tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38735902012-01-16T21:50:41.727-05:00More Than The Sum"Sell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here."Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.comBlogger1771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-66968648422691948022012-01-16T20:23:00.000-05:002012-01-16T20:23:26.516-05:00"Because you're having a Renaissance? No one cares."
As I have pointed out, upon occasion, winter in New England is not a riveting time to be alive. Mostly it's just staying indoors, trying to avoid hypothermia, eating inappropriate snacks, drinking inappropriate drinks, and occasionally emerging to go to work and/or shovel snow. Except we haven't had much snow in these parts this year. I can't Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-84034738540316188472011-12-31T20:00:00.000-05:002011-12-31T20:00:29.827-05:00Heh... Ball Drop
Yesterday, before commencing the 15-hour (if I'm lucky) drive back from North Carolina, I had lunch with My Mandy and her two boys. This was a pleasant experience and my last chance to get a decent taco before returning to New England, where the opportunities for a good taco are surprisingly thin on the ground.
We ordered flan at the end of the meal, because opportunities for Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-30083129767695081322011-12-12T22:19:00.001-05:002011-12-12T22:20:25.788-05:00Crazy Bat Lady
I still don't especially want bats in my home, but would you get a load of this little guy?
I think bats have gotten a bad rap in our culture. We have this idea that they're scary and they bite people and drink blood and spread disease.
Generally speaking, they don't. What they DO do is eat things that are scary and bite people and drink blood and spread disease, as I Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-85885548362621745432011-12-04T18:39:00.002-05:002011-12-04T18:46:03.420-05:00Bork! Bork! Bork!
I think I've established that I am a simple creature. And with the release of The Muppets, we've firmly established that the things that brought me joy when I was five years old still make me happy.
And that's pretty much the basis of the new film. It appeals to the inner five-year-olds in the audience who remember watching The Muppet Show every Saturday night without fail. Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-33851613354331614572011-11-28T22:07:00.001-05:002011-11-28T22:08:29.682-05:00Like Mini Golf, But Aggressive
Last week I took part in the school's Faculty/ Student Field Hockey Game, which is an annual event that doesn't benefit anything of which I am aware. It's just an excuse to try to see if any of the male teachers can be convinced to wear the traditional field hockey kilt.
Nobody wore a kilt this year, because the afternoon turned cold and dark. And then it started Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-36866201045055201972011-11-08T21:48:00.000-05:002011-11-08T21:48:58.937-05:00"Candlesticks Always Make A Nice Gift..."
My Mandy is coming to visit tomorrow. My Mandy and I became friends on a seventh grade field trip to Discovery Place, when we discovered that the mutual dislike we had been harboring for the previous year was the product of a rumor fabricated by some Mean Girl whose motives have been lost to the history of middle school.
And that was it. She's my PersonAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-79366370373798133652011-11-03T21:22:00.001-04:002011-11-03T21:23:43.818-04:00Crazy Cat Lady= Lady With Crazy Cats
I know I'm not supposed to, but I always liked Ernest Hemingway. Sure, on the one hand, there's a lot of evidence to support that he was a raving misogynist, but I figure if he was able to get a woman like Martha Gellhorn to buy into his nonsense and marry him, there's nothing wrong with me enjoying his clean, sparse prose and structurally sound short fictionAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-60958673847639824962011-10-31T17:56:00.001-04:002011-10-31T17:59:12.024-04:00The Crazy Cat Lady Gives Away Free Candy
I don't especially like Halloween. It lost most of the appeal when I stopped being a trick-or-treater and became a trick-or-treatee. I haven't been home for the festivities or the last few years, but since it's a Monday this year, there's no escaping it. I got a big bag of candy and put a few decorations on my lawn, because I also don't want to find Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-10601880004738647422011-10-25T21:49:00.000-04:002011-10-25T21:49:42.703-04:00Don't Mess With a Woman Who Has A Wayback Machine
Today is The Suz's birthday. I'm not supposed to say how old she is. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Saturday night she, K-Rock, and I stepped into the wayback machine and journeyed to 1994.
Actually, we just went to see the Indigo Girls play in Nashua. It amounts to the same thing, except now we have smartphones. And everyone in the Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-62933949017374536532011-10-08T23:47:00.000-04:002011-10-08T23:47:07.609-04:00The Manda Reconsiders Tube Dresses
On CNN this evening I saw a piece about Slut Walk in New York City. And I knew this was a phenomenon taking place in other cities around the U.S. and Canada, but it got me thinking about a post I wrote from Las Vegas this summer in which I was harshly critical of the fashion choices of female patrons of casinos on The Strip on a given Saturday night.
How do Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-20844150712464881702011-09-19T20:14:00.001-04:002011-09-19T20:17:52.632-04:00In Which the Manda Speculates if Boiling Water and Leaves Can Cure the Common Cold
After many, many months of existential meltdown, it feels pretty good for me to be able to say that, in general, I like my job. I get paid to be funny and talk about books and movies and good writing, and when the students are into it, that doesn't suck. Doesn't mean this is where I want to be forever, but with Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-40175137754533197202011-09-11T10:23:00.001-04:002011-09-11T10:24:27.252-04:00This is Where We Used to Live
The morning is glorious. A blue New England morning when summer is just giving way to fall. Bright sharp sunshine, just warm enough but with the hint of the crispness to come. Clouds floating fluffy above.
