Archive for July, 2004
Boing Boing!
by Donna on July 31st, 2004
Good news!
I am using my old laptop and it is working beautifully!
Bad news!
The Cold Sweat DVD is taken from a very bad print. The version I saw on TBS last summer was much better. Regardless, I can still make Charles Bronson out from the blur so it is worth every penny of the $1.50 I paid!
I watched the first disk of the first season of La Femme Nikita. I am in desperate need of a dose of Nikita. This recall has really depressed me. Although the latest news is that the recall is due to music licensing. I HOPE it is straightened out quickly and that it is re-released. My fear is that when it does come out the sales will be crappy since everyone bought a recalled or pirated copy and the subsequent seasons won’t be released.
When I got back home, I took a nap and it really knocked me for a loop. My body felt tingly and my mind was clouded. Aren’t naps supposed to be refreshing? I eventually made myself some coffee and the caffeine knocked the wooziness out of me. I remember reading that Salvador Dali would nap during meals and as soon as his fork hit the table he would awaken from the noise feeling much rejuvenated. The truth of the matter is, I bet, Gala would pry the the fork from his fingers and let him sleep a few hours. Once she was ready, she dropped the fork and let him believe he had napped for only a few seconds.
At the office the other day, a colleague from the West Coast office visited. He is an effeminate man except he wears a very manly 1970’s mustache reminiscent of Charles Bronson’s ’stache. He approached and said hello. As soon as the greeting was out of his mouth, his headlights went on. It was really quite disturbing. I tried not to notice. It wasn’t cold in the office so I can’t imagine what made him nerp. He has called me since then and while we talk, I can’t get the vision of the Austin Powers’ Fembots from my mind.
Happy Travelers
by Donna on July 31st, 2004
Donnaville is back up. It’s not unusual for the site to go down. That is what happens when you use an $18.00/year hosting service.
At any rate, Lisa and I walked the Magnificent Mile yesterday and bumped into THE LEAD SINGER OF THE BLUES TRAVELER!!! He has really slimmed down but he is still a big guy. He was with a very petite blond-haired lady. I now regret that Lisa and I didn’t follow them just to see where they were going. Certainly they were headed somewhere exciting and we could have piggy backed off their apparent knowledge of all things cool and had a great adventure. Instead, some tourists distracted us by asking us for bandaids to use on their blistered feet. Lisa and I are both size 11 and intimately familiar with squeezing our feet into shoes that are too small and so we gave them some bandaids that we big-footed gals always keep in our purses. It wasn’t until “THE LEAD SINGER OF THE BLUES TRAVELER” was far past us that we realized we should have trailed him. I wish I knew the guy’s name. Lisa kept calling him Joe Cocker but I assured her that was definitely not his name. Lisa said, “What do you know!” I wish I had someone with me at the time that could have sided with me, but I didn’t and so to keep the peace I said, “Yeah, his name is Joe Cocker, you are right, I was just messing with your head.”
We ate dinner at Wildfire which is a restaurant on Erie that Oprah once owned. I have been there a few times and I was excited to have Lisa taste their fabulous horseradish crusted filet. She liked it. We ate dessert a few hours later at Maggiano’s. The portions were HUGE! On my plate there wasn’t so much a slice but rather a half of a Boston Cream Pie. Too bad there is no such thing as a Chicago Cream Pie.
The night before we went to Sushi Samba! Instead of ordering the paella as I did the last time, we ordered tapas and sushi rolls. This time the portions were tiny and the price outrageous. It’s strange how that works out. After dinner we went to the Signature Lounge and had drinks and dessert.
It was great having Lisa with me for the week. She got to see the life I lead away from home and I got me some company. Too bad her job isn’t more flexible because we could do this type of thing more often. Oh well. If she ever decided to actually teach, she would have the entire summer free. STOP. DON’T GO THERE.
Mountain Time
by Donna on July 28th, 2004
I am so tired. All I want to do is sleep. Tomorrow is Breakfast with Donna. When it was announced, a colleague turned to me and said, “Sounds like the name of a talk show.” My heart jumped. Was this a hint that he reads donnaville? No, no, it can’t be, I assured myself. It was just coincidence.
Lisa and I went out to eat this evening. We kept taking the wrong roads and couldn’t find the right streets. Our nerves were fried once we got downtown that we opted for the first restaurant we passed. It’s a shame. I don’t know why I allow myself to get so angry.
My presentation went well. Quite a few people came over to me afterward and said nice things.
After dinner, Lisa and I went to a Walgreens so I could buy a travel size bottle of saline solution. Somehow I forgot saline and this morning I rinsed my contacts with water. Not smart. At Walgreens, they had cheap DVDs and I found and bought a copy of Cold Sweat starring Charles Bronson!!! I also got another movie, Beyond Justice starring Rutger Hauer. It was a 2 for 2.99 deal.
Yes, I am tired and I have to wake up early since Breakfast with Donna is at 7am, What am I going to talk about? Grrrrrrrrrrr.
Country Roads…
by Donna on July 26th, 2004
Lisa and I arrived safely in Denver. We ate dinner at a restaurant that specialized in Bison. I had a Delmonico Buffalo steak! Lisa has a Buffalo Burger. We both agreed it was too gamy for our tastes. After dinner, we drove around Denver. It was just a city and to be truthful, the mountains were calling us, so we exited and took route 70 west towards the Rockies. We found ourselves at the Coors Brewery and then at the grave of Buffalo Bill. It was great fun. Tomorrow, Lisa is going to continue gallivanting; I on the other hand, will put on my business suit and do my very best business woman impression.
