What I have learned from driving a 23 year old car......

Or my life after changing from a 2000 Ford Taurus to a 1983 Buick Riviera (against my will)......



1. Getting only 10 miles per gallon makes you the gas station attendant's new best friend, but is probably pissing off environmentalists everywhere.

2. Car restoring enthusiasts give you very dirty looks when you drive a car as rusted as this one.

3. Parking becomes a whole new problem when you drive a car who's doors swing out like barn doors.

4. CD players were invented AFTER this car was made. Ugh.

5. UV rays & skin cancer were obviously not a common issue when this car was designed. I've never seen a windshield this large on a vehicle with only four wheels.

6. Some low-riding cars actually do happen without the help of a body shop.

7. Really affluent people cringe when the rusted tailpipe of your low-riding car scrapes the ground in front of their house.

8. Even Lenny Kravitz would have a hard time looking cool while driving this car.

9. No one ever wants to take your car at lunch. Heck, YOU don't even want to take your car at lunch.

10. If the car starts on the third try you know it's going to be a good day.

11. People will avoid parking near your car as if all that rust and age is contagious.

12. Driving this car is great motivation to save money for a new car. Say something actually made in THIS century.


Here are more pics....

Soundtrack Update...

Thanks to Cleggy I have a new addition to the soundtrack of my life. Sun, Sun, Sun by the Elected is one of the best albums I think I've ever heard. No kidding. Topping my favs from this album is "Not Going Home". WoW! Catchy music and very heartfelt words.

When those guys sing:
"no, i'm not going home
sometimes you just wouldn't dare
sometimes you can't go home
sometimes you're already there
when i look at you, i'm there"

I get goosebumps and I just get it. I mean really get it. As cliche as it sounds, their lyrics speak to me.

I like every song on this album (that is not the case very often) and I urge anyone reading this blog to go out and buy it the minute it goes on sale. I know I am. In fact I'm thinking about stopping on the way home from work on payday. That's five days away. Even my neighbors will know all the words by then. Don't you just love the repeat feature on Windows Media Player? :)

Thanks Cleggy!!!

Once is never enough, but how many is too many?

For the fourth or maybe it's the fifth time I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I don't seem to ever get tired of this book and many thanks to the very talented author and to my friend, Margo, for knowing me well enough to recommend the book. Also thanks to Cleggy for helping find a copy at one of our fav places, Half Price Books.

It won't be long before this book has the worn edges and creased spine that to me signifies a very loved book. It won't be long before the outside of the book reflects how I feel about it.

This book has become a sort of security blanket for me. Not unlike Linus, I carry it around to ward off the evils of my life. Boredom, stress, nervousness, and loneliness. All of these can be eliminated, albeit temporarily, with just the turn of a few pages. The feel of the book in my hands is comforting. The characters are familiar friends. The cadence and rhythm of the author's words are both soothing and compelling. Yes, I know what will happen and I know how it will end. But it never fails to knot my stomach, catch my breath, make me cry, make me laugh, and even make me sing. This book makes the hour at the laundromat fly by, makes me late getting back from lunch, and keeps me up far too late at night. All because once I pick it up I don't want to put it down again.

It isn't the only book I'm reading at the moment. While making my fourth (or is it fifth?) journey though this book I've read three e-books by a co-worker and new author, Sally Swanson and Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I'm about to start the second book in Charlaine's Southern Vampire Series, Living Dead in Dallas and I can hardly wait to get into it. But that doesn't mean that The Time Traveler's Wife will be put back on the bookshelf. No, my security blanket will remain my constant companion. For me familiarity doesn't breed contempt. Instead it breeds comfort, peace of mind, and emotional well-being.

In case you're not getting the message here, I encourage you to read it for yourself. It's quite a journey. But all the really good books are, aren't they?

To Meme or Not to Meme...

Recently Cleggy taught me what a "Meme" is. Now I'm seeing them everywhere. Including my own blog. :P


Here is an ABC Meme...

[A is for age:]
37. And feeling every damn day of it lately.

[B is for booze of choice]
About one margarita a year. I'm such a lush.