The Saturday that came Before, and I wake up on the floor by the door of a room in a Motel 6 in New Haven. The Suz is dozing in the bed. E-Money is stirring on Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-35166054021928530722011-09-08T21:30:00.001-04:002011-09-08T21:40:13.258-04:00There Is Nothing New Under The Nevada Sun
When we were in Vegas, The Suz and I participated in a test audience for the new fall CBS lineup. The Suz and I, respectively, log a lot of hours in front of the television, and we thought it was time for us to Give Something Back to the networks.
Also, it was free, and we were dangerously close to losing the kids' college funds at that point in the Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-64697819664828192622011-09-06T22:07:00.001-04:002011-09-06T22:08:24.765-04:00Get Your Geek On
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm a fan of the series True Blood. It's a show that revels in its own cheesiness, and I dig that. The plotting-- whatever The A.V. Club reviewers might say-- tends to be more complex than that in the books that are the source material, and you've got a whole cast of ridiculously good-looking dudes who might take their shirts off at any moment. (Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-78862607926168285582011-09-05T20:46:00.000-04:002011-09-05T20:46:01.825-04:00The Suz's Summer Reading Challenge Wrap Up: Don't Judge Me
For those of you just tuning in, just before Memorial Day, the Suz issued a challenge to her friends: read 50 pages a day (any book) every day between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Now that it's Labor Day, I feel compelled to provide a page count and some kind of rationalization.
I know I didn't read 50 pages every day, but I read a totalAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-56969942648745180782011-08-30T21:26:00.002-04:002011-09-05T22:42:57.203-04:00Remember That Time When Manda Lost Her Damn Mind?
We aren't apex predators roaming the Serengeti searching for springbok and wildebeest to kill and eat. These days, we just go to Target.
Today, The Suz and I were able to isolate and bring home the elusive cherry Pop-Tart and the even rarer Parmesan Goldfish cracker.
It was good hunt.
Our checkout operator kept a running narrative on the Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-90318315453241500902011-08-29T01:11:00.000-04:002011-08-29T01:11:09.806-04:00The Great Purge of 2011
I moved to Little Blue three years ago and joined the ranks of the American Homeowner. The Suz and I lived in the same apartment in Brighton for eight years, and during that time we accumulated a lot of stuff.
The Suz moved in with The G-Man by varying stages, so she was able to sort through her stuff and discard as she went through the process over a number of weeks. I Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-17695197964644330352011-08-17T21:35:00.001-04:002011-08-17T21:35:41.613-04:00I Don't Read It For The Articles
I might just be the least fashionable person ever.
Really.
I used to be more experimental in my sartorial choices. But then there was an unfortunate incident in which some mean kids hounded me into an untenable position under some monkey bars in the playground, at church, because I'd had the audacity to wear Bermuda shorts printed with frogs to a youth group Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-78431136043553704432011-08-03T23:33:00.000-04:002011-08-03T23:33:39.275-04:00The Enemy of My Enemy Eats Bugs
I know down South the mosquitoes are legendary. The mosquito is the state bird of both South Carolina and Georgia. True story.
But much like everything else in Massachusetts, our mosquitoes are meaner and more aggressive.
They do no fear the citronella candle. They scoff at your Off lanterns. They see most sprays as a marinade, not a repellent.
Short of Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-11853442759944272352011-08-02T00:53:00.002-04:002011-08-02T00:54:25.671-04:00The 30-Day Hangover
I just finished watching The Hangover, which is something I had promised myself I would never do. But I was feeling a little nostalgic for Vegas, if one can feel nostalgia for a month ago.
I have determined two things.
1) Bradley Cooper is, in fact, ridiculously good looking.
2) The Suz and I did not take maximum advantage of Las Vegas. Nobody stole a police car. Nobody Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-42283870463013745932011-07-28T09:33:00.001-04:002011-07-28T09:39:48.641-04:00Your Rock n' Roll Lifestyle
Naming my rock band is a central preoccupation of my life. It doesn't matter that my musical talents were pretty much limited to playing the bassoon in high school and college band.
I tried to do more. I took guitar for about three months when I was thirteen, but then my teacher stopped teaching for personal reasons, and I never really came back to it. I can strumAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-2479152759269663192011-07-12T23:33:00.000-04:002011-07-12T23:33:36.378-04:00Waxy Residue
In 1997 I took a job as a guide at Madame Tussaud's, because I was living in London, and I was broke. I figured working there would be the best way for me to see what all the fuss was about without actually having to scratch together the admission price, which was 18 pounds (roughly 36 dollars) at the time.
I actually find wax figures beyond creepy; I was literally terrified of Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-27472575528276714302011-07-09T12:13:00.004-04:002011-07-10T23:39:19.492-04:00The Weird Turn Pro
It looks like I missed my chance at winning a big big jackpot last night. It was supposed to happen between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m., at Paris. I was supposed to pick a machine facing east, and the payout would have been $2000.
But that's okay, because within the next six months I'm going to meet and marry a man who is loaded. He's older than me and has salt and pepper hair and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-75200288065064815052011-07-08T15:11:00.002-04:002011-07-10T23:39:02.060-04:00Another Conversation About Why Pop Music Sucks
The Suz doesn't usually drink beer, but when she does, she drinks a Dos Equis the size of your face.
This is lunchtime in the strip version of a redneck bar. They've got a lot of neon, loud pop-country music, and a mechanical bull. I want to ride the mechanical bull because I think it would be funny, but that would be against medical advice. The Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-89893324026555770872011-07-08T14:55:00.002-04:002011-07-10T23:38:46.163-04:00In the Casino, the Mighty Casino
"I'm a freaking lion, okay? I'm supposed to be stalking the Serengeti, taking down wildebeests and springboks in a fearsome fashion. Instead I'm living in a glass enclosure in a casino in the middle of the fucking desert. Not a springbok to be seen for thousands of miles.
