Wednesday, September 21, 2005

this past 24 hours...

here i am last night, so excited to see beck!
pre beck

here is dustin, showing no emotion at all about pumping gas.
dustin outside

here are some photos of the kiddo's finished room:
finished room 1

finished room 3

finished room2

Sunday, September 18, 2005

the room

room 1

and view 2
room2

so you can see that there were spots that i totally f**ked up on, but by god, it's done and i can always do touchups on it. you know, when i feel like bleeding out my eyes again.

and can i just add something on an entirely different note? i really like tom brokaw and dan rather. the emmys are honoring them (and the late peter jennings as well) and it's nice to see them speaking again

the day of the paint

how long did it take to paint the kiddo's room? let me express it few different ways:
58 nine inch nails songs
two pounds of water weight GONE
three excedrin
i started around 4 ish, and with breaks and whatnot, have just finished.

i'm done. finally done. and i'd go upstairs and take a picture of the room but that means i would have to step back into that room------

wait....JON STEWART IS ON THE EMMY AWARDS. good stuff.

okay, i digress. to go into that room might just make my nose bleed at this point of the fumes.

FINE, fine fine, i'll go up and take a photo. just hold your horses.

tonight's plan...

i will watch the emmy's simply to see Zach Braff.

movies on the brain...

harry sally

anniehall

casablanca

got mail

say anything

Saturday, September 17, 2005

a note to god



dear god,
if you are out there, please deliver one of these portable dishwashers to my house. it's simply out of control.
thank you.
kari

Friday, September 16, 2005

oh sweet, sweet friday...

sometimes it's so nice to know that the morning holds nothing more than the promise of morning cartoons, frosted shredded mini wheat cereal and wearing pajamas until noon. what does my saturday look like?
- morning cartoons
- frosted shredded mini wheat cereal
- wearing pajamas until noon.
- go to elementary school book fair w/kiddo at noon-thirty. (that's right, i said "noon-thirty.")
- go to potentially bad romantic comedy "just like heaven" with the kiddo (from the dir. of "mean girls" and "freaky friday," two movies which she enjoyed)

a nice little saturday planned. might paint the kiddos room on sunday, but we'll see hwo that comes together.
working on possibly seeing Beck on monday night here in town. and then less in a month there is NIN. and on oct. 27 there is liz phair at first ave. and then ben folds at some point thereafter. holy concertville it is. however i take issue with liz's ticket price of $25 bucks BEFORE ticketmaster makes it hurt. $25 bucks. i don't know, but once i've seen a performer in a venue like first ave for 15$, it's hard to pay much more than that. but she does have a child to support, so who knows. and i heart the music of old liz rather than new liz, but she made a good point in an interview once that, during the period of her really, really solid music, she wasn't a very happy person. but is that any excuse for her sound to go to a bad place? i don't know...but to hear "fuck and run" live, with liz a mere ten feet from you? well that's worth something, too. i'm torn.

dustin had himself an interview with the target corp. yesterday, so we're keeping the fingers crossed on that. that would be a good, good thing.

so today's posting is not so much interested and witty as it is informative. i'm okay with that. i can't be a superstar everyday, afterall. (delusions of grandeur)

having a tough time keeping up with the whole therapy thing. i guess it's in my pattern to go with great dedication for a while, then drop off the face of the therapeutic earth. i don't know why that is. i am well aware that i need to go, but it's tricky. sometimes it's just easier to not discuss things, not to think about things and to vocalize things that will ultimately upset me. i just get tired of that part of me and sometimes it's nice to think that those parts of me don't actually exist.

our cat, little brother, is so effing loud. wanted: bottle of ether, dry cloth.

on a different topic: these are shows i wish i would have gotten into immediately but now feel as though it's probably too late:
1. the office
2. nip/tuck
3. 24
4. arrested development
5. lost
6. six feet under

notice there are NO reality shows in that list. maybe it's never too late. maybe i need to rent an entire season at a time from the video store and hunker down for a day or two. that's not a bad idea...

Thursday, September 15, 2005

i'm stealing an idea

props to michellend for this little goody, because i'm now using the same general idea.

so, anyone interested in a mixed cd exchange? if you've ever seen High Fidelity, you know how both cool and tricky it is to make a mixed cd for someone. if you are interested in making a mixed cd and passing it along to others in the mixed cd club, just lemme know and we'll get the ball rolling.

it can be any music you are or ever have been interested in. you can jot notes in the liner on why you chose the songs you did, or you can keep it a complete mystery.

plus, isn't it fun to get mail that isn't from a studen loan officer?

who's with me? i say we limit it to 10, otherwise postage would just be absurd. you can do it as often throughout a month as you want, but i'd say that one cd per month is a good goal.

ready, set, go!

kiss


doisneau_kiss
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

who doesn't love this photo?

introducing: my new desktop image!

props to c.george for this link. no words can explain how funny i think this is.

The First Day of Fourth Grade

abbey first day 1

abbey first day 2

abbey mom first day

abbey first day 3

she's so grown up. wow. fourth grade doesn't seem like it should be that long ago for me, but holy crap, it is.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

a show of hands...

who loves a screenshot?
Picture 10

Picture 4

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

tommy lee is going to college

maybe i'm a bit out of the loop, but tommy lee is in college? in nebraska? wha? has the whole world gone mad?

and the instrument of choice is....

trombone! the kiddo will be playing trombone this year... and i'm thinking it's genetic, given the fact that i played, my oldest sister AND my dad played. and hopefully she'll be better at it than i was. yikes!

ewwww.....

what a horrible f**king nightmare.

Monday, September 12, 2005

a scene from our night

dustin and i: watching cspan and w.'s tour of new orleans. here are the things that catch our ears...