[C is for career]
There is where I'd like to say writer, but since no one has ever paid me to write then that would be fiction. Hey! I AM a writer. :P

[D is for your dog's name:]
Sasha, but she lives with my brother because my apartment is just too small. :(

[E is for essential items you use everyday:]
Computer/Internet, car, indoor plumbing, cell phone, TV, USB thumb drive, books, and my teddy bear, Puddin'.

[F is for favorite song(s) at the moment:]
"Spente Le Stelle" by Emma Shapplin

[G is for favorite games:]
Sudoku & Kingdom of Loathing

[H is for hometown:]
Humble, TX (the "H" is silent)

[I is for instruments you play:]
Clarinet & a little piano (very little)

[J is for jam or jelly you like:]
Grape. I'm so boring.

[K is for kids?]
None of my own.

[L is for last movie seen?:]
"The Chronicles of Narnia" with my brother & Cleggy.

[M is for most admired trait:]
It seems to be the general consensus that I am a very sweet & loving person.

[N is for name of your crush:]
He knows who he is.

[O is for overnight hospital stays:]
No thank you. Hospitals are depressing.

[P is for phobias:]
Spiders

[Q is for quotes you like:]
"Even the longest night surrenders to the day."

[R is for biggest regret:]
Believing people when they convinced me that I had too many responsibilities to make a career of writing.

[S is for sweets of your choice:]
Chocolate covered almonds

[T is for time you wake up:]
6:30 AM

[U is for underwear:]
Yes I wear it and no you may not see it. :P

[V is for vegetables you love:]
Spinach, broccoli, carrots, green beans, & many others.

[W is for worst habit:]
Self-deprecation

[X is for x-rays you've had:]
Somewhere between one & enough to make me glow in the dark.

[Y is for yummy food you make:]
I dunno. Cleggy is the only person I cook for these days. You'd have to ask him.

[Z is for zodiac sign:]
Cancer

The Movie of My Life...

***The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic***


Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few.
But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.

Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski


If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

What Language Should You Learn?

Due to Cleggy's recent yen for foreign music and our love for foreign movies, Cleggy and I have been talking about learning several foreign languages. When I saw this survey I just knew I had to take it.

Now it's your turn to take it, Cleggy. :)






***You Should Learn French***

C'est super! You appreciate the finer things in life... wine, art, cheese, love affairs. You are definitely a Parisian at heart. You just need your tongue to catch up...


What Language Should You Learn?

The Pattern of My Brain...

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.


What Pattern Is Your Brain?

My Stripper Song Is...

Master and Servant by Depeche Mode

"There's a new game
We like to play you see
A game with added reality
You treat me like a dog
Get me down on my knees"

Yawn, dancing is so boring without a little spice.


What Song Should You Strip To?



BTW, I stole this from The Babbling Brooke. I'm a new fan of her blog and this amused me greatly.

"7 Things" list stolen from Cleggy...

Stole some answers from Cleggy too. :P

7 things I plan to do before I die:

1. Publish a book
2. Go to England
3. Find a job that I'm happy at for longer than 3 years
4. See my brother in a happy, stable, and permanent relationship
5. Take a vacation with Cleggy that lasts more than a week
6. Dance with Cleggy
7. Be the best possible sister, daughter, aunt, friend, and woman I can be


7 things I can do:

1. Write
2. Love with all my heart
3. Listen
4. Laugh with the total abandon of a child
5. Lose myself completely in a good book or good music
6. Hope
7. Dream


7 things I cannot do:

1. Intentionally hurt someone
2. Go through a day without music
3. Take a compliment gracefully
4. Say "goodbye" without feeling a bit sad
5. Make it through a sad book or movie without crying
6. Talk to Cleggy for more than a minute without smiling
7. Talk to Cleggy for more than five minutes without laughing


7 things that attract me to another person:

1. Sense of humor
2. Sense of family & duty
3. High capacity to love
4. Compassion
5. Intelligence
6. Creativity
7. Belief in God


7 things I say most often:

1. "I love you"
2. "w00t"
3. "Coolness"
4. "Dude!"
5. "YaY!"
6. "Oh my."
7. "Ugh."