) asks me put my buttons in their button jar. He points to a jar with buttons in it. Not like buttons on a shirt, but those buttons you buy with sayings on them. I look down at my sweater, and I tell him I can't give him my buttons. I'm wearing two: one is a Gryffindor button, which I clearly can't give up, and the other is an anti-Bush button, which, also, I clearly can't give up. He seems perplexed at the idea that I won't give up my buttons. I high-tail it out of there and go back into the high-end card shop to purchases the "ferret" toy. As I go to grab the toy, I remember that I have to buy a birthday card. However, I can't find any birthday cards (this is a card store!), so I grab the toy and head to the line. The toy is about a foot long with a bright orange body and purple wings that are folded behind it. It's made out of a squishy foam-like material, that I'm sure a ferret would just rip apart in minutes and probably end up clogging its intestines. Even as I'm standing in line, holding this, I can't help but wonder why I'm buying this for my ferret. The tag says for 5 months and up, so I figure it's ok. I ask the lady at the counter (a tall, slender, young woman with long, straight hair, wearing all white) about how good a toy this is for babies and what if, say, the family dog got ahold of the toy and chewed it to bits? (I, for some reason, did not want her to know that I was buying this for my pet). She said the toy was ok for children and not to worry if the family dog got ahold of it. She then took a jar of clear, blue goop and opened up the orange body of the toy, and slopped the goop inside the toy. She said that this would prevent my baby from teething on it and that I should really invest in a jar for all the baby's toys (all I could think was, whooooa! Stop there! I don't have a baby lady! This is for my pet!). I paid for the now gooped-up toy and headed to my car. I sat in the backseat with my mother. The car was a dark burgendy sedan. Very boxy, like a Lincoln from the '80's. The car took off and started driving itself. I was shocked, but my mother assured me that she had the car in self-pilot mode. I, never having been in a self-driving car before, became most skeptical. I climbed to the front seat (which was not easy, because like most big cars of the 80's, it had bench seats) and climbed into the drivers seat all-the-while the car was racing down an old tree-lined highway (remniscent of Telegraph). I reached the driver's seat just in time! The sky had started to darken, and we were driving into the sunset. Apparently, cars cannot drive themselves when it gets dark, because I had to slam on the brakes to stop the car from hitting the car in front of us. We swerved into oncoming traffic, made a sharp turn around the car stopped at the top of a hill on the highway, and continued on our way. Shortly, we passed McDonalds with a giant play area out front, and pulled in. Don't ask me why, I hate McDonalds (and being a vegetarian, this made no sense at all. But hey, since when do dreams make sense?) I went inside and it was like the place was possessed. The McDonald's characters (Ronald McDonald, the bird, the theif, the big purple thing) were at tables with customers, and the customers all had glazed-over looks in their eyes. All the customers were singing McDonald's jingles in slow, monotone voices, while the characters were smiling and waving their hands in the air like conductors. There was no staff to be seen behind the counter to take orders, or anywhere for that matter. I walked to the children's play area, and it was deserted. All the children were still at the tables with their parents and the characters, "singing" jingles. As I left the play area, one of the theif characters motioned me to sit down with him at his table. Reluctantly, I did. Then I started singing a McDonald's jingle, and I felt all warm and fuzzy and happy and the theif character just smiled and waved his hands about...

And then Rob's alarm went off, waking me and interrupting this horrible, insane dream. Lord only knows how it would have ended.

I've got to sign off now and head out the door to work. I had to write this dream down, though, before I forgot it! Crazy, huh? Seriously, what was in that slurpee?!? Oy Vey!

I'm off to do inventory! TTFN!

No More Caffine Before Bedtime

It's after 11:00! I'm still awake! Know why? I had a coca-cola slurpee after work! Dumb, Naarah, Dumb! If you want to sleep at all, don't have caffine after, like, 4:00! But noooooo! Did I do the sensible thing? Nope, I got a nice frozen drink full of caffinated goodness and now I'm bouncing like a ferret! Argh! Ohhhhhh, I am going to be sooooo miserable tomorrow. :-P

Inventory, Schminventory...