1. "de-watering" used in a sentence. new orleans is being de-watered. just so you know.
2. "there is lots of information floating around." (dustin added "no pun intended.")
3. he also wants to "knit" up the country.
4. "i've come from an extraordinary event. i've been working." to be fair, he was talking about a church he had attended where they were feeding people. i just thought it was a clever freudian slip.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

dustin mowing


dustin mowing
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

what can i say? this man sure can mow.

house


house
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

in case you have ever wondered, this is what our house looks like.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

me and the sister


me and the sister
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

one of my favorite pictures. ever.

this week in pictures

the young mr. adam files was in town on his way to move to NY this week...
adam guitar

jackie, ian and jack were also in town...
jackie jack

photos were taken...
photo terry

armpits were displayed...
jackie laura armpit

it's always nice seeing friends...
karijackielaura

Friday, September 09, 2005

I like Nick Coleman

"...In the past days, I have heard Fox News' Bill O'Reilly say you shouldn't count on government to protect you. I have heard radio's Rush Limbaugh say that expecting the government to build levees is an example of a welfare mentality. I have heard many ideological zealots excuse the appalling failure to save the sick, the elderly, the children, by shrugging their well-tailored shoulders and saying there is a limit on what government should do and the private sector should be called upon first....I have a suggestion for another American Experiment. If anyone still thinks government should not be responsible for saving people, let's lock them in an attic where water is rising to the roof. Without an ax."

http://www.startribune.com/stories/357/5604602.html

truman


the buck
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

i think this photo speaks for itself.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

a must read

courtesy of David at Clark Schpiell, a VERY GOOD READ.

a decent editorial piece

Give THIS article a look-see.

(then yell at me for being partisan.)

MN State Fair


MN State Fair
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

we came, we saw, we took a photo.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

katrina

i'll refrain from any comments regarding the band katrina and the waves, as that's probably unnecessary.
f**king horrible. can't belive how long it took to get those aquatic vehicles of supplies to those people. i go from angry at the slow response to the chaos to unbelievably sad about all the loss and how it's still in the beginning stages of moving forward.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

hey! my story is there!

you'll see some of my drivel HERE. if you wanna. but you don't have to.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

a question:

guess what's worse than a crappy goth musician?
one that lives forever.guess what's worse than a crappy goth musician?
one that lives forever.
guess what's worse than a crappy goth musician?
one that lives forever.
and that's what's on sci fi channel tonight! wheee! and joe mammy, can you remember the best quote from that movie EVER?

someday i'll be a better...

.... blogger. and that day will come tomorrow when i have a laptop back in my possession. i'm spoiled. i'm aware of this. so aware that it PAINS me to blog from an actual desktop computer and not my comfy mattress. but i sit at a desktop computer all day and by god, don't i deserve a lil' something extra? am i not worth comfort? ah hell...
but d-Hizzy will be back in seven hours. hurrah!
this weekend we shall be attending the mn. state fair. the kid will enjoy some rides w/d-Hizzy, i will enjoy watching them and not vomitting on them. i haven't the stomach for it, i tell you. any recommendations on what to snack on at the aforementioned fair?

Friday, August 26, 2005

blah blah blah

always a wee bit melancholy when i'm on my own -- i envy those who are really good at alone time, b/c i'm not. at all. and even when i have things that i need to do -- write a piece for clarkschpiell, wash the kitchen floor, do laundry, etc. -- i somehow get distracted and ultimately end up blogging.
which isn't a BAD thing, but i have the tendency to blog in lieu of things i REALLY need to do.
and on that note, i should start that ren fest piece. and then the whole world will understand why i have such hatred for that event. or at least the world will understand that i'm a little more hateful than everyone thought. something like that.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

an apology

i'm not apologizing for pat robertson -- but i'm going to apologize for making what could be seen as THE WORST POP CULTURE REFERENCE (see previous post) in the history of the world.

pat robertson...should i waste space on him? okay...LUNATIC. here are the ways i (not a member of the misinterpreting AP) would interpret the phrase "take him out" --

1. kill him
2. assassinate him
3. shoot him dead
4. lynch and hang him
5. make him meet with an accident
6. make him disappear

but maybe i'm reading into what mr. robertson said. he probably just meant "take him out to find a different job, maybe at a gas station or a grocery store. take him out to dinner or to a ballgame."

how would YOU interpret "take him out?" then tell me what you think would happen if someone -- a "private" citizen -- in another country called for the assassination of our leader from their television show?

does anyone else think this way?

i saw on cnn.com that Katrina may hit florida as a hurricane, and all I could think was that 20 years ago she was probably in florida as one of The Waves.

more moi?


more moi?
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

am i ever as pissed off as i look in my pictures? not usually....but it keeps away the rif-raff.

guess who kicks karaoke a**?


terry!
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

this man right here!

bar boots!


bar boots!
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

these are my standard bar boots lately. note the blinding white skin. not tights. blinding white skin. i prefer "alabaster," but most people say "pasty."

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

a karaoke update

i'm at work.
it's a bit slow.
however it offers a chance to speak of last night's activities which included:
drink/friends/karaoke
the songs?
1. tonight and the rest of my life by nina gordon
2. down by the water by pj harvey
3. i do by lisa loeb (a request, no less!)

that's right-- three damn songs.

oh, work is slow today. it's make the whole day move very, very slowly and i can't freakin' believe that it's only 12:16 p.m.

a shout out to mr. terry w., for tomorrow he is taking a giant leap in his health by quitting smoking (and i shall banish it altogether again as i've fallen off the wagaon a bit)!

my girl is enjoying the American Girl Store (Compound, actually) in Chicago with her dad and stepmum this week -- and friday she and i shall commence school clothes shopping -- old navy is right...shopping really IS fun again!

sadly we have to put a little work into ye olde jetta -- fuel pump, possibly. somehow cars always know when you have recently been paid. how do they know? who tells them? how can i stop that phenomenon?

i need to find a hammock or some other swinging apparatus for the porch on the house. why? well there is nothing quite as soothing as a nice swing in the breeze on a day such as today -- except for a sharp stick in the eye. wait. what i mean to say is that a nice swing in the breeze is BETTER than a sharp stick in the eye. of course i've not recently put anything in my eye, let alone a sharp stick, so do i know that fact in all certainty? not a bit. if anyone does, please, offer your thoughts.

that leads me to think about my move toward contact lenses and the fact that i've worn them less than twice in the last two months. there is always something on them -- fuzz, lint, etc. -- that i can't manage to remove without dousing it with lens solution. then it's soaking wet and i can't make it move from my fingertip to my eyeball. "screw it!" i declare.

okay, just for a moment just now i fell asleep at my desk. then i sort of jolt awake, wondering if anyone saw that. i think i'm in the clear. but what about next time? what then, i ask?

i should look for work to do. hey! there is stuff to do! anything to make this eternal day move a little bit faster...