"I can't even take a nap. We've got these two jerks out here in our enclosure lying down Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-80738551276000838422011-07-06T13:38:00.000-04:002011-07-06T13:38:20.396-04:00Grievous Skankage
"Matt Damon should have never married that waitress. It just gave people hope," says The Suz.
This is Saturday night in the heart of The Strip in Las Vegas, wandering between Planet Hollywood and The Cosmopolitan. A lot of the casinos here have themes, e.g. New York, New York, The Venetian, Treasure Island. The best The Suz can come up with for The Cosmopolitan tonight is, "I Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-53462342170753116792011-07-04T13:10:00.001-04:002011-07-04T13:20:01.569-04:00The Pursuit of Happiness, Not the Sit-Around-and-Wait of Happiness
Massachusetts license plates are decorated with the tagline "The Spirit of America." It's the colonial tradition that makes some cities think of themselves as quintessentially American. Philly is kind of that way. New York probably would be if it didn't have so many other things going on. I suppose Washington has a pretty good Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-56401730169110326162011-07-03T15:30:00.000-04:002011-07-03T15:30:35.706-04:00Poker Face
Not a lot of women play poker.
The Suz and I are just good enough at video poker to be able to stretch $20 in the machine to about $40 in free drinks. We're not good at table games at all without guidance, so mostly we sit in the bar and people watch.
Upon arrival and check in last night, we went out to walk around and cruise for action. Vegas might think it's cleaned up its image, Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-68984676313563530412011-07-03T15:00:00.000-04:002011-07-03T15:00:05.708-04:00Vegas, Baby!
I could tell you about how Suz almost had a meltdown before we even left my house when she discovered she had left her bank card at home in New Hampshire. Which she did.
I could tell you that G-Man is a rock star for bringing her said card at the departure terminal at Logan. And he is.
I could tell you that I still don't know how I missed the announcement on the MBTA website Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-33410532652430408762011-07-02T12:19:00.001-04:002011-07-02T12:20:37.075-04:00To the Supreme Court: What is wrong with you people?
While I disagree with your decision on the California bill proposing restricting minors' access to violent video games, I'm willing to concede that free speech is a slippery slope kind of thing, and I'd rather have too much of it than too little. I'm very much okay with that.
What I'm not okay with is your lack of any form of logical Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-24066744013112784312011-07-01T22:25:00.000-04:002011-07-01T22:25:33.571-04:00The Manda's Navel Becomes a Cosmic Vortex
According to the packet of pre-op information that I received two days after surgery (I'm not going to blame the hospital for this; I'm not great at checking my mail consistently) I was supposed to take off the bandages about six days ago.
Oops.
In my defense, they're really scary looking. They're basically just pieces of gauze, but the scary part is Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-44514882680669758752011-06-28T21:24:00.003-04:002011-06-28T22:25:16.651-04:00Into the Open. With Pants.
Last night I reached my limit for repeated viewings of episodes of How I Met Your Mother, so I put on pants (trousers for my U.K. readers) for the first time in five days.
Well, real, outside pants, anyway. Don't panic. I've been wearing pajama pants since Thursday's surgical fun. It's not turning into the Condor Club around here, I assure you.
Pants are kind of Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-50997590094420058262011-06-26T20:17:00.001-04:002011-06-28T22:36:00.330-04:00Comfortably Numb
Because the GOP is so concerned with what women around America are doing with their womanly bits, I figured I'd save them the trouble. On Thursday, I got all my girl parts removed and shipped to the Republican National Committee for safekeeping.
Well, that's not exactly true. I did have surgery on Thursday, but it was to remove a cyst that my doctors had been monitoring for Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-56327950016056828402011-06-16T22:08:00.001-04:002011-06-16T22:10:29.823-04:00The Manda Considers the Food Chain at a Baby Shower
While I am happy for my friends and colleagues who are successfully managing to procreate, I find the process of purchasing gifts for these blessed events stressful. I haven't got the first clue, really, what people who are having babies need or want. I'm pretty sure a box of condoms would be met with disdain.
I kid! I kid!
The thing I don'tAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-89355788147310850412011-06-12T21:24:00.002-04:002011-06-12T21:25:16.611-04:00Thank You, Sir. May I Have Another?
Today's post contains material not suitable for younger readers. Or my mom.
I get updates and feeds from four different papers every day delivered to my email inbox. I watch CNN and MSNBC when I work out at home. TiVo makes sure I don't miss The Daily Show, ever. My Kindle subscribes me to The Atlantic and The New Yorker. So, I'm pretty well connected to Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-29597674193911786302011-06-10T22:11:00.000-04:002011-06-10T22:11:21.229-04:00The Suz's Summer Reading Challenge-- Update Four
We're ten days into the summer reading challenge, and, if I'm totally honest, I don't know how many pages I've been reading per day. I still can't quite figure out the conversion from Kindle pages to print pages, and I don't count when I read on my Kindle. I can say I've finished three books so far, though, which is more than I usually accomplish Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-38444213420203369912011-06-07T21:05:00.001-04:002011-06-07T21:08:05.797-04:00Maybe Life Would Be Easier If I Was Born Stupid
I took a look at the wedding website for a friend of a friend (whom, once again, I will not NayName). Obviously weddings get their own websites. It doesn't count unless it's been posted, status updated, tweeted, and blogged about. (Yes, savor the irony. Savor it! Tastes a lot like Waffle House hashbrowns, but with more vitamins.)