Well folks, tomorrow is inventory at work. Blargh. That's right, I said Blargh. It's not quite as bad as the noise I make when I hear or see the monkey-boy who is currently occupying the white house. But its close. I really hate doing inventory. Truthfully, though, who actually likes doing inventory? (If someone out there actually does enjoy this tiresome task, please let me know before 4:00 tomorrow!) Ugh. I should probably go to bed soon so I can get enough sleep so that I can actually be awake tomorrow. No, Zombie Naarah's at work are just not any fun.

Yesterday Rob and I accomplished most of what we set out to do. Yay! We never made it to AAA, though. On our way there we got stuck in traffic and figured we wouldn't make it there before they closed. We went over to Pet Supplies Plus instead and picked up much-needed litter for the ferrets' cages. We'll end up trying to get to AAA on our next day off, Tuesday, which is looking like another non-day off. Rob's family is coming by and we're going to dinner. This means that we should clean up the apartment. It's not in terrible shape, but it could certainly use some straightening. sigh. Princesses are just not cut ought for this whole "domestic" lifestyle. I wish I could train the birds to clean up after themselves! (I'd train the ferrets, but I'd be afraid that they'd figure out how to use the broom and vacuum to escape out of their and into the duct work of the apartment, or something! Seriously, these guys are smart! I'm waiting to wake up in the middle of the night some night with a ferret nipping my toes because they figured out how to unhinge the door to their room!)

Well, Rob and I are going to play the "round up the lovebirds for bed" game so that we can go sleep. G'Night all.

Another Day, Another Shitload of Stuff to Do...

Well, today is my "day off." That's in quotes because I have enough to do today that it doesn't even feel like a day off. Seriously, I don't even remember the last time I had a day off when I had nothing to do. I want a real day off. A day when I can just sit on my ass and do nothing. But that's not in the immediate forecast. So, today, after sleeping in (because I have to enjoy some part of my "day off"), and eating toast as I write this, Rob and I will be off to laundry. I would happily skip this, except that clean socks and underwear are really essential in life, so we'll be off to do laundry. Rob just suggested we could just buy more socks and underwear, but really, I'm broke, so laundry seems the more economical option. That and the only underwear I could afford right now would be the "granny panties" from Target, and, well, they're "granny panties." Enough said. After laundry, we'll have Chinese food for lunch -- there's this really good, inexpensive Chinese restaurant down the street from the Laundromat. Yum! (Rob is now poking me in the side for no apparent reason....) Then we drop laundry off at home, then head off into Ann Arbor to stop at AAA and pick up travel information for our wedding and honeymoon. Then I have returns to make at the mall. Finally, after all that, I think I'll be able to park my butt on the couch and watch something on TV. Probably the Olympics, since they seem to be the only thing on. (And Rob is reading this over my shoulder and thinking out loud that I don't sound that much fun to spend the day with today.) :-P So, that's it folks, a day in the life of Naarah. Not very exciting, is it? Rob is now mumbling incoherently... Something about monkeys. I think the lovebirds are affecting him (anybody want a lovebird??? Anybody? You know you do!!).... Ouch!!! Tiny cockatiel talons landing on my bare flesh! Ow! Ow! Ow! Sunny Boy is apparently offended that I mentioned the crazy lovebirds in this blog and not him. Alright, before I start to sound too crazy (I know, too late), I'll sign off, so I can go and get dressed and start my day.

PS I just spellchecked this blog, and apparently the word "blog" is flagged as an incorrectly spelled word! Ah, the irony!

The Rings Are Here!

Ok, it's been a few days since I've posted, and a few things have gone on.

Of course, what highlights the past few week's events, is that Rob's and mine wedding rings arrived! I've attached pictures below for you to see. We're so excited! May seems so far away, yet not enough time to plan it all. My head is spinning! (It's a good spin, though!)

In other news:

Ella and I had a good lunch on Thursday. We walked around downtown Ann Arbor and then ate lunch at Grizzley Peak. I found a really cool fossil at a store downtown, and now I have this jewelry design floating around in my head for it! I'm so tempted to go back and buy it! Ella and I made plans to go dress shopping when she gets back from out of town. I promised her I'll even try on a white dress (I'm sure she'll bring her camera to get a picture! Don't worry!)

Rob and I took my father out for his birthday on Sunday (his birthday is actually today). We all saw Collateral. We really liked it. Who'dve thought that Jamie Foxx could act! Even more surprising is that Tom Cruise can act! After the movie we went to dinner at Buddy's Pizza in Livonia. Overall, it was a pretty good day.