Monday, August 22, 2005

i should be doing my hair

in an effort to look more...well, like i've not just helped tow a car (mine) because of a possibly failing fuel pump... i'm going to do my hair. and then go to the townhouse and sing like i've never sung before. (not as in "i'm singing a whole bunch" but "i'm singing like this is the first time i've ever used my vocal cords for such an endeavor and it may drive my friends to drink excessively.")

i should also be uploading my photos from the (shiver) MN Renaissance Fest and working on my lil' narrative regarding the festival, but i've not quite narrowed down why exactly i dislike it so much. i need to have a more narrow focus other than the fifty things about it that i don't like. maybe it's easier to mention what i DID like:

-- the look on dressed up patrons' faces when someone mistakes them for an employee (as if we can tell the difference? come on!)
-- employees' faces when they are actually mocking a patron for dressing up -- do they expect that NOT to happen?
-- the look on my face when i'm about to buy something, i'm referred to as "milady" and that kills the sale for me.

so maybe i like more there than i originally thought.

so tonight's song choices for moi will be one or more of the following:
1. Tonight and the Rest of My Life by Nina Gordon
2. Sour Times by Portishead
3. Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega and DNA (if they have it)

i'll later (tomorrow) report on how that went for me.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

New on Clark Spiell and other notes...

A dandy site that is a good read, Clark Schpiell Productions (founded and contributed by some former Nodak folk) is something you'll want to check out on a regular basis. You will see here that dustin has contributed to it regarding the new series (that, in my opinion, is airing waaaaay too soon) "Over There."
I intend on contributing to the aforementioned site as well, and the focus of my contribution will be on the MN Renaissance Festival. You see, we got some free tickets from work and although Dustin refuses to go even in the name of mockery, darling Sarah Montgomery will be attending with me. Let the carnage begin, that's what i say. Oh no! if any of them read this, they may try to joust me! nay! thou shalt not joust me!

but i'm not dressing up and you can't make me.

Friday, August 19, 2005

up too late...

(in manner of cheerleader and crowd, or of protest leader and protest attenders:
what should i be doing?
SLEEPING!
what am i doing?
BLOGGING!

our cat little brother (who is no longer little but saying "big brother" is creepy) has become a very vocal cat. his meow has evolved from a meow into something that, on occasion, sounds like a person who is complaining or whining. not a real word comes out, but there is an undertone of disgruntledness. and quite frankly it's pissing me off. he will do it outside of the kiddo's door at night, waking her up and in turn waking ME up. so my question is this: what can i do to make him shut up (and don't you dare mention eating him, joe-mammy)? can i teach him sign? should i sedate him? keep the cats in the basement at night? ideas?

Monday, August 15, 2005

quotes i like

i like these quotes:

"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." Matt Groening.

"There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion."
Sir Francis Bacon

"I felt a Cleaving in my Mind - As if my Brain had split -
I tried to match it - Seam by Seam - But could not make them fit."
emily dickinson.

"Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it." woody allen.

any favorites out there?

Sunday, August 14, 2005

a return from so. dak

ahh, twas good seeing the eldest larson daughter. i was lame and forgot to bring my camera this weekend, so i shant have a single photo to post. but here are some lil' highlights:

my sister's cooking --- rock on!
my daughter's constant giggly b/c she adores her cousin.
just being around the sister is a good, good thing. and her basement guest room is great b/c it's pretty much windowless and therefore you sleep very, very heavily b/c it's dark, all the time. so nice!

the falls of sioux falls are very pretty and there is a cool tower to view things at great heights -- however the morrell slaughterhouse/processing plant is located UPWIND of the falls so the stink was horrible. and here is a little tidbit i found out about the plant.

gross. and notice i capitalized the word "upwind" earlier. well being downwind of this plant and most likely the incinerating that was going on...holy crap. and i LIKE meat. but holy crap, the smell...

but it's always nice getting away, even if it is only for 24 hours. and now i have to go to bed b/c tomorrow is production and darn it anyhow, i've got a newspaper to produce.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

amy post bar


amy post bar
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

by popular request...amy after the bar!!!

A list of questions

Props to Thomas for this:


10 Years Ago Today:
Had just found out I was pregnant.

Five Years Ago Today:
Was working at the copy desk at the Minot Daily News.

1 Year Ago Today:
Wishing this hot, sticky summer was over. Much like today.

Yesterday:
Worked. Hung out with Abbey.

Tomorrow:
Working. Hanging out with Abbey. Possibly fixing exhaust clip on VW.

5 Snacks I enjoy:
Doritos. Fruit. Chicken in a Bisket crackers. Good cheese and bread.

5 Bands That I Know the Lyrics to Most of Their Songs:
Nine Inch Nails, Indigo Girls, PJ harvey, Liz Phair, Sarah McLachlan.

5 Things I Would Do with a $100,000,000:
Pay off house, student loans of myself, dustin, and siblings. Pay off houses for siblings. Buy old movie theater and run cool moviehouse.

5 Locations I Would Like to Run Away to:
England, Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Ohio (I've not seen my friend Stacey in too long).

5 Bad Habits I Have:
watching movies all day regardless of work. drinking too much coca-cola. sloth. momentary lapse of will power which leads to puff of cig. letting dishes go too long w/out washing, meaning dustin has to do it constantly.