But today isn't Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-21867238511834522242011-05-24T18:19:00.001-04:002011-05-24T18:20:28.748-04:00The Suz's Summer Reading Challenge Update 3
The Suz has established a facebook group for all and sundry who want in on the hot literary action. I think the link above will get you there. If not, take a look for Suzie Bellbottoms' Book & Conscientious Objector Society.
I'm progressing apace through The Imperfectionists. I think it's having an odd effect on me. Even though I have yet to meet a Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-63957857541629161342011-05-23T22:21:00.000-04:002011-05-23T22:21:27.674-04:00You Can Leave Your Hat On
Here's why I don't socialize much at work.
I'm making chitchat with one of my colleagues, and I ask about his kids, 'cause that's what you do. He tells me about watching them this weekend while his wife went to a bridal shower, so that's pretty innocuous.
"And next week I'll have them again, because she's going to the bachelorette party up in Maine," he adds. "It's Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-73469574069657212912011-05-20T23:32:00.000-04:002011-05-20T23:32:36.116-04:00...And I Feel Fine...
So according to some sources (probably less reliable than Chuck Klosterman) we've all got a few hours left before the world ends. I'm a little fuzzy on the whole theology surrounding the Rapture vs. Apocalypse dichotomy, but I'm having a few regrets about not filling up the gas tank in the MandaMobile this afternoon.
And how am I spending my last few hours before the roof Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-73742509778112928562011-05-19T22:39:00.000-04:002011-05-19T22:39:22.130-04:00The Suz's Summer Reading Challenge: Progress Report 1
I have a bit of a reading problem, and the Kindle has exacerbated that. I see a book review, or, just as likely, I see an interview with an author on The Daily Show, and I race to the Kindle or to Amazon to download it.
Which is how I ended up with Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. Jon Stewart Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-31024839694136188822011-05-19T21:37:00.000-04:002011-05-19T21:37:00.133-04:00"Sport of the Future"
If Chuck Klosterman is to be believed-- and he's as believable as anyone else I can think of-- most of the women who were a certain age in 1989 were irrevocably warped by John Cusack's portrayal of Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything. The basic premise being that these women, of which I am one, have a jones for the sweet, sensitive, goofy, self- effacing, guy whoAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-1979023220045415462011-05-15T22:08:00.000-04:002011-05-15T22:08:55.924-04:00Okay, Suz, You Win
The Suz is over on facebook (Why do I keep posting about my facebook activity? Don't I have a three dimensional life anymore?) challenging her friends and pretty much everyone else she has ever known to join her on her Summer Reading Challenge. Basically, it means if we accept the challenge, we agree to read 50 pages a day from now until Labor Day. Has to be a book, though-- Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-67305376927251170622011-05-14T10:37:00.000-04:002011-05-14T10:37:22.315-04:00Happy May 14
Of all the things Mark Zuckerberg has done to revolutionize the world where we live-- and this includes actual revolutions (Egypt, I'm looking in your direction)-- the best thing to come out of the whole Facebook thing has to be how we celebrate birthdays.
Used to be, you'd see friends and family in your immediate vicinity. There was probably a cake and candles, although I Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-3478385022244443432011-04-12T23:08:00.000-04:002011-04-12T23:08:37.886-04:00F*** it, Dude, Let's Go Kickboxing
Back in the winter of our discontent, NayNay and I bought a Groupon that seemed tailor made to knock us out of our collective malaise and general laziness: kickboxing.
For my own part, I had visions of myself acquiring the skills to go join a fictional crime-fighting action spy team based in Miami. I've already got my own yogurt.
Of course, it took us until Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-83014597950791112002011-03-26T22:40:00.000-04:002011-03-26T22:40:24.709-04:00The Manda Loses Her Sense of Adventure
Dating in your mid-thirties is kind of like visiting The Island of Misfit Toys. Except instead of mildly cute, if ill-conceived, playthings you're more likely to end up with a parade of neuroses and bad habits and dysfunction-- and I'm not just talking about the guys, here. So maybe it's more like the last days of a going-out-of-business sale at Filene's Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-16868969363129353222011-03-18T19:43:00.000-04:002011-03-18T19:43:19.971-04:00Can A Badger Defeat a Bull?
I don't have any data to support this next claim, but I'd still wager it's true: People who a) live in the Boston metro area and b) take March 18 off are probably doing so because they need to spend time with their new friends Pepto Bismol and the Toilet Bowl, recovering from the excesses of St. Patrick's Day celebrations that almost surely involved consuming green Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-74774934472440402452011-03-09T20:45:00.002-05:002011-03-09T20:46:30.307-05:00Going, Going, Gaga
It starts with a dress.
Last summer I went to Northern California for the most glorious week of my life. I drank wine and ate chocolate with The Kiwi. I got to see old friends and their ridiculously cute offspring. I got car sick on the switchbacks on the coast highway. I became a Giants fan. Life-altering stuff.
The Kiwi and I spent part of my last day in San Francisco on Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-83604782942458746172011-02-27T21:34:00.000-05:002011-02-27T21:34:37.827-05:00"Where Is That Large Automobile?"
NayNay and Mr. C are on their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. They've spent school vacation lounging in padded deck chairs and drinking beverages that almost certainly came with little paper umbrellas, while looking out over the sun drenched Caribbean.
They're my friends, so I was trying not to think too many mean things about them this morning when I wokeAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-69924291029199070782011-02-13T21:03:00.001-05:002011-02-19T20:08:22.355-05:00The Manda's Obligatory Valentine's Day Rant
February 14th and the weekend leading into it is a typically dismal time of the year if you're single. I don't think it's much less dismal for people who are paired off, either.