Well, I'm going to head to bed soon. It's getting late, and I'm working tomorrow. Talk to you all soon!

Our wedding bands have arrived! They are white gold bands with a rose gold overlay, and scrollwork in the rose gold.
(c)NKSF

My ring on my hand.
(c)NKSF

Both Rings, side by side. You can see the scroll work nicely!
(c)NKSF

Ahhhhh, a day off!

Not that I didn't have a whole week off last week, but that doesn't really count, because I was sick and spent most of it sleeping or in the bathroom. But really, it is nice to have a day off with relatively little to do. My friend Ella is coming over for lunch (should be here any minute now...) After that, I'll probably buzz over to Briarwood in hopes to find something for my dad for his birthday. And then to get an oil change and a tune-up on my car. It will end at home, on the couch with Rob, watching the final episode of Last Comic Standing. Sounds like a full day to me! Maybe something exciting will happen during the course of my day and I'll have something more to write about. Other than that, you all can gasp in amazement that I'm awake before noon on my day off! TTFN!

What a Dumbass...

I really, really, hate George W. That's why I take joy in his stupidity!

Here's the latest, greatest bushism for you all to enjoy, ponder, and, I'm sure come to the same conclusion that I have: The man is a colossal dumbass!

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

Doesn't he know any better? Yes, it's his and his Republican cronie army's sworn duty to screw over the American people! He's not supposed to say it! But hey, must be all the cocaine-deteriorated "brain" cells.

F*%#ING SPAM!

Ok, really people, I don't check my e-mail for a few days and know how many damn messages I have in my bulk mail folder. No, really, go on guess...

1,013!!! Over a thousand!! That's INSANE!

And you know what else? In my mailbox was an e-mail from the Disney Store. That, in and of itself is ok. I am admittedly a Disney fan. However, they were advertising stuff for Halloween! Halloween people! Last I checked it was August! Not October! I'm having a hard enough time acknowledging that summer is almost over... let alone time for Halloween!

ARGH!!

Back to the Grind....

Well, I'm finally back to work after being home sick for a week. Other than really not wanting to get out of bed this morning, work went well. Slow, but well. On Mondays we're usually slammed with lots of finishing orders. Pffft. Hardly any. Half the orders were my film from the Toledo Zoo last week! Maybe the rest of the week will make up for it....

Rob had the day off today. He made me dinner for when I came home! Yay! He made sweet potato fries, rice pudding, and falafel. I haven't tried the rice pudding yet, but the sweet potato fries rocked! Unfortunately, we both agree that the falafel pretty much sucked. So, Boca burgers for dinner it is.

In Other News...

While sick, I've been catching up with friends. I talked to my friend Heather yesterday. Heather is my friend from college and lives in West Virginia. I went to visit her a couple years ago; it is soooo beautiful there!

I've also re-newed contact with an old high school friend of mine, Liv. Liv has her own web log, http://www.livejournal.com/users/skeletoncrew/. Liv and I were partners in crime back in day. If our art teacher wasn't already grey, we probably would have been the cause!

Also, my friend Tammy has her own blog: http://tammyandtom.blogspot.com. It's because of Tammy that I met Rob. I met Tammy when I started working for Ritz. She thought she'd try to be a yenta, and set us up. Lucky for us, it's worked out spectacularly!

Back to Home:

Rob is now playing Joust on his computer! Do you guys remember that old arcade game?!? I had it on my Atari! Oh god, I've just dated myself! :-P This is just too funny watching him play this...

I want to pose a question to you out there in blogland: any suggestions on what I should do for my father for his birthday? My day has become a curmudgeon, and tells me that he wants to ignore his birthday. (Picture my father scowling all the while saying this.) I suggested taking him to the Renaissance Festival, or to a Tiger's game, or to dinner... all received the same scowl. So, any ideas out there?

I have to go now and chase lovebirds off the entertainment center. As cute and entertaining as the little feathered monkeys are, they don't belong on the entertainment center.

Hasta Luego.

Yes, I'm Alive

Well, I've been out of existence for the past few days, and I thought I'd let everyone know why: I've been spending the last few days in the bathroom. No exaggeration here. I have a real nasty stomach virus. I'll spare you all the grusome details.