5 Things I Like Doing:
making my kid laugh. making other people laugh (when i want to, not b/c i have bad breath, clothing, hair, etc.), watching movies, hanging out with sisters, hanging out with dustin.

5 Things I would Never Wear:
animal print. stretch pants. large floral print. any shirt that laces up. anything with tassles (there goes my stripping career).

5 TV Shows I Like(d):
The West Wing, X Files, Scrubs, Twin Peaks and The Daily Show.

5 Movies I Like:
Love Actually, Annie Hall, When Harry Met Sally, Fight Club, Say Anything.

5 Famous People I would Like to Meet:
Jon Stewart, Trent Reznor, Zach Braff, Jon Cusack, Ewan MacGregor. (wait, is that also my "list of five?")

5 Biggest Joys at the Moment:
hanging out with abbey, making fun of people behind their backs, making fun of people to their faces, have a decent day at work, discovering a really good movie.

5 favorite toys:
ibook, dvd player, guitar, karaoke machine, "new" 87 jetta. (if by "toy"you mean "things that need to be worked on ever so slightly.")

Wednesday, August 10, 2005






ahhh, the glory of photographs. you will see the lovely abster with her pup and you will get up close and personal (but not in that michelle pfieffer/rob redford way) with aimicita's face AND my face. good fun!

who here wants me to post a picture of amy after a few hours at the bar? can i see a show of hands?

i'm thinkin' arby's...

for reals. and i'm also thinkin' i need to post some pictures and soon. and post i shall.

identity crisis, or fun with hair?


dark hair
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

it's dark hair again. yeah, back to that.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

seems like forever....

since i've last blogged. but only four days. and by god, it's been a really, really long four days. too much to get into. but the important news is that our central air does work in this muggy, sticky month of august. and the lesson learned when doing home repairs is that it really is the simplest of answers. but you will spend a lot of money to find that out.

Friday, August 05, 2005

ahhhh....fridays...

it's so, so nice not to have work tomorrow. that lovely feeling of "i can stay in my jammies as long as i want." that's right, i said "jammies."
the kid is asleep. the dust is asleep. i am not. but i will be soon. yeah, like now.

swiffer


swiffer
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

this has also been acquired, but it has to charge 24 hours before i can use it. nuts! there goes my instant gratification sweep and vac.

87JETTA


87JETTA
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

a vehicle such as this has been acquired by myself and dustin. it was uber-cheap and is a good vehicle. good stuff.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

i know that sound...



this is the sound of relief outside right now.

Monday, August 01, 2005

leingirlz3


2leingirlz3
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

hey, look who was in town!!!! why it's emily (who lives here), jege and amy! together they are leingirlz3!

Saturday, July 30, 2005

another nice thing about this weekend

amy and jege will be in town this weekend -- let the searing wit begin!

Friday, July 29, 2005

a better day

yes, a better day. my girl is back from camp -- that was a loooong, long six days -- and things are slowly working themselves out. we just returned from the drive-in theater where we saw our second viewing of "charlie & the chocolate factory." going to the drive-in with abs is great.
i must sleep. more soon...

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

ugh.

a shite day. no good, i tell you.

top o' the morning..

6:40 a.m. and if i fall back to sleep there is no way i'll get up in time for work. so blog i shall.

we're on day four of the kiddo being at camp --- gulp. i can't wait to see her on friday! this is probably something that is good for her and me and the other parental units in some sort of really gutwrenching way, but holy crap -- it's tough.

this weekend also holds the possibility of seeing all three of the lein girls... hurrah! then i can convince the two that live elsewhere to move here. i'll do what i can and report my success at a later time.

have begun walking (for exercise, not just getting from one room to the next) on a somewhat regular basis, and i have discovered that unless i have the dog with me, there is no way that i'll be able to walk more than a few blocks without the seeds of boredom planting themselves into my lil' brain. when walking aforementioned dog, i don't worry about how fast i'm walking, if it's far enough and if my heart rate is at the proper spot for burning fat -- i just kind of walk until i see my dog dragging her feet. which is usually after about 12 blocks, so here's hoping 12 blocks is enough to really get my arse into shape.

perhaps i ought to invest in a pedometer. not a bad idea, really.

mad props out to the soul brother p-funk for getting a new and improved gig. and it's a gig that offers cheap airfare, so rock on to him.

and now the time for getting ready for work is upon me.

can you believe it's nearly august?

Sunday, July 24, 2005

funny story from meg's house

okay, so meg's former roommate, theresa, told a story about her hermit crab named pope john paul II. and this hermit crab died the day after the actual pope john paul II died. WEIRD!

funny quote:
"no room for asscrack at work." theresa, again.

"jesus saved us from our sins, so he better have a sense of humor." theresa, again!

a funny night all around. pictures to follow.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

from "blah" to "eh, it's better, at least."

BEFORE

before

AFTER

after


sad days call for a haircut.

Sad.

R.I.P., sweet cat Kichon.

Friday, July 22, 2005

tomorrow is the day!

NIN tickets go on sale for the st. paul show. and we shall have them. oh yes, we shall indeed have them.

do two wrongs make a right?

should i feel badly about this man's sentence? because i kind of don't. now i shall burn in hell, i suppose. it's just too bad that the girl's friends and family didn't get a crack at this guy first.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

nuts.

well i'm on hold with banfield pet hospital, as it's time to make the appointment for the dear boy kichon. it's all kinds of sad and i wish i had a surefire way of being able to tell if he's in pain or not -- but he seems to not so much look around, but rather he squints and winces...i'll read that as pain, i guess.
sad stuff.
and that's i have to report from my "i'm so tired and exhausted from exercising in our blistering heat" existence. more to follow...but until then, here's some fun INFORMATION, from the folks who brought you risperdal.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

A headline just for Emily.

As seen in the Star Tribune:

"Mexico orders evacuation as Emily approaches."