If you're single, you get to read articles written by geniuses like this one at the Village Voice. I've been considering offering a reward to anyone who can locate the authorAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-64925650931739374592011-02-08T23:19:00.000-05:002011-02-08T23:19:24.577-05:00All of These Things Are Not Like The Others
We have a tendency to hibernate during New England winters. We don't do it the way bears do, eating a lot of raw fish and berries and maybe the odd tourist before retreating to a cave to sleep for six months. It's not that civilized.
I've been logging a lot of time on the couch, which The Idiots enjoy because I've got the blankets out and have ample Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-33116418042878724362011-02-01T18:55:00.000-05:002011-02-01T18:55:08.360-05:00Our Motto: Snowpocalypse Now
I always figured the zombies would be the thing to take me out. You can't make a movie or TV series about snow. Or can you?
Exterior, day: Small blue house on a typical suburban street; only 1/2of the facade is visible, the rest obscured by drifts of snow. In front of the house, a woman wearing an orange sweatshirt and a panda hat screams and waves a shovel before Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-79813460967216237362011-01-24T20:20:00.001-05:002011-01-24T20:22:26.529-05:00Does Duncan Hines Make Pickle Flavored Cake Mix?
My great-grandmother had a brother known to all and sundry as "Pickle." I'm sure someone at some point told me what his real name was, but I don't know it now*. I do know he became known as Pickle because even before the Great Depression money was tight in the rural south and Pickle was adept at breaking into cellars and stealing jars of pickles.
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-51541865070904617222011-01-02T21:53:00.001-05:002011-01-02T22:02:25.747-05:00The Manda Seeks the Nadir of Consumerism
I have this friend who is a newlywed and on antibiotics, so her doctor advised her to use a backup contraceptive method while on the antibiotics, because that's what you do. So she gets a box of contraceptive film.
And this really is a friend, not some lame "I have this friend" gambit to cover the fact that it's actually me. I don't always have need of Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-21372000805726776212010-12-30T16:22:00.000-05:002010-12-30T16:22:46.603-05:00The Year In Review
January: If you buy an ergonomic shovel, you will effectively end substantial snowfall in New England for the year.
February: Sole dominion over the remote control is not overrated.
March: "Not everyone likes your dog (or whatever else) as much as you do."
April: There's no part of a lamb that isn't delicious if it has been roasted on a spit in your friends' front yard.
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-91745450761962137882010-12-21T18:36:00.002-05:002010-12-21T23:11:21.804-05:00The Manda Swears She is NOT Making This Up
My dad used to listen to NASCAR on the radio.
Yeah. That's right. NASCAR. On the radio.
For a long time, I couldn't think of anything more useless than broadcasting an auto race on the radio.
Then, Weekend Edition on NPR brought an even more useless broadcast on Saturday morning: wine tasting on the radio.
Yeah. That's right. NPR. Not The Onion. Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-15549711821342214402010-12-15T20:49:00.000-05:002010-12-15T20:49:21.692-05:00"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid"
In America, we have holidays that are distinctive to our cultural preferences. July 4th is the holiday we celebrate with booze and explosives. Thanksgiving is the holiday we celebrate by eating until we can't see our own faces.
We've also taken other holidays and made them distinctively American-- bringing the best of out other holidays into the mix as well. Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-79265615089173845642010-12-08T19:43:00.000-05:002010-12-08T19:43:10.959-05:00Putting the Bizarre back in the Bazaar
Maybe I should be happy that the holiday season makes people more friendly and polite to strangers. Living in New England, of course, I'm grading friendliness on a sliding scale-- around here the holidays mean that maybe other drivers will just give you the finger and not try to run you off the road, that people in public will might shove you out of the wayAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-88646569772020581842010-11-29T18:09:00.000-05:002010-11-29T18:09:23.129-05:00The Manda Finds Reasons to Give Thanks This Holiday Season
Lots of reasons to be thankful this week. Thursday's dinner featured deep fried turkey courtesy of Uncle Jimmy, who took a break from riding around to marinate the bird in beer before immersing it in boiling oil out in the backyard.
And this is the song that's been stuck in my head for a week:
One other thing to make me thankful. FourAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-36945917896314153102010-11-22T21:04:00.000-05:002010-11-22T21:04:13.281-05:00And Suddenly, Travel is Fun Again
Flying home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, along with the rest of the U.S. population. I'm reading a lot of reports in the news about new TSA regulations, full body scans, people getting groped.
So at least there's the possibility of some action this week. There's the silver lining.
The Suz is challenging pretty much everyone she knows to moan and scream whileAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-35030209446629590412010-11-10T20:51:00.000-05:002010-11-10T20:51:53.205-05:00Duckie Dale, I Feel Your Pain
Style channel is showing Pretty in Pink. I can remember a time when I loved this movie, and now I want to punch everyone in this film who isn't Duckie Dale. And Annie Potts' character-- she's okay, because she has a cool wardrobe.
But, seriously, who gets all in a twist over a guy named Blaine? It's not like he has other redeeming qualities.
And Jon Cryer aged Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-91235778562525171862010-11-07T20:49:00.003-05:002010-11-07T20:51:17.759-05:00The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Manda
For most of my life, I've had a plan of some kind. Most of the time those plans have been fairly normal-- e.g. I made it through college, got a good job, bought a house-- but have become ultimately dissatisfying. Sometimes those plans seemed insane on the face of it-- e.g. my first trip out of the U.S. had me landing in London with $300, a work permit and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-69025995592703654542010-11-03T22:44:00.000-04:002010-11-03T22:44:24.558-04:00Notes from The Fun Car*
Today's post contains adult language. Sorry, Mom.
