Month: October 2008

  • trick or treat!

    instead of going as a goblin or ghoul, i’ve dressed my self up as a belle femme.

    happy halloween!

    btw, don’t forget about the xangaween contest, going on NOW. tell december i referred you, and get special prizes!

  • bittersweet travels.

    my stomach’s in knots,
    it wiggles and twists.
    i brace for a beating,
    my face meets the fist.

    these words, unexpected,
    they cut to the bone.
    “they’re gone — just keep going,”
    i stand there alone.

    around me, destruction,
    i can’t find my way.
    i keep moving forward,
    it’s too hard to stay.

    a light shows my path,
    it’s time to go home.
    i move to go forward,
    but i do so alone.


    bittersweet. that is the only way to describe the past few days.

    *edit* for those in the dark, here’s a brief run-down: my company decided to reorganize the organization. many people lost their jobs, but i was fortunate to keep my own.

    the range of emotions that have been flowing through me are intense — i feel thankful, mad, upset and guilty, all at the same time.  most of all, though, i’m anxious of what’s to come, especially since the people i’ve worked closest with are now gone.

    i’ve got a new path to forge …

    (for those on protected, it’s updated)

  • my douchebags are douchier than yours!

    the official decree, according to vanedave:

    Category 3: Douchebag of the Year Award!

    The crown jewel of douchebags. This was a close call, but in the end this comment submitted by BarelyJen (from this post) won out by one vote.  

    “You
    are so screwed up … How dare you hold your head up high in public and
    call yourself an American … Under different circumstances it would be
    amusing to watch all you ppl change your tunes. But it wont be. It will
    be the saddest thing ever witnessed. And you will be helpless. And the
    fact that you are proud to be acquainted, associated and related to
    gays and lesbians just proves my point. You are screwed up. Go drink a
    bottle of Tabasco sauce through your nose. Or hang yourself. Anything.”

    9/26/2008 1:50 PM thisdoesntmakecents (message) reply

    Jen
    will receive 500 credits and bragging rights for ever. Also I will be
    submitting various ego-stroking comments for Jen all day long. For
    example: “ BarelyJen is the gold standard to which all of us mere mortal xangans should strive to. I am humbled by her awesomeness.”


    this brightens my day on so many levels … thanks, everyone! (and yeah, that guy was the douche of the year fo’ sho.)

    be sure to stop by vanedave’s page to see the contest’s entire results!!

  • october 29: where was i?!

    where was i five years ago?

    at a bonfire, saying yes to will you be my girlfriend? and sleeping in a tent with the boy who asked.

     
    now now, nothing happened. really. a bunch of us were charged with guarding the firewood — a now-defunct tradition. (in fact, we wouldn’t even have our first kiss for another few days!)

    where was i three years ago?

    in his backyard, repeating i hate you and saying yes to will you marry me.
    and for the record, i didn’t really hate him. in fact, i don’t think i could have loved him more at that moment if i tried.

    i’ve given him many yeses over the years (and a good deal of no’s, too), but the best ones always seem to fall on october 29.

     

    happy five years, baby.

    now that we’re married, i know we’ve exchanged today for an even better anniversary date, but i couldn’t let october 29 pass by without recognition.

    our life together began 1,826 days ago and will continue on forever.

    i love you.

  • why i voted for barack obama.

    **thank you for reading! feel free to leave comments and discuss; please be respectful of ALL viewpoints brought to the table.

    i have posted often about my respect for barack obama and why he is the candidate for me.

    i’ve shared with you my experiences with primary voting, caucusing and my final VOTE submission last week. i’ve discussed my thoughts on what obama’s “change” means, and i’m all for it.

    i’ve shared my thoughts on the issues before, but with a week to go until election day, i figured they’d be worth mentioning again. here are just a few.