Today I've been able to hold down Gatorade and Saltines fairly well, a vast and marked improvement. So, while I'm awake, I thought I'd let you all know, that yes, I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm working on getting healthy.

In other news: Penelope is back from her surgery. She's not too happy about it. She can't do her ferrety back flips currently, and looks at us all miffed whenever she tries. I'm surprised she's as active as she is. She came home Wednesday, and last night she was all over the room, running, climbing, chasing the boys. Needless to say, Ryker and Chief are very happy that she is home and staying with us.

Until Later...

Penelope in her carry cage on her way to the vet's. Poor girl has no idea what's in store for her. She is going to be soooo mad at us!
(c)NKSF

Rob holding Penny after bringing her home from her operation. The vet thought she was a pretty little girl.
(c)NKSF

Here's a close-up of Penelope post-operation. She's very miffed about her shaved belly! For a little ferret just out of surgery, she is still sooo energetic! She's back to bouncing and running all over the room with the boys.
(c)NKSF

This is Penelope. Isn't she cute? She won't look this sweet tomorrow!
(c)NKSF

The party gang (you don't see Rob here b/c he took the picture). From L to R: Barry, Joel, Mel, Me, Nancy, Ken, and AJ.
(c)NKSF

The guts of a bear!
(c)NKSF

Joel is holding the about-to-be-destroyed Ritz bear. Yes, those are firecrackers stuffed in its belly. 2,000 rounds of them!
(c)NKSF

A wallaby resting in the shade (and again, showing everyone it's "better" side)
(c)NKSF

A male orang.
(c)NKSF

A female gorilla trying to nap and ignore all the people taking pictures of her.
(c)NKSF

This is the other, less often seen at the zoo, side of a polar bear.
(c)NKSF

Yes, it's a polar bear's butt. Because when you're at the zoo, this is the angle that the animals most often show.
(c)NKSF

The Second Day....

Ok, I'm up (hey, it's before noon, this is an accomplishment!) Rob and I are home sick today. I will spare you the miserable details.

So, what better thing to do while home sick, than to try and post pictures on your brand-new blog. Then sleep. Get up and feed baby lovebirds. Sleep some more. Then take a ferret to the vet to get fixed. Then come home and feed baby lovebirds agin. And, of course, sleep some more. Maybe get up and watch TV before going off to bed. Exciting, huh?

"Ferret to the vet to get fixed?" you're asking yourself (or, you may not be, but you'll get an answer anyway). Well, as many of you know, I have two ferrets, Ryker and Chief. Well, I wanted to breed Chief (he still has all his bits), so I made a deal with a breeder in Ohio, borrowed a female, and then we'd split the kits. Well Chief and Penelope tried twice, both unsuccessful. Rob and I have grown quite attached to Penelope (or maybe she has become attached to us... she is a bitey little thing, after all), so we decided to buy her. And now she has to get fixed. The surgery is tomorrow, but we'll be dropping her off at the vet's tonight. I'm sure she'll have plenty to say about this!

So, the much-anticipated photographs:

The Infamous First Post

Ok, so everyone is doing this blog thing, right, so I figure "why not?" Knowing how well I actually follow through with things, this may, in fact, be my only post. Or, it may not. We have only to find out, right?

Ok, for you goyum (non-jews) out there reading this, K'Vetch is to complain. I figure, "hey, what better use for a blog." I can complain. About everything. About the idiot who currently occupies the White House. About my job. About the fact that it's my day off and Rob and I have spent it in the bathroom, sick to our stomachs. About the the fact the morons running our country make me sick to my stomach...

And, hey, I may actually post non-complaining stuff too! For instance, Rob and I went to the Toledo Zoo yesterday, courtesy of the U of M (very cool of them). We had a really good time. The new Arctic and Africa exhibits are nice. At the end of the day the wolves were even out! We saw the baby elephant and a REALLY loud bird in the Rainforest display (makes my apartment seem quiet!)

I currently can't figure out how to upload pictures, but I'll get it. :-) So, be prepared to see pictures from the zoo (because everyone needs to see a picture of a Polar Bear's ass) and from the going away party my staff had for AJ a couple weeks ago (we blew up one of the stupid Ritz bears! 2,000 rounds of firecrackers! Woohoo!)

I'm signing out for now. Until later!