The best part of a road trip with friends is the dialogue that emerges on the road. 18-21 hours together in a car can make anyone punchy. Here are some highlights. We wrote them down.
*The other thing about a road trip this long is that there is no fun car. After about 45 minutes you just want to be there already. I've Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-53695088131916857492010-11-02T22:05:00.000-04:002010-11-02T22:05:25.194-04:00
The Manda Relives a Moment From Her Youth
The last time I remember going to theWaffle House was a stop with The Heathen my last semester of college. We were on the way back to campus after driving many hours to and from my grandmother's funeral.
The Waffle House* was always the go-to location for eating after a night out at the fraternities or, when we were feeling especially fancy, a bar Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-45231842968096913312010-11-01T22:55:00.000-04:002010-11-01T22:55:11.892-04:00Dear Giants--
Thank you.
Just so you know, though, you're stuck with me now.
Love,
MandaAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-64687790993160397192010-10-31T22:41:00.001-04:002010-10-31T22:42:33.485-04:00Glorious Glorious Signage- Round One
People who know me, know that I love to take photos of signs. I have a collection of photos from the American West that all read "Nugget" in some form or another. Weird. Arsty. Touristy. Whatever. I dig signs.
So an event like the Rally to Restore Sanity held a plethora of appeal for me. Hell, I couldn't get anywhere near the stage, and if I wanted to watch Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-11699621921482958002010-10-31T21:47:00.002-04:002010-11-02T22:08:46.434-04:00Ms. Smith (and K-Rock, Special K, NayNay and the Suz) Return from Washington
There's a moment, in any city, just as the sun is peeking over the horizon, when most of the city is still asleep save for a few garbage and delivery trucks-- maybe the odd taxi-- when everything is quiet, and if you're lucky enough to be out on the sidewalk, it feels like the whole place is yours alone. This is the Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-46542523203926055462010-10-28T22:20:00.001-04:002010-10-28T22:21:59.465-04:00Ms. Smith (and K-Rock, Special K, NayNay and The Suz) Go to Washington (Part Troix)
If Jon Stewart can't restore my sanity, I don't know who's up for the job. I know he's the only man on the planet who can lure me off the interstate into the festering heap of sleaze and competition that serves as the nerve center of the free world.
Yeah, don't much care for D.C. This is problematic for my Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-52556420151384638132010-10-27T19:20:00.000-04:002010-10-27T19:20:16.889-04:00Today, we bet the farm.... And by farm, I mean .25 acres in Eastern Massachusetts
The World Series starts in a few short hours. I haven't been this excited for a World Series since 2004, and nobody from my hometown has ever played for the Red Sox.
So, yeah, that's right. I'm not really a baseball slut.
I had some polite interest and affection for the Giants, because I'd been to their stadiumAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-90368033970371391872010-10-26T21:55:00.000-04:002010-10-26T21:55:12.609-04:00Things You Can't Say In Front of People
Today's post contains some mildly adult themes and content. It also contains the funniest/ weirdest story I've heard in months. Proceed with caution.
So here's a workplace scenario. I'd like to emphasize that this did not happen in my workplace, so this may lend us all a clue about how urban myths get started.
Employee A and Employee B, both female, Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-2645505426191628462010-10-25T21:54:00.000-04:002010-10-25T21:54:09.144-04:00Going Going Guano
One night, one summer-- I can't remember which year, they all ran together after a while-- The Suz and I were sweating our faces off at The Old Apartment. We might have been debating whether or not to go get ice cream, just to get a few moments of sweet relief in an air conditioned car.
We were mostly worried about why her cat, the Bub Man, was sitting on the back of the sofaAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-7772837519807998892010-10-22T23:08:00.001-04:002010-10-22T23:09:20.764-04:00Ms. Smith (and K-Rock, Special K, NayNay, and The Suz) Goes to Washington: Part Deux
We've got one week to go, and we at Little Blue and its affiliates are all gearing up to go feel the sleaze in The District.
People are making signs for the Rally to Restore Sanity, and they're posting them over there. Before I go over there to post my sign proposals, I'm going to post them here, so anybody Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-31607152274200680682010-10-21T23:21:00.000-04:002010-10-21T23:21:05.846-04:00"Yeah... I was in the show."
Dear Giants--
You're killing me here, you know that, right? I'm trying to be a good fan. I'm wearing the orange sweatshirt and the panda on my head as we speak, even though nobody can see me. I wish I could be there, but right now just isn't a good time for me.