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Updates on our friend, Emily

Sounds like Emily was in Grenada this past week, where her winds tore up at least 100 homes, tore roofs from 2,000 more, destroyed crops and flooded scores of buildings. That's a full weekend, Em! And where are you now? Emily is centered about 130 miles south-southwest of the Jamaican capital and 335 miles southeast of Grand Cayman as of this morning.
Emily struck hard in Grenada, especially in the north and in the outlying islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique. What's your problem with Grenada, huh, Em? Huh? What did Grenada ever do to you?

Thursday, July 14, 2005

update on emily

It appears that finishing up the masters thesis must be running smoothly, as this update just came in from cnn:

"Emily does not appear to pose a threat to the United States. Emily arrived in the Windward Islands at the eastern edge of the Caribbean Wednesday evening"

Whew! Do give a call when you return from the Islands, Em!

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

get this guy!!!!!

i hope someone recognizes this guy and kicks his ass. that's MY CUB STORE! that's it...i'm shopping at Byerly's.

Holy Crap!


hurricane girls
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

Emily is a force to be reckoned with! But wait...what do I see north of Emily? Could that be Tropical Storm Amy?

neat!

the video for "only" is pretty boss.

the poor cat...

okay, so here are some test results for kichon/keeshaun/keysean:
(mind you, i've not a clue what these mean, but they are not good:

ALT: normal range between 10-100; his is 626.
Bilirubin: normal is .1-.4; his is 10.3.
Another one that i can't recall: normal is between 6 and 102; his is 888.

so although these tests (and their names) are somewhat cryptic to me, the prognosis is no good. although he is eating a little more voluntarily, so maybe we can turn it around yet. but the kiddo was wondering about the results, so she is aware that he may not last too long.

enjoying the a/c in the bedroom a great deal right now. already counting down the days until abbey is back in school (a month and a half), just so that she can be more...scheduled.

our two smallest kittens -- zebra and chewbacca -- were play-fighting tonight and they jumped up in the air toward each other, ala The Matrix -- it was sweet.

hoping for the tar-feathering process of karl rove, but also fully aware of the habit of w. not to keep his word. so we'll see what happens. if only people would take to the streets about this the way they took to the streets for michael jackson...one lady released doves, for f**ks sake!

so there's all the political stuff i have in me. i've not really commented on the bombing in london, except to say that i'm glad that david and tanuel are well and were not caught in harm's way. that harm, he's a bastard. and he's got chronic halitosis. and bloodshot eyes.

so now what is my comment? the official "it's blog, it's blog" comment? that is to say that the brits got right back on the buses/trains without a beat. they got back on in droves and to that i say "cheers!"

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Emily

Props to Jege for the inspiration on this post (and nothin' but the love for you, Em):

PHRASES THAT COULD BE APPLIED TO TROPICAL STORM EMILY AS WELL AS EMILY L.:

"Emily Picks Up Speed" (that has all sorts of undertones, doesn't it?)

"Emily churns up prices"

"Emily is moving toward the west near 20mph."

"Emily sets record."

"Emily strengthening; warnings issued."

And if Emily becomes a full on hurricane, here are some phrases that COULD come about (and yet still describe our beloved Ellermee)--props again to Jege:

"Emily causes Major damage"

"Emily rips through Miami"

"49 dead in Emily's wake"

and, i crap you negative, this phrase was actually describing Hurricane Edna in 1954:

"... will be remembered as a wet storm."

six freakin' months...


six freakin' months...
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

i've...had....

...the time of my life.....
oh, this is the craziest, SWAYZIEST movie ever!
here it comes...
"nobody puts baby in the corner."

back home...and packing again...

okay, so i've not blogged for nearly a damn week. i'm bad. we returned tuesday from north dakota (deering/minot, specifically) and will be returning (grand forks) tomorrow to return on monday. yay for vacation days!

on a sad note, our cat keeshaun (however you spell it, b/c we rarely have to) has lost a huge amount of weight lately, so we took him to the vet today. sadly the boy's liver is failing to function, so tonight we'll be force feeding him with a syringe and tomorrow we take him to the vet for the day in the hopes that he'll be rehydrated and will begin eating enough on his own. but the prognosis isn't great, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

i'm watching a bit of the bravo channel right now and "being bobby brown" just came on. what in the hell is this? it's a bit alarming that bobby brown is the sensibile one in the relationship. i was a fan of whitney back in the day. i had her first tape when i was in fifth grade. she seems a bit more...unhinged than she used to. is that a result of huge amounts of fame? fame waning? being a bit baked from drug addiction?
now i'm waiting for john "the captain" hughes to make a joke about bobby brown's perrogative. bring it, captain!

bobby calls whitney his queen. dustin never calls me his queen anymore. wait. he's never called me his queen. hmm. and with that, it's laundry time.
hey! "dirty dancing" is on the abc family channel!
"no one puts baby in a corner." but that line will come later. it's the scene where patrick swayze is leaving the resort while "she's like the wind" plays softly in the background.

funny side note: dixie was just knawing on something and i got her attention to see what it is... well she turned around and there is a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. okay, i've just checked the bathroom and all toothbrushes are accounted for, so i'm guessing she found an old one somewhere. but it was a funny thing to see. and this saves me the trouble of performing dental hygiene upon her.
is regular toothpaste bad for dogs? b/c you know, i'm tempted.

it's nearly time to wrastle a syringe of half food/half water into the poor cat's mouth. hmm. i feel so badly that we didn't catch it sooner, but when your cat is a hiding cat for the most part (lein girlz, he's similar to paddington, who would hide in you parent's room) and he's covered in long black fur, it's tough to tell that they have lost much weight and that his skin is yellowing. sad.

now would be a good time to find bag of money. i've not found one yet, but there's always tomorrow.

Friday, July 01, 2005

i want to see....

