Archive for May, 2006
Motivationally lacking
by Donna on May 31st, 2006
Just got home. Lisa and I met at Barb’s house for dinner. We visited with George for a little while and then took off. Instead of going home we went to Kohl’s because they were having some stupendous sales. Then we went to Linens and Things to see if they had any more plastic patio furniture. They did but not in the color we wanted. We drove around a little more and visited a few other area stores. I don’t really know what we were thinking.
I am so very tired. BUT I REFUSE TO SLEEP JUST YET! I really must hang up my clothes and make this room look acceptable. All it needs is about 1/2 hour. That’s all! And how happy I will be! Yet, knowing this, I still can’t motivate myself. Ugh!
Computer jaded
by Donna on May 31st, 2006
I got home so late last night. The train stopped right before the Trenton train station. Something was wrong with an earlier Amtrak train so we just had to wait. Wait wait wait. When I finally got home, Lisa had made dinner. It was rice and Indian food, very delish. I had plans on doing a load of laundry and doing some cleaning but instead I just putzed on the Internet. What amazes me is I had just come back from staring at a computer screen all day at work and yet I come home and stare at it more. Right now, I am on my way to work to stare at a computer screen and instead of being productive in some way, I am staring at a computer screen right before I leave. Ugh! Must disengage at least a little bit. It can’t be healthy.
Movie Songs
by Donna on May 30th, 2006
I love my mobiBLU! As I ride into Manhattan, I have those plugs in my ears listening to my favorite songs. The one thing I have found is there are certain songs that somehow just make me feel like I’m in a movie. You know the type of scene I mean… the movie has to either kill time or show passage of time or somehow depict a reflective moment and so a song plays while the lead character sits on a train or walks down the street or does some normal everyday task. The thing is, it isn’t just any song. Here are a few songs that do it for me: Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton, 24 Hours a Day by David Cassidy, With A Girl Like You by the Troggs, Indian Giver by 1910 Fruitgum Company, etc… The only problem is instead of like in a movie, I don’t get a brilliant idea or realize I’m too good for him, instead I arrive at my office.
I rarely watch TV so I don’t know if this movie has been advertised but I have seen it listed on some movie signs– it’s called Kinky Boots. Each time I see it, I think of this song: (click on the lyrics for an mp3)
Fashion magazines say wear ‘em,
And you rush to obey like the women in a harem.Full length, half length,
Fully fashion calf length,
Brown boots, black boots,
Patent leather jackboots,
Low boots, high boots,
Lovely lanky thigh boot,
We all dig those boots.Everybody’s crazy for those kinky boots, kinky boots,
(boop, boop)
Kinky boots,
And whether you’re in evening dress or bathing suits,
You wear boots, boots, kinky boots.There are twenty million women wearing kinky boots, kinky boots,
Puss in boots,
Footwear manufacturers are gathering the fruits,
Gathering the fruits,
(boop, boop)
Kinky boots.Advertising men say try ‘em,
And you all run amok like a flock of sheep to buy ‘em.Sweet girls, street girls,
Grumpy little beat girls,
Square girls, cool girls,
Sexy little schoolgirls,
Maiden aunties,
Mayfair debutantes,
They all dig those boots.Everybody’s rushin’ for those Russian boots,
Prussian boots,
(boop, boop)
Kinky boots,
Both: Cover up those slender little tender foots with kinky slinky,
Leather is so kinky,
Come and get those kinky boots, boots, kinky boots.
Yes, that is Patrick Macnee you hear but it is not Mrs Emma Peel singing the girl part— it’s Honor Blackman a.k.a. Cathy Gale or Pussy Galore!
night mares
by Donna on May 30th, 2006
I had such a restless sleep last night. I must have awaken 10 different times certain I had overslept. There was a period of time I did sleep since I distinctly remember dreaming. I lived at a Wawa. There was a cot near the newspaper section which is where I slept. Mrs Emma Peel walked in and I took her down the basement. She was wearing one of her cool, striped, 2-toned pantsuits. I asked if I could take pictures of us using my digital camera’s self timer feature. She was completely cool with it. I set up the camera and placed it on a table and as soon as the red light on the camera started to flash that the picture would soon be taken, Mrs Emma Peel started dancing the robot. I thought that was pretty crazy but I joined in anyway. I must have taken about 100 pictures of us doing the robot. When I reviewed them not a single one came out! I was terribly disappointed.
I just realized that next Friday and Saturday is my 10-year college reunion! I can hardly believe it’s been 10 years since Rosemont. The thing is, as it rapidly approaches, I am finding myself less and less interested in attending. How lovely is that? I feel this way only AFTER I spend the 100.00 for tickets and donations. Ugh!