But that doesn't mean you can just get a girl's hopes up and dash them to the ground. I'm trying to Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-68620750140878334082010-10-17T20:43:00.008-04:002010-10-17T21:41:33.404-04:00"I Told You I Was Freaky"Dear Red Sox--I have a confession to make. I've been cheating on you. A lot. Since June. It's unwise, it's torrid, and it's Freaky.You know how these things happen. One night you're sitting in a bar, and you're just trying to drink your beer and watch the game in peace, but then you start eying the other team. I know they caused you serious injury and took down half your Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-89988852992478407672010-10-14T21:21:00.003-04:002010-10-14T21:34:32.866-04:00There's Always Room for JelloToday I ate orange Jello for lunch. It was from the school cafeteria. It had little sad bits of fruit cocktail hanging around in it. It was not a color that exists in nature, except perhaps in certain select volcanoes.And this got me thinking: How hungry does a person have to be before he says to himself (and I say he because I don't think any woman has ever been thisAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-7987136025056094252010-10-11T21:59:00.002-04:002010-10-11T22:33:37.796-04:00And We're Back! Sort of....Yesterday NayNay married Mr. NayNay. It was the best of times.I ran video for the ceremony and parts of the reception, which may introduce a new sideline as I go through this process of rewriting my own narrative. After the ceremony, I hung around the happy couple, getting video of them hugging various friends and relatives before going to get the Official Wedding Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-75011094953195905792010-10-09T20:46:00.005-04:002010-10-09T23:50:36.333-04:00The Crazy Cat Lady Speaks“You’re just going to be an old lady with cats?” he says.“Well, unless I meet a guy who doesn’t suck, yes,” she says, with emphasis on the word “suck” to indicate she is talking about him. She doesn't know if he gets it.The cat thing really gets under her skin, though. It’s the thing all guys seem to say when she indicates disinterest in marriage, which is to say, she's Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-66558284033519521702010-10-05T21:02:00.005-04:002010-10-05T22:35:16.210-04:00"'Ich bin ein Berliner' means 'I am a doughnut.'"Uncle Jimmy brought some disturbing news from back home. He tells me that the food of choice at the Dixie Classic Fair this year is a cheeseburger with two Krispy Kreme doughnuts used as the bun. A quick Google search is telling me we're a bit behind the curve on this one, but still......This offends me on so many levels, I feel that I might need Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-52997096124181419742010-10-04T20:44:00.003-04:002010-10-04T22:47:45.975-04:00The Manda Welcomes You To Her Freudian NightmareRight now my dad's brother, my Uncle Jimmy, is sleeping in a van in my driveway. I have always known my Uncle Jimmy as one of The Responsible Ones in the family.Uncle Jimmy is not homeless. He's got a pretty nice little house in the Piedmont Triad in N.C., even though it does look a little like time stopped in 1975 on the inside. He worked a steady Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-69833366976675641812010-10-02T15:15:00.003-04:002010-10-03T08:59:30.114-04:00The Manda Wonders Why She Doesn't Work for The A.V. ClubSomebody actually made the following movie: "Zombie Strippers" starring Robert Englund and Jenna Jameson. Tagline reads, "Bloody mayhem in the champagne room." Englund, you may remember, gained fame in the 1980's with his portrayal of Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series. Jameson is well known as an actor and producer Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-81818722844802749532010-09-28T21:16:00.001-04:002010-09-30T22:51:01.410-04:00The Manda Goes to a Wedding ShowerOn Friday afternoon the Work People had a wedding shower for NayNay. We ate things with cheese and toasted her with champagne. She opened boxes of place settings and kitchen utensils. It was lovely, and I couldn't be happier for her and the soon-to-be Mr. NayNay. But I don't get wedding showers. This is not standard singleton sour grapes about how people get to Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-23255544713670421272010-09-26T23:18:00.004-04:002010-09-27T19:38:46.905-04:00At Crazy Manda's Everything Must GoPicture it: Summer, 2002, Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill, NCTwo guys and a girl sitting around a table drinking I don't remember what. A game of "I Never" has devolved into a series of increasingly personal questions and answers, which will eventually lead the trio to agree that "What goes on in Chapel Hill stays in Chapel Hill."The evening ends with the Queen Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-17352327665516935952010-09-26T20:06:00.003-04:002010-09-26T22:53:50.959-04:00The Manda Watches the Dexter Season PremiereMy TV crush is a serial killer. This kind of puts my reality into sharp perspective.Okay, so sure, Dexter kills people. But he's got a code. He only kills the bad ones. The ones who slipped past the system and are an ongoing danger to society. The symbolism of the trash bag in his disposal method is not lost on me. Probably wouldn't be lost on anyone Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-58687211914481101732010-09-21T21:14:00.004-04:002010-09-22T21:00:13.237-04:00Ms. Smith (and K- Rock, Special K, Nay Nay and The Suz) Goes to Washington"Tomorrow, summer ends. Doesn't it feel like it ended a long time ago?"--The SuzAs if she knew we would need a cure for the soul-crushing malaise that sets in this time of year, K-Rock was on a mission Friday afternoon. That mission: get 4 (mostly) single women and one newlywed into a car, make them brave the Jersey Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-40810675022338736882010-09-19T19:17:00.003-04:002010-09-19T20:16:58.568-04:00The Local Flea Market Sends Manda to the Dark PlaceThe Londonderry Flea Market might be where dreams go to die. The Suz and I ventured forth this fine New England afternoon to wander past tables upon tables of-- how do I put this?