.... THIS movie. but only if it's not another switcheroo "we think she's the victim but really she's the murderer because she has another personality" sort of movie. b/c i've seen a lot of those lately.
getting the bags packed for nodak. it looks like tonight will be spent in bismarck, then we'll arrive into the magic city sometime tomorrow.... here's to a long, long drive.

vacation...within....sight...

so i'm getting ready to return to my homeland -- the one and only magic city, minot. well, deering, more specifically, as we shall descend upon the hansen farmstead like the locusts we are. and we're bring along not only the delightful abbey but also the dog named dixie, so it should be an interesting nine hours in a car.
hell week at work is winding down, so hopefully tomorrow won't be as horribly f**king irritating at today was. fingers crossed on that one, though.
so, anything exciting going on in minot this weekend? anyone?

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

so nice...

i've posted this link TWICE. it's also on ye olde cadaver politik, so give it a look-see...

muggy. so muggy.

and yesterday's storms were nice.
tom cruise is a f**king idiot. "i know that psychiatry is a psuedo-science." lunatic. "you don't know the history of psychiatry i do. there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance." idiot. like louis black just said regarding tom cruise..."what do you think is happening to you right now?"
i don't tell people like tom cruise not to use scientology, even if i do think it's a load of crapola. so why is he handing out the idea that:
1. he knows the history of ANYTHING.
2. vitamins are better than antidepressants.
i just hope that anyone who honestly needs medication doesn't listen to a word he says.
so yeah. i wish there was a way i could see "war of the worlds" (i'm a sucker for the apocalyptic movies) without sending any money his way?

things i'm really tired of today:

people who are "..........than thou."
hipper than thou. crunchier than thou. punker than thou. holier than thou. more socially conscious than thou. why? b/c it's condescending. it's hypocritical. you know what i'm talking about. the morons who are against animal cruelty but wear leather belts and shoes. the tossers who complain about shopping at certain retail outlets (i hate walmart too) b/c of their poor human rights record, but then act like total douchebags to other people.
i'm in a foul mood, so watch your back.
sleep is necessary.

Monday, June 27, 2005

a movie theater to try out

Mounds Theater
so we're going to check it out one of these weekends.

but this weekend we'll be in minot.
and next weekend in grand forks.
so after that sometime.

we're having some nice storms today. the sirens actually went off whilst i was finishing up my therapy appt. today -- how soothing.
and we saw "land of the dead" and it was pretty righteous. and "bewitched" was funny as well -- it made abbey giggle a lot. and that's just fun.
and yes, i'm watching "newlyweds" again. i know, i know. you don't even have to say it.

and it's one hellacious work week, getting ready for deadlines that are moved up. but having monday -- wait, TWO mondays in a row off -- will be worth all the crap that this week will entail.

funny story, courtesy of meaghan.
my sister and her boyfriend moved in together. and they purchased a countertop dishwasher. this dishwasher has a little window on the front of the door that's tinted dark, but if you look really hard, you can see the magic happening on the inside. well meg said she woke up one night around 4 a.m. and came out to the kitchen to see her boy holding a flashlight up to this little window, just watching the magic happen. that's good stuff.

i've not blogged for many moon.

i wish i could be a jogger. but everyone i see jogging look totally f**king miserable. there is no one with a glad look on the face whilst jogging. jeez-- i've not even seen a glimmer of contentment on a jogger's face. usually just a grimmace denoting some sort of misery. so why do i want to be a jogger? it seems like it would be both masochistic AND good for me at the same time.

our central air is kicking arse. and there is a story as to why it is functioning again.
as new(er) homeowners, there are things we don't know about. like filters that are in our gas furnace. and if they haven't been changed -- since we've moved in -- well, not only will our heater not function properly, but the central air WILL NOT WORK AT ALL.
thanks to my sister amy, it's all okay now, and it's so chilly in my house now that i may require the services of a sweater.

i guess we'll list that under "things we wish we knew hundreds of dollars ago."
maybe that's a new category altogether. okay, that's the first (and hopefully only) entry under that category.

nick and jessica are at a ski resort. and although skiing could only do me harm, their little hut (or townhouse, really) looks nice and comfy and, well, vacation-esque. abbey asked me when my summer vacation starts. i told her that my summer vacation is every saturday and sunday.

gee, having just returned from "vacation" yesterday, you would think i was well-rested. not the case at all. must sleep. maybe i'll write entertaining blog entries again someday...

...sigh....

Friday, June 24, 2005

another day, another trip to the neurologist

well it appears that we are increasing the kiddo's dose by a mL, from five to six, in an effort to eradicate the seizures that she is continuing to have -- even if it's less, the dr. says "one is too many." so we'll try this for a few weeks and hopefully it works out. ERADICATOR! -- a nice little kids in the hall thought.

it's been hot. really hot. so hot that we finally realized that there is a filter in our furnace that needed changing for our central air to properly function. it's like a whole new house. or a house that has functioning central air, anyhow.

tomorrow if friday. HURRAH! one day closer to another pre-monday holiday deadline crunch week at the office. and after the discovery that i was, in fact, responsible for the horrific f**k up at work, it makes my stomach, well, queasy, to say the least.

and i just thought i should give a shout out to my chica of chicas, Aimicita, for taking bold steps and securing a job AND a freakin' house in a new state! and dave swenson reminded me of a great amy moment at Campus Lab School, where our friend, Nicole, referred to herself as "Nicole the Great" and i believe Amy referred to herself at "Amy the Supreme." or was it "Amy the Superior?" anyhow, here's my shout out---- whoop whoop!

as a side note, be sure to catch Dave's band at the Turf on July 21.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

movies i aim to see this weekend

1. Bewitched
2. War of the Worlds
3. High Tension
4. Land of the Dead

...it's going to be a busy and expensive weekend... but SO WORTH IT.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Definition of a guilty pleasure

i'm wathing disc 2, season 1 of Newlyweds. my own little spiral into hell begins now.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

evening update:

"Batman Begins" kicks total arse!!!!!!!
that is all, i must sleep.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

f**k...