Rocky Mountain High
by Donna on July 26th, 2004
Lisa has the week off from work and so she is accompanying me on my weekly travel. The first half of the week we are going to Denver. The last half of the week we will visit Chicago. I have never been to Denver before but I have almost every John Denver album so I feel as if I have visited at least in song. There won’t be much time spent together since I must work but Lisa will find things to do without me.
The one thing that is bothering me is that just in time for all these meetings and presentations, I am breaking out big time. It’s been so long since I last broke out but sure enough by my nostrils and chin I have some babies brewing. Why me and why now? Thank goodness I am female and can hide them with foundation and consealer. Do men camouflage zits with makeup? I’ve never seen a man wearing foundation– at least not obviously. Who knows.
Hallelujah
by Donna on July 25th, 2004
You’ll never believe it. Back in March, my laptop went belly up. I tried fixing it but had no luck. I figured it was dead and I swapped it for the old computer I keep in my desk drawer for such situations. Months went by and my father asked what was happening to it. “Nothing” I replied. He told me to bring it to him and he would try to get it up and running. “Good Luck!” I sarcastically thought but I brought it to him anyway. He had it for one day and he called me up.
“Donna, remember how I fixed my old hard drive?”
“Yeah, Daddy, you hit it with a hammer”
“Well it worked so I thought I’d do the same with yours”
“When should I come by to pick up the pieces?”
“No, it works, I got it working again… it just needed a little persuasion”
Yesterday, I went by the house and sure enough, my computer is working like new! That’s my father for you– fixing a computer with a hammer and actually making it work. Crazy!!!
LFN
by Donna on July 25th, 2004
I am trying to control myself. Sporadically, throughout the day, I have been checking eBay for La Femme Nikita second season dvds. There are many box sets available however the prices are high and the bidding is crazy. I so want to get my hands on a copy. If I wasn’t away all week, I would get in my car and search out all the Best Buys nearby. The thing is, I have so many other more important things to do than go on a scavenger hunt. Perhaps I will get lucky and eventually find some cheap bootleg copies on eBay. Or maybe Warner’s will just release it agaiin soon.
I went shopping with my mom this evening. I bought a ton of stuff at Strawbridge’s ON SALE! I am going to look so good at the Denver Sales Meeting next week.
TO DO LIST
Complete Sales Op presentation
Complete Training Class presentation
Create an agenda for Breakfast with Donna
EXPENSE REPORTS!!!
Laundry
Pack
Oh No!
by Donna on July 24th, 2004
There was a reason for Amazon cancelling my La Femme Nikita pre-order. The DVD box set has been RECALLED!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo! I have waited all year for this release! After work, Lisa and I went out determined to find a copy somewhere. The reviews on Amazon hinted that many shops weren’t aware of the recall and had the DVDs out on the shelf. We went to Target, Borders, and Barnes & Noble without any luck. “Where to now?” I said defeatedly. Lisa replied, “Let’s go to Best Buy, you have always had luck with Best Buy! Think of all the things you’ve found there: Run Lola Run, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Soundtrack, Coach Opp…” Lisa’s words gave me hope and off to Best Buy we flew. They did not have it although I did buy the first season of Wonder Woman. We watched it later and gosh– it was just as I remembered. At any rate, after Best Buy we drove all the way into Philly to Tower Records. They also did not have it. We came home empty-handed.
So does anyone have any suggestions? Yes, I know I can go to eBay and buy it for $200.00 but I don’t want to spend that much money. I also know that as soon as I shell out that amount, Warner Home Video will release it. Who would have a copy of it and be unaware of the recall?
Ahhhhhhhhhh
by Donna on July 23rd, 2004
The plane was delayed because of weather. I didn’t get in until after midnight. The house was clean this time. Lisa must have realized how stressed out the messy house was to me last week and so she took care of it this week. That is one thing off my plate. Coffee is perking in the kitchen– hopefully it will wake me up some.
Monday I fly to Denver rather than Chicago. It is for a sales meeting I was asked to attend. The presentation I used this last week, I was going to use again and so I felt very calm. Yesterday, someone handed me the agenda and I saw my name in 3 places! For some reason they want me to talk about nationwide training classes. The other instance was simply termed, “Breakfast with Donna.” It sounds like the name of a talkshow. I have visions of myself sitting at a table in Sardi’s with a microphone, talking about CRM applications and BROADWAY!
After all the starving this week, I excitedly got on the scale this morning and I weighed 3 pounds more than I did last week. How can that be!?! I actually feel thinner. OK I refuse to dwell on this.
Lisa bought poncho-making kits at Barnes & Noble. One for both of us. I can’t wait to get started on it. The kit comes with bamboo knitting needles! Isn’t that great? I always used the cheap plastic kind.
Amazon.com cancelled my La Femme Nikita Season 2 pre-order. Ticks me off! Today I will drive to Best Buy or wherever I have to go to buy the second season. I have been waiting for this since September. Maybe I will get in the car and go now? Hmmmmm. Drink coffee first. Prepare presentations. Then buy DVD.