    obama:

    strongly favors requiring the hiring of more women and minorities.
    as
    a woman, this is uber-important. obama wants to fight job
    discrimination to give women EQUAL footing at work. he wants to better
    enforce our pay equity with the “equal pay act.” i have experienced
    first-hand that things just aren’t as equal as they should or could be
    for women. we get passed over for promotions and raises simply because
    of our gender. i am more accomplished than some of my co-workers, but
    because they are men, and have a “family” to provide for (read: no
    kids), they get paid THOUSANDS more than me.

    favors same-sex domestic partnership benefits.
    i
    am PROUD to know several gays and lesbians — a few in my own family.
    they deserve the same benefits of union between two people that i am
    lucky to enjoy. “homosexuality is not a choice, and it’s no more
    immoral than heterosexuality.” everyone deserves to have the same
    opportunities, so this is something i am definitely standing behind.

    strongly favors more federal funding for health coverage.
    obama
    will make available a new national health plan to all Americans,
    including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable
    health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of
    Congress. it is NOT required, but will be AVAILABLE. its features include: guaranteed
    eligibility; comprehensive benefits; affordable premiums, co-pays and
    deductibles; simplified paperwork and reined in health costs;
    portability and choice; quality and efficiency.

    strongly favors replacing coal and oil with alternatives.
    obama plans to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 by implementing an economy-wide cap-and-trade program. most importantly, he plans to CRACK DOWN ON EXCESSIVE ENERGY SPECULATION. why
    did your gas prices DOUBLE since 2001? mostly because of the
    speculators.

    favors a woman’s right to choose.
    i am not posting this stance to begin a debate on abortion. i DO NOT personally agree with abortion. it is not for me, and again i say, i am not pro-abortion. i am, however, all for giving a woman the right to choose,
    and that’s what obama is for, too. who are we to definitively cut off a
    women’s right to choose what is right for her? if she wants to abort
    her unborn child, that is something she will have to live with the rest
    of her life, and will have to answer to in Heaven. the reasons are her
    own, the situations sometime extreme … simply, it’s not for us to
    decide.

    favors taking the US out of iraq.
    i
    have had too many friends go overseas for months, if not years, at a
    time. two, three, four tours in iraq, and there’s no sign of it
    stopping under the republican’s “we’re in it til we win it” mentality.
    we need to get out. we are spending $12 BILLION dollars a month on the
    war in iraq, and for what? you could give me half-assed answers, but no
    one really knows anymore.

    as i’ve said before, you can vote for whomever you want, as long as you’re informed!

    you wouldn’t buy a car without researching it,
            
    you wouldn’t get married without getting to know the person first,
               
    and you wouldn’t take a job without learning about the company.

    if you do, then it’s your own fault, and you have no reason to complain.

    (so yes, i’m retaining my right to bitch, thankyouverymuch.)


    *bonus* check out portions of his nomination acceptance speech, his plan for America and the politics behind it here.

    learn more about obama here and here. | learn more about mccain here. ( i’m equal opportunity)

    (note: my information comes from campaign speeches, obama’s official website and non-partisan ontheissues.org)

    *re-posted from my august 28, 2008 entry.

  • what’s this BFN thing?

    the response to last week’s “shout-out spotlight” has been overwhelming. messages have been pouring in every day, and i’ve got to admit, it’s been a bit daunting to sort through them all. with that said, it’s been a joy to read fresh content, recommended by you! we’ll be having our first broadcast next week, so keep your eyes peeled for more information (coming soon).

    i’ve received a few questions about ["shout-out spotlight's" co-sponsor] brain fried network, and i’m happy to oblige you with the information! i actually had a chance to sit down with BFN founder edlives yesterday; he gladly answered your most frequently asked questions. enjoy!

    jen: so edlives, why did you start the BFN? 
    edlives: well, it has grown and changed over time. initially, i wanted to provide newsfeeds for the masses … since then, it’s evolved over the past year to become sooo much more. the store, the toolbar, chatrooms … it’s become more of an online gathering place and discussion area than just news (although the newsfeeds are cool too, as they provide topics to discuss. plus, people can embed the videos onto their sites).