Feeling desperate
by Donna on May 29th, 2006
Tomorrow I commute to Manhattan. It’s a good thing. At least that is what I keep telling myself. I am going to have to wake up super early so I have no idea why I am staring at this computer screen. I keep thinking about getting hypnotherapy to somehow stop this need of mine to always be online. I also think about getting botox in my forehead to stop me from furrowing my brow like Zelda Gilroy in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
It was a nice Memorial Day but I am really not sure where the day went. Lisa and I went to Rice’s Market and I bought a straw hat and 2 necklaces. We came back home and I stared at the computer for hours. Then we had dinner with mom and dad. Back at home I stared at the computer again. Ugh! Why didn’t I do something productive?
I still haven’t watched the Netflix movies that came 2 weeks ago. I have to send them back yet I can’t seem to make myself watch them. What is wrong with me?!?
Memorial Day:
by Donna on May 29th, 2006
U.S., last Monday in May; commemorates the members of the United States armed forces who were killed in war
The rules my way
by Donna on May 29th, 2006
Last night, as I laid in bed waiting for sleep to take me, I thought of my expectations for a successful date. There are very few things a man has to do to make a date tolerable.
1. A nice man takes charge of the date or at least offers input as to what we can do together. If the man is truly incredible, he would figure out something I would like to do. Example: He knows I like anything from the 50’s and 60’s so maybe he would take me to a retro dance party or to a 50’s diner. This has yet to ever happen. I am always the person stuck making the plans.
2. A nice man arrives early at the designated meeting area. An incredible man will call, find out where I am parked and find me. You have no idea how many times I have been stuck waiting for men to arrive. Let me tell you, as a woman, waiting for your date on the corner while getting catcalled or stared at is just not a nice way to start a date.
3. A nice man will be dressed in clean, attractive, dressy clothes and he may even wear cologne. I am sorry but jeans and a polo shirt do not cut it. I do love it when a man wears some cologne. It makes me feel good that he cared enough about our date to make himself smell nice. Maybe that’s weird, I don’t know.
4. A nice man treats. An incredible man treats and doesn’t make me feel like I am indebted to him for doing so. I ALWAYS offer to pay. I have no problem paying. But if I have to pay, I know that this is not the man for me. The first three dates shouldn’t be dutch. After the first 3 dates, I think dutch is perfectly fine. When a man pays he is telling me he is financially secure and not cheap, he has a sense of traditional values, he is generous, he is already imagining us as a couple and not as two separate (checks) beings, he is interested in me and likes me and wants to impress me, etc… Alternately, a lady never suggests a very expensive restaurant, never orders the most expensive item on the menu, offers to pay her portion and after being treated she will thank the man for dinner and then suggest they go to a coffee house for coffee or dessert where she will treat.
5. This should be obvious but for some reason it isn’t. A nice man doesn’t talk about his ex-wife or ex-girlfriend. He doesn’t complain about his married friends. He doesn’t talk ad nauseum about sports. He doesn’t curse. He doesn’t make sexual jokes. This goes for the girl too, of course.
6. A nice man walks me back to my car at the end of the night. And once at the car, he doesn’t attempt to kiss me or ask me back to his place. That should never occur on a first date. NEVER. Although I once had a man do a European kiss on the cheek that I actually found endearing. That was sweet and completely ok.
THAT IS IT! How simple is that? Too simple.
OH! And if the date went well, the man should call the girl and tell her he had a great time. He shouldn’t let 3 days go by without a call. If the guy is absolutely incredible, he will call on the car ride home and quickly say, “I had a great time and I hope you did too! Drive safely! I will call you tomorrow/the next day. Have a good night!” AND HE WILL CALL AS HE SAID. If the date did not go well, all that needs to be said by one of the parties is, “It was very nice meeting you.” That right there is the piss off. Actually the piss off is that the words, “I hope I can see you again” are never uttered.
Make of it what you will
by Donna on May 28th, 2006
We had planned to meet on Sunday. I called him yesterday evening to get the details. He was out with his friends and he sounded distracted. I told him to call me back in the morning, “I’m awake by 7 so you can call pretty much anytime.”
“7am? Heh! I won’t get back to my house until 4am!”
“Well, call me when you wake up and we can make plans.”
The morning came and went. Erin invited me to her house for a barbecue and since I hadn’t heard from him, I figured I might as well accept. At 3:00 as I was heading out the door to Erin’s the phone rang. He wanted to meet me.
“How about 8:00 in Doylestown?”
“I was hoping to be home by 8:00, I have so much work to do.”