...b/c it's been that kind of a day. holy hell. possibly taking wednesday off to recover from the complete shite that covered me from head to toe on tuesday afternoon. can't even think. holy crap. must find alcohol immediately. and if i let myself think that things are okay, even for a milisecond, i tempt fate. must be prepared for absolute stinking worst.

Monday, June 13, 2005

tour dates!


tour dates!
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

note: oct. 11 at the Xcel center! wheee!

a day of little accomplishment

woke at 11 or so this morning. napped from 12:30 until 5 or so. got some groceries -- mowed the lawn....now it's time for bed. again. wow. little accomplished today.
well, the lawn is no small feat, now that i think about it. the front yard is not so big, but our backyard is:
1. up a hill, requiring the hauling of a lawn mower up stairs;
2. made up of tall grass. very tall. tall like "maybe it'd be easier for it to go back to the way our forefathers saw it" tall.
3. a bit bumpy.

so yeah, no good times there. i'll need to make EWP come on over and mow sometime, as i've decided i just don't want to.

i also have loads of weeding to do. will i get it done? time will tell.

hard to believe that the weekend is over so fast -- but i suppose when you sleep away half of the damn day, monday will sneak up on you. mondays. crunch days at work. and i like the crunch...but it makes sunday nights tough. i was considering going out to watch movieoke tonight, but i lost momentum, somewhere between weeding the garden plot in front and weed-wacking the yard in back. yes, it was so long, we needed to weed wack it BEFORE taking the mower on it. gross. bad homeowners! bad!

oh, if anyone out there needs a website done for a FRACTION of what most places will charge, please consider checking out Platypus Man for your web design needs. dustin is working hard to start up his own business, so feel free to toss his name around to people you know.

10:53 p.m. crap. must...rise...by...6....

speaking of boba-fett...

i had the pleasure of seeing mr. dave swenson when he was in town briefly this weekend! we ate some grilled yummies at terry's place and dave, as usual, made me laugh until my gut ached. can't wait to see him at the Turf this july!

ahhh, shucks...

kittens in chair

kitten in hat

Sunday, June 12, 2005

five months


five months
Originally uploaded by kllnin.

five months it has been.

death by lucky charm?

so i was eating lucky charms and i somehow and quite literally inhaled a marshmallow -- i'm unsure as to what shap -- but for a moment the thought of dying because of a lucky charm did pass through my mind. then i coughed really, really hard and it dislodged.
now my throat hurts.
now what am i watching? why it's "young guns" on bravo!
what does this find sunday hold for moi? i'm not certain, but i'll bet that my night includes a little Movieoke at the local. if i'm still awake.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

thank you, corporate chain restaurant!

no really! abbey and my mom went to a movie today, so in lieu of driving all the way from eagan to st. paul and then back out again, i'm killing a good hour or so at Panera, utilizing their free wi-fi and eating a cinnamon crunch bagel with honey walnut cream cheese and a cool dr. pepper to drink. ahhh, it's all about me (for 55 minutes)!
i need to do this more often -- get out of the house to write, to enjoy air conditioning that is nearly blowing me off of my comfy booth spot. i almost went to a park to just write -- not blog, but WRITE -- but in humidity? no good can come of that, i say.

and the agenda for the remainder of saturday? a mid-afternoon nap, perhaps, after i take abbey to her dad's. maybe a stop at the cherry pit -- an interesting bar near my house. by "interesting" i mean to say "has sign on the door banning any gang colors from entering the premises." so yeah, a precedent has been set, i guess -- but the general crowd SEEMED alright. (except for that one guy with a white supremacy tattoo singing really bad metal karaoke -- that's a bad apple, that one.)

i see a girl across the way coveting my ibook. that's right, rich girl, i've got one. wait, rich girl --- okay, she's probably not coveting, as i'm sure she's got one at home -- she's PITYING me for not having a powerbook, only an ibook. wait. i'm crazy.
another panera sight: a girl wearing a shirt that reads "SAVE WATER. DRINK BEER." i have nowhere to go from there.

Friday, June 10, 2005

props to jeggie!

THIS SITE made me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt. but it's a beautiful thing.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

the list of 5

okay, mr. chris cope has mentioned the list of 5, so i thought i should list mine. sort of a like a living will. but a living will that includes famous people i can have consequence-free sex with. (and dustin has one too, to be fair...)
1. trent reznor (you totally saw that one coming)
2. zach braff
3. ewan macgregor
4. john cusack
5. (empty slot)
dust and i discussed the idea of the five in great length once, and established that it must be someone with whom you otherwise have NO CHANCE in meeting. for instance, you can't go to a Rasputina show and decide that the cellist in the opening band is someone on your list. that is not a celebrity, that is just some stranger you want to nail. and dustin has objected to the inclusion of john cusack to my list b/c as he lives (i think) in chicago and we go to chicago once or twice a year, i could potentially meet him. yeah, location is the only thing that would keep john cusack from sleeping with me. sure...right.
as far as the empty slot, that is sort of kept as the floater spot. so i can see whatever movie with whatever star and say "he's so on my list," b/c there is always room for one more.
who is on YOUR list of five?

Monday, June 06, 2005

sure, SURE she meant it to be ironic.

Transcript from VH1 interview with that alanis singer girl:

VH1: You also did "Ironic." Do people still give you a rough time over it?

AM: God bless that little non-irony song! The sweetest irony is that it's a song called "Ironic" and it's not filled with irony. The best moment I had surrounding that song was in a bookstore in New York. Someone came up to me and said, "You do realize that song is not filled with ironies." I just nodded my head silently. And she said, "Is that the irony?" I just nodded my head and she walked out! [Laughs] It was such a sweet moment.


yeah, SURE she meant it that way.