    jen: why a toolbar?
    edlives: i wanted to be able to provide something that stayed in front of the end user so i could communicate with them — and of course, so that users could communicate with each other. plus, it’s 100% FREE, and who doesn’t like free stuff?

    jen: besides the chatrooms, what other features can be found on the toolbar?
    edlives: wow, where should i begin? there’s the RSS feeds (of BFN columnists — we have over 10 now; check them out!), internetTV, radio, xangaTV shows, chatrooms, newsfeeds … what else can i put out there? oh, there’s the message box, too. it’s a great way to provide internet specials from the stores i’ve partnered with.

    jen: some users are concerned about download safety. what would you say to them? also, are their search terms tracked?
    edlives: absolutely safe.  hey, if the MLB and nascar use the same technology … shouldn’t i? as far as the search terms go, NO, they are not tracked at all. it’s powered by google — i don’t see anything. and this is worth mentioning as well: you will not receive any spam, so no worries there. 

    jen: how do people know when other users are in the chatroom?
    edlives: well, several xangans will say “hey, I’m on chatroom X of the BFN toolbar!” in their pulses … be sure to put a link to the toolbar download as well (in case someone new wants to check it out with you!) you can find the download here: http://brainfriednetwork.ourtoolbar.com.

    jen: what type of programming can we find on the xangaTV channels?
    edlives: fellow xangans!! i wouldn’t have it any other way.  currently, we have 3 channels operational. i also have a page on brainfriednetwork.com that displays a show schedule (check back often to see if anything is going on!).

    jen: tell us about the online store.
    edlives: sure. our online store has THE LARGEST selection of OFFICIAL XANGA PRODUCT anywhere online. you can find a variety of items, from t-shirts to teddy bears. pick up a thing or two for yourself … or get a gift for a friend. ALSO, if you have an idea for a product, send it my way. we’ll see what we can do to make it OFFICIAL.

    jen: anything else?
    edlives: bottom line: we’re here to help and promote each other, while having some fun in the process. if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me (edlives) or any of the BFN columnists. we’ve all been on xanga for some time and can at least point you in the right direction.

    and now for my two cents (for whatever it’s worth):

    i’ve been using the toolbar for almost a month now, and i’ve got to say: it’s really enhanced my xanga experience. i’ve been able to talk to people behind the blogs i love to read. our discussions go from the mundane to the super-serious, proving to be awesome thought-starters … i bet you didn’t know that more than a few have made their way into the blogs you read every day?!

    i understand the apprehensions — i had them too — but this has proved to be a safe and worthwhile venture. seriously, download it. you’ll thank me later. in the meantime, I’D like to thank edlives for doing so much for our ever-growing community! you rock! 



    do YOU have the toolbar? what do you like/not like about it?
    *as always, tell a friend and recommend!

  • to the bottom i go.

    i’m sinking, i’m drowning, i’m falling even deeper,
    there’s no ledge to cling to — it’s getting steeper.

    i struggle, i pull, i claw for the top,
    the agonizing fall just doesn’t stop.

    my strength is depleted, 
    my brain and body, defeated.

    with my next breath, i count to ten,
    attempting to climb this mountain again.

    i apologize for being vague. i’ll have a protected post up this evening to explain it all. i just wanted to get down what i am feeling right NOW; hopefully it will be resolved by this evening. (if you’d like to be on the list, let me know. also, for those on the list now, please let me know if you’d like to stay — doing a little fall cleaning )

    random side note: my new glasses finally came in!

  • an ode to getting old — happy birthday, shaun!

    today is my friend’s birthday. he’s such an old fart — all of 24 …

    anyway, we came, we ate, we celebrated … this is our story.

    (and yes, i edited this video myself!)

  • as always, sunday brings SNL greatness:

    the obama half-hour variety show:

    don draper (jon hamm) is simply irresistable:

    last but not least, well, just watch:

  • 10 things that truly annoy me.