“I can’t go any earlier, I am on my way to a barbecue with friends”
“I thought we had plans.”
“I did too but you never called until just now.”
“I thought it was clear we had plans and I didn’t want to be out late.”
“That is a shame, I was looking forward to meeting you, maybe we can meet another time.”
“Next week is bad for me.”
“We could meet next Monday.”
“I can’t do it Monday.”
“How about Sunday.”
“I save Sunday for my family.”
“Well, call me when your schedule clears.”
“Maybe I can do tonight, I’ll just have to do my work earlier but it’s gonna be hard with the sun out…”
“Look, do your work, if you get it done call me and we’ll go out– Good bye.”
I went to Erin’s BBQ and had a great time. It was so nice seeing everyone. We ate and drank and laughed and then he called.
“I finished my work, I will leave now and I’ll meet you in Doylestown in 45 minutes.”
“OK”
Why did I say OK? Why? I left the party and took off directly to Doylestown. I spent most of the trip wondering if I could use the bathroom at Starbucks to wash up. I found a parking space immediately. As I applied lipstick using the rear view mirror he called.
“I can’t find parking and I don’t know where I am.”
“There’s tons of parking just off Main Street”
“This is just so confusing.”
“Look, just park and I will find you.”
“I am at Main and Ashland.”
I took off walking. At Main and Ashland I saw a red jeep with a guy sitting in it. I waved my hand and the guy waved back but he didn’t get out of the car. I walked up to the passenger side window which was closest to the sidewalk. He rolled down the window.
“Is that you?”
“Yeah”
“I’m Donna.”
“Oh”
“Are you going to get out of the car?”
“Well, I thought maybe you wanted me to follow you somewhere.”
“No, I thought we would find a restaurant or bar here in town.”
“Oh, okay.”
He got out of the car and he was actually a very nice looking guy. He wasn’t dressed up or anything but he had a very nice looking face. I tried very hard to smile and seem happy. We went to a restaurant and had dinner. We talked. The bill came. It sat on the table. I got out my wallet and said, “I will have to pay my half with my credit card because I don’t have any cash on me.”
“That’s fine,” he said.
We left the restaurant and I led him back to his car.
“It was nice meeting you.” I stuck out my hand. Instead of shaking it, he hugged me.
“Well, call me if you want to hang out again” he said as he got into his car.
“OK” I said as I walked away. I made my way back to my car in the darkness.
Measurement Conversion
by Donna on May 28th, 2006
Tablespoon/Teaspoon Conversion
3 teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon
1/2 Tablespoon = 1 and 1/2 teaspoons
1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1.2 teaspoon (US) = 1 teaspoon (UK)
1.2 Tablespoon (US) = 1 Tablespoon (UK)
Tablespoon/Cup Conversion
4 Tablespoons = 1/4 cup
5 and 1/3 Tablespoons = 1/3 cup
8 Tablespoons = 1/2 cup
10 and 2/3 Tablespoons = 2/3 cup
12 Tablespoons = 3/4 cup
16 Tablespoons = 1 cup
1/8 cup = 2 Tablespoons
1/4 cup = 4 Tablespoons
1/3 cup = 5 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup = 8 Tablespoons
1 cup = 16 Tablespoons
Ounce Conversion
1 teaspoon = 1/6 ounce
1 Tablespoon = 0.5 ounce
2 Tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce
8 Tablespoons = 4 fluid ounces
16 Tablespoons = 8 fluid ounces
1/4 cup = 2 fluid ounces
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces
Pint/Quart Conversion
1 cup = 1/2 pint
2 cups = 1 pint
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts (liquid) = 1 gallon
Bushel/Peck Conversion
8 quarts (dry) = 1 peck
4 pecks (dry) = 1 bushel
Metric Conversion - Volume
1/4 cup = 60 milliliters
1/2 cup = 120 milliliters
1 cup = 230 milliliters
1 and 1/4 cups = 300 milliliters
1 and 1/2 cups = 360 milliliters
2 cups = 460 milliliters
2 and 1/2 cups = 600 milliliters
3 cups = 700 milliliters
4 cups = (1 quart) .95 liter
1.06 quarts = 1 liter
4 quarts (1 gallon) = 3.8 liters
50 milliliters = .21 cup
100 milliliters = .42 cup
150 milliliters = .63 cup
200 milliliters = .84 cup
250 milliliters = 1.06 cups
1 liter = approximately 4 cups or 1 quart
Metric Conversion - Weight
1/4 ounce = 7 grams
1/2 ounce = 14 grams
1 ounce = 28 grams
1 and 1/4 ounces = 35 grams
1 and 1/2 ounces = 40 grams
2 and 1/2 ounces = 70 grams
4 ounces = 112 grams
5 ounces = 140 grams
8 ounces = 228 grams
10 ounces = 280 grams
15 ounces = 425 grams
16 ounces (1 pound) = 454 grams
1 gram = .035 ounce
50 grams = 1.75 ounces
100 grams = 3.5 ounces
250 grams = 8.75 ounces
500 grams = approximately 1 pound
1 kilogram = approximately 2 pounds
Lestat didn’t SUCK!