Watching Kept

so i'm watching crap on tv right now. (as opposed to that high quality tv that i've been known to enjoy.) we were planning on checking out movieoke at the local, but i've since lost motivation to do things like find shoes, put on shoes, etc. so we'll try again next week. and it's always more fun to go out when you don't have to scrounge for coins in the couch.
but i digress. i'm watching that f**king Kept show on VH-1. basic premise: jerry hall wants a boy toy, so she's auditioning "hunks" and giving them tasks to win a place at the foot of her bed, apparently.
so i'm sure right now we're all in agreeance that it's crap.
and what's on vh-1 next? Strip Search -- finding "homegrown" men for a dance revue show. oy. sunday nights are something else.
just heard that sarah m. and andy might be putting an offer in on a house -- neat!
and this dolt on Kept is speaking about himself in the third person ---- that is SOOO three years ago.

Sunday, June 05, 2005

sunday sunday

i'm watching "sabrina" on one of those classic movie channels.
humphrey bogart. ahh, sweet humphrey bogart.
i feel like i have nothing to say. i feel like there is nothing in this noggin of mine to offer.
i'm a bad blogger lately. bad blogger! bad blogger!
i'm somewhat inspired to remove the carpet from my room today. hmm. we'll see how long this inspiration lasts.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

a nice lil' column

i'm not a huge fan of this columnist, but i like what he has to say about my 'hood, St. Paul's East Side...East Side, Represent!

Neighborhood snobs slander East Side — again

JOE SOUCHERAY

A lot of people in St. Paul are snobs when it comes to the East Side. The south, the west and the north come out all right, although the North End does occasionally experience the turned-up nose.

Just for the sake of conversation, let's go with specific compass designations. The west side of St. Paul is Highland Park, Mac-Groveland, Merriam Park, King's Maplewood, out that way. Man, oh man, they never get the snob treatment. That is west. Stand in the middle of town with a compass and you will see that west is west.

The south side of town is across the Robert or Wabasha or High bridges and up Ohio Street and through Cherokee Park and in there. Very nice. Hardly ever suffers from snobbism.

The North End is out Rice Street or Dale or Lexington or Snelling, whatever gets you north. Yes, once in a while you get somebody who hasn't driven outside of a six-block perimeter in the past 40 years and they level snobby charges against the north side that reveal an ignorance similar to the charges suffered by the East Side.

The East Side is east, of that there is no doubt, but about 90 percent of the snobs who rip the East Side don't even know what they mean, or where. Do they mean Dayton's Bluff? Dayton's Bluff was certainly good enough last year when some big paddlewheel boat steamed into town and people lined the bluffs of Dayton's Bluff with their cameras, and I don't recall anybody getting mugged or anything of the sort.

Do they mean Phalen? I guess Phalen is OK when you need ice to build a Winter Carnival palace. Wendy Anderson comes out of Phalen, as did the late Herb Brooks.

There's Hazel Park and Hayden Heights and Maryland-Arcade, Upper Payne and Lower Payne, Johnson Parkway. In other words, it's just like every other chunk of St. Paul, where you have Mac-Groveland, Crocus Hill and Lex-Ham. The East Side of St. Paul is a vast geographical area east of Interstate 35E that runs from about Larpenteur on the north all the way out to McKnight and then down to Battle Creek.

When officer Gerald Vick was killed last week, I heard the snobs in full chorus.

"Oh, the East Side. That figures.''

No, it doesn't figure. Vick was murdered near Erick's Bar on East Seventh Street. I defy anybody to tell me that they could have predicted that by the neighborhood. Erick's is a neighborhood bar with the classic neon beer signs in a big smoked-glass picture window that overlooks the street. Down the block is the old Viaduct Inn, which is getting new life and good reviews in the newspapers for its menu.

Officer James Sackett was murdered in 1970 on Hague Avenue near Victoria. That about falls into the definition of Cathedral Hill. Back then there was a big difference. We had not yet become neighborhoodists. They didn't have the little fleur-de-lis-shaped street signs back then that said "Historic Cathedral Hill.'' There was no Restoration Hardware selling brass address plates.

These days everybody is so pleased as punch to live in the city and avoid suburban commuting that we have become neighborhoodists who assign a neighborhood name to parcels of real estate no more than a block long.

"Where do you live?''

"Um, we live in the Milton-Chatsworth neighborhood.''

No you don't. You live in St. Paul.

All I'm asking is that the snobs grant the same considerations to the East Side, where there are just as many neighborhoods and neighborhoodists as any other part of St. Paul. And, just like any other location in St. Paul, there are pockets of trouble and stretches of housing in decline on the East Side.

It is interesting to note that around Erick's Bar it is called East Seventh Street. On the other end of town, where there are pockets of trouble and stretches of housing in decline, but more active neighborhoodists, it is called Fort Road.

Joe Soucheray can be reached at jsoucheray@pioneerpress.com

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

hmm..

the first post in a few days. nothing exciting to report. well, i did see "revenge of the sith" and that kind of ruled. especially when anakin spoke his own version of w's "you are either with me or against me" deal, and obi-wan responded that only a sith speaks in absolutes.
in other news, mtv is into censorship now, after ruling that NIN's performance at the movie awards should not have a "partisan" theme (a picture of w. as backdrop for "the hand that feeds) -- nails dropped out, rightly so.
in other other news, my kid just asked me for "some water for free." apparently she's been charged for water before? wha?
that leads me to a tangent -- i was probably 7 or 8 and walking down to a parade on burdick expressway in minot coming from the hill across from m&h and i fell down, skinned my knee, and went into a building that i think was a bakery or something and they tried to CHARGE me for a plastic cup of ice to mend my knee. "i'm bleeding," i told them. the bitchy, underpaid employee reluctantly gave me ice. i should have bled on the floor.
i want to find out information about my street, my house and stuff around me. i just looked online at Dayton's Bluff, but technically we are not in that area, or not as far as i can tell. any suggestions as to where to look?

what crap.

"If same-sex marriage prevails, I suspect we'll see both a decline in marriage and an upsurge in out-of-wedlock births, as Scandinavia has."

read THIS COLUMN in the Star Tribune and then be very, very glad that the old bat's email address is right at the bottom. i think she needs to be reminded that she is a hateful creature.