-- crap. VHS tapes. Computer parts from 1987. Designer handbags with a K*. Plastic toys. An old gumball machine. An entire table of Beanie Babies. Bootleg Red Sox Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-11621042646164521762010-09-19T18:46:00.003-04:002010-09-19T19:17:17.988-04:00The Manda Gets Lost in the SupermarketMy grocery list is such a cliche. I have a cart full of Lean Cuisines, yogurt, cat food, and bananas for cereal. The checkout line is long. Too long, in my opinion, for a Sunday evening at 6:00, but I guess a lot of people had the same idea I had.So they open another line. The cashier doing the opening looks right at me and says, "Ma'am, I can take you down Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-53619245938674505772010-09-11T23:44:00.004-04:002010-09-12T18:42:25.883-04:00The Manda Contemplates Occupational Hazards of AgingThe first week of school has ended with its customary whimper. And I am cruelly reminded of the aging process because I can't for the life of me figure out who's who in these classes. I remember a time, longer ago than it feels, that I knew the name of every kid in my class by the end of the second day. Alas, all things must pass.They don't makeAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-76787943560975766582010-09-07T20:02:00.003-04:002010-09-07T20:17:56.468-04:00The Manda Laments the Breakdown of Western Culture... AgainI had to stop by CVS today to buy deodorant, because I ran out this morning and today was not a day you wanted to be without deodorant in New England. The mugginess came back with the vengeance of a woman scorned, and, despite efforts to scrape the last little bits of the remaining stick onto my underarms, that made me the woman stinky.SoAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-61295014872595829962010-08-18T21:32:00.002-04:002010-08-18T21:39:55.223-04:00The Manda Considers Career AlternativesA story broke today about a teacher in a town on the South Shore who was forced to resign because she indicated reluctance to return to school and made some less than kind remarks about the residents of the town that employs her in her Facebook status. I'm going to leave the commentary about the rights and wrongs of this situation to someone else, because Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-77814356687164703102010-05-29T03:11:00.002-04:002010-05-29T03:48:07.628-04:00The Manda Just Wants Some Production ValueI actually went to sleep at a reasonable hour, but now I'm awake can't go back to sleep. Really just want to hang out on the couch and eat savory thins from Trader Joe's. Watched an interview with Eddie Izzard, which made me happy, then I was flipping through the movie channels and read the following title on HBO Zone: "Alien Sex Files 3: She Alien." The Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-27566376288658630402009-12-13T18:50:00.003-05:002009-12-13T19:09:55.231-05:00Holiday Specials of the DamnedSo this week I saw a headline on the People Magazine feed that Miley Cyrus is planning to release a cover of Poison's classic "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." I expressed my belief that this crossover between Hannah Montana and a late 80's power ballad performed by Bret Michaels might represent the nadir of American civilization as we know it. Friends cautioned me that Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-29424920924205086892009-09-27T18:19:00.009-04:002009-09-28T18:57:37.179-04:00
The Manda Chaperones a High School Dance and Liveblogs it on Facebook
Note: At the start of each school year, our administration admonishes teachers that we should not write anything online, including email, that we wouldn't want published on the front page of The Boston Globe. Should that happen to the following, I would be thrilled, but not as thrilled as if it were to get picked up by Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-85141998356728210882009-08-18T14:17:00.003-04:002009-08-18T14:41:42.556-04:00The Manda Gets Scared by Late Night TelevisionHeadache last night. Couldn't sleep and couldn't find the bottle of Aleve that I just KNEW was hiding somewhere in the kitchen. Ended up on the sofa watching an episode of the new A&E series "Hoarders" and it scared the hell out of me.Last night's episode featured a family in danger of losing their children to social services because of their hoardingAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-68904097031020303412009-07-04T23:21:00.002-04:002009-07-04T23:36:16.891-04:00The Manda Celebrates July 4thI love minor league baseball. LOVE.There is nothing more entertaining than going to a minor league game at the local hometown stadium, which is what my dad and I did this evening to celebrate the 4th of July.There was a dude there in a cow costume, promoting a local country music station, and that was the least weird thing I saw all evening. Not sure what it would Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-64210200099487149162009-06-04T17:05:00.004-04:002010-05-24T16:19:39.311-04:00The Manda Looks Forward to the Burn Notice Season PremiereSome people will tell you that drinking games are passe, and they may be right. At the same time, a good drinking game can create camraderie among members of your team and allow them to show off what they know in a relaxed setting, and they're a good way to celebrate the season premiere of a show you really enjoy.When you're developing a Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-17884891996881729242009-06-04T16:51:00.002-04:002009-06-04T16:55:09.705-04:00The Manda Attempts to Improve Her Home (Update)So literally minutes after giving up on The Other Local Home Improvement Warehouse, I got a callback from an HVAC (heating, venting and air conditioning) dude a friend from work had recommended. "Hi Amanda, are you home? I can come out and have a look this afternoon."And NOW I have an estimate for new furnace and central air that I believe to be Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-79048679505529761762009-06-04T15:48:00.002-04:002009-06-04T16:07:08.127-04:00The Manda Attempts to Improve Her HomeThe Other Local Home Improvement Warehouse has me on hold. I've been on hold for about 15 minutes, and my cellphone is running out of battery power, but I'm getting desperate here. This is about the fifth call I've made today in an attempt to get estimates on what it will cost to install central air here at Little Blue."No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisiteAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-18080292937113844652009-05-25T03:06:00.002-04:002009-05-25T03:23:50.757-04:00The Manda Reflects on Chaos TheorySome signs your life has gone off the rails:You find yourself on the New Jersey Turnpike at 2:00 in the morning. This alone is a pretty good indicator. If you find yourself on the New Jersey Turnpike at 2:00 in the morning with a mostly-drunk companion, that's another good indicator.If you find yourself on the New Jersey Turnpike at 2:00 in the morning trying Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-56153084850611462232009-04-15T22:11:00.002-04:002009-04-15T22:32:00.712-04:00The Manda Starts a GardenSo this is me mowing the grass in my backyard for the very first time. I've gotten some flack for the hat. Apparently once a Southern woman reaches a certain age she's supposed to wear funny hats and grow vegetables in the dirt. At least that's what The Suz tells me, no doubt inispired by multiple viewings of Steel Magnolias. As I tend to prefer movies where gangsters areAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873590.post-55613664754805732312009-02-18T12:29:00.003-05:002009-04-16T21:40:31.591-04:00Rejected Yankee Candle FragrancesAn ongoing list of possible choices:French Onion Soup-- onions, garlic, with a hint of beefy goodnessEaster Egg-- vinegar and sulphur in a pink decorative container'79 Camaro-- ass, grass, and cash. Nobody rides for free.Wet Dog-- soap and furHigh School Hallway- Axe, ass, chalk dustBarbecueSour Cream and OnionXtreme Nacho CheeseAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01019987968258360678noreply@blogger.com0