by Donna on May 28th, 2006
I had such a freaking awesome time in NYC yesterday! My head is still spinning after the magical meeting with Sam Raimi! Here is a transcript of our meeting:
“Can I get a picture taken with you?”
“Sure, what’s your name?”
“I’m Donna!”
“My name is Sam Raimi”
“I know who you are!” (I ALMOST said, “You’re Ted Raimi’s brother!,” but I bit my tongue)
“Do you?”
“Yeah, and I was just walking by and saw you!”
“Did you just come from Lestat?” (I was carrying the poster with me)
“Yeah, it was great but it closes tomorrow”
“That’s a shame I didn’t get to see it”
“Don’t worry, you didn’t miss too much. Thanks for taking the picture with me!”
“No problem!”
“Later!”
Before the play, Lisa and I went to Chinatown. We shopped around and you won’t believe what I bought! A PAIR OF SUNGLASSES! I know what you are thinking, “Big Whoop!” Well, no! These sunglasses look like the sunglasses Susann Korda (a.k.a Soledad Miranda) wore in the fantabulous film, Vampyros Lesbos: Die Erbin des Dracula. Check them out:
And here’s a link to a pic Lisa snapped of me in my new sunglasses!
A funny thing happened after I got the autographs from the Lestat cast. Lisa and I were walking away when I passed a little old man. As I passed, the old man jutted out his hand and said to me, “I’m Jimmy’s uncle!”
“Wow!” I said shaking his hand, “Jimmy’s uncle! How are ya?”
“Doin’ fine!”
“So, who’s Jimmy?”
There was a man in a suit standing with the old guy. I think he was a producer or stage manager. He said,”Jimmy plays Louis in Lestat…you were here to see the show, right?”
“Oh yeah, and he was great! Fabulous job!”
“Actually, he was understudied today.”
“What a shame, the understudy did a great job though.”
“Jimmy wasn’t here ’cause his wife is having a baby!” said Jimmy’s uncle.
“A baby! That’s wonderful news, do you know if it’s a boy or girl.”
“A girl”
“Congratulations, you have two things to be proud of!” I then took off. I got a kick out of how proud Jimmy’s uncle was of him and I wondered if he had seen the show. Would this uncle be just as proud of Jimmy if he had seen the homosexual vampire musical extravaganza? I hope so. The show needed work but I really think it had promise.
Here’s a pic of Louis (Jim Stanek) getting his neck bitten by Lestat
The reviews for Lestat were scathing. I spoke to the girl who sold programs and she told me that her experience was you either LOVED IT or HATED IT! She said that over this month of performances a ton of people walked out of the show. She said they threw the programs on the floor and yelled at the people in the box office. She also said a lot of people came out raving too. The show kind of reminded me of The Scarlet Pimpernel. My cousin David and I went to that show about 7 years ago and as much as I loved it, leaving the theater, I couldn’t remember a single song. I think it is important that the songs are memorable. The only memorable songs in Lestat were Embrace It and I Want More. Another issue is that I think it is impossible to shove 2 books into a libretto. The story arc was far too wide. I think they would have been more successful if they had just focused on Lestat’s early years. Both Lisa and I agreed that the ending was almost shocking in it suddenness. Lestat is murdered by Claudia and Louis but somehow ends up on the hull of a boat singing a song. He then goes back to Paris where he runs into Louis and Claudia. Little Claudia is murdered. Lestat taunts Armand. Marius and Gabrielle show up and they sing a song. The stage clears and Lestat runs out in a sexy red shirt and jeans and says, “I AM THE VAMPIRE LESTAT AND I’M GONNA LIVE FOREVUH!” FIN! Weird, just weird. Oh, and Lestat was too nice! I can’t believe I am going to say this since I was very unhappy with the casting but Tom Cruise’s Lestat seemed closer to the book’s Lestat. This Lestat was just so nice and lovely. His joviality made it difficult to understand why Louis and Claudia were so unhappy with him. Why the heck did they kill him? He seemed like such a nice guy! Okay, I realize I am running at the keyboard and I bet no one has stuck with me this far so I am just going to end it. I am the Vampire Lestat and I am going to live FOREVUH!