My Twenty-Something Quasi-Soap

...that's what I'm saying to Wall Street. Can we give some props to President Obama for calling out those a-holes on Wall Street who paid themselves, what was it, $20 billion in bonuses in 2008? They drove the economy straight into the shitter, and they got $20 billion for it? $20 billion for putting people out of work and out of their homes and effing up finances worldwide. Dude, I'd love to get some of that money. I'd love for someone to pay me a shit ton of money to create a global economic crisis of epic proportions. But back to the President. He called those banks out on their shady ways. Called them "shameful," and told all of us just what they did. President Obama (will I ever get tired of hearing that...nope) said that "there will be a time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses -- now is not that time." You hear that, Wall Street? Now is not the time to rake in tons of cash for yourselves and buy brandy-new...

...people who just lost their jobs this week. I've been laid off from the neighborhood bookstore. Nothing to do with me as a person, or my work ethic. No conflicts with management. Nothing shady. It was a numbers decision that came from the home office. And I am no longer gainfully employed. Holy shit. I kept it together when my DM told me. I had the presence of mind to make it clear that I want to stay with the company and I'd like to transfer to New Jersey. If I had a dollar for every time I said, "I'm OK," or "It's OK," I'd be able to fill my gas tank. I lost it when I was told I couldn't go back the next day to do story time or work a planned event. I've been very good so far at looking finding silver linings and keeping a stiff upper lip. I even pulled the ultimate Bree Van De Camp and took my sister out for her birthday dinner (to Legal Sea Foods) without showing a hint of something being wrong. But today... I want to be angry. I wa...

I know I shouldn't get back into my usual ranting and raving so soon after such an amazing historical event. I know this. But there's something I need to rant about. I do not want to have to be subjected to the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice crossover episode happening in two weeks. It's bad enough that we're only 2 weeks in from the holiday break. You mean that not only do I have to wait 2 weeks for my next episode of Grey's, but I have to deal with Private Practice on top of it?!? Dude. Seriously. I have been hooked on Grey's Anatomy since the very first episode. I stuck with it through thick and thin. Even when the show was at its worst, I kept watching. I admit it. I like the show. Even though the whole Gizzie disaster was something we never need to talk about again, they did a horrible (almost cartoonish) characterization of someone with Asperger's, Meredith tried to kill herself, the Chief had a brain tumor, Erica Hahn disappeared into the night...

Work today started like any other day. Morning meeting, got my latte, picked out books for story time. Of course, I was none too pleased about having to read to the little ones today. I never am, although I've accepted the fact that they're just too young for Dr. Seuss. But today, I got through it as quickly as I could. I had a date with history. By 12pm on the dot I was running back to my office, where I had (and still have) a live streaming feed from CNN on the computer, and got back in time for the main event. I make the mistake of answering the phone and dealing with some business, so I missed most of the oath. But I fell into my chair on the words "so help me God." Barack Obama is officially our president. I watched his address to us. To the country and the world. And I felt something that I haven't felt in a long time, if ever - - true love for my country. Don't get me wrong. I've said before and I'll make it clear again that I have always felt l...

You know, everyone usually looks at January as kind of a bummer month. The holidays are over, the weather sucks, and spring is still far far away. For me, however, January is an exciting month. All of my tv shows come back from the holiday break, mid-season shows start up (yay Idol!), my birthday falls in the middle of the month, new semesters start (when I was in college, at least ::sniff::)... so despite the crappy weather (yes, even here in South Florida on some days) and the melancholy that sets in over my advancing age, January's a big deal. Especially this one. Because of tomorrow. Remember when January 20, 2009 seemed like an eternity away? The day after the '04 elections, we were already counting down to the end. At least, we were counting down when we weren't busy investigating the Canadian immigration process. But we would look at that date, and sigh, and think about how that was so far away . That was before Hurricane Katrina. That was before the surge. That was ...

...if this is the week of my birthday, that means that American Idol is back! ::squeeeeeeeee:: I think I might be the only person left that I know who actually gives a crap. My sister insisted all year that she will not be my Idol buddy this year, and that saddened me. Last season was a blast when we were both watching. We made up nicknames for people we didn't like (Mayonaise Sandwich, Jager Bombs, BJ Mic, Crazy Eyes, The Other David), we mercilessly ragged on Paula and her comments (me to my sister 15 minutes into an episode: "Looks like Paula's meds are kicking in early tonight!"), we mapped out our phone vote distribution on the whiteboard ("OK, if we give Jason 2 votes, we have to give 4 to David A...). We even had our own chant: Me: [name of our town] Chapter of the David Archuleta Fan Club, represent! My sister: Whoo! (complete with synchronised fist pumps in air) And before you get all retarded on me, our allegiances eventually shifted for David Cook (...

This just in: it was a freaking goose attack. Say what? I'll rewind to approximately half an hour ago, via text message I get from a friend back home in Jersey. BFF: Just called the boyfriend, he's ok, so I'm going over to his house for a bit. Me (after a minute or two, trying to decipher the message): Ok...but what happened? (I think you meant to send this to someone else!) BFF: No, a plane crashed in the Hudson just thought you would be interested is all Me (after opening the NY Times website that I had literally just checked 10 minutes ago): OMG I didn't know! Just now seeing the story on NY Times...they just put it up. Glad to know that the boyfriend's ok. Keep me posted on anyone else we should worry about. Preliminary reports are saying that the US Airways plane taking off from Laguardia suffered a bird strike thanks to a goose. Damn geese! They're one of the very few things that I don't miss about Jersey. Anyway, thanks to some excellent piloting by t...

Now that the holidays are pretty much over (everyone's back at work and school, bowl season's almost over, we're in NFL playoff season ::sniff:: cough-Dolphins FAIL-cough), we're all starting to settle into our old routines and shedding the common human courtesy and kindness that overtakes us all at the end of the year. With that in mind, here are some friendly public service announcements for people to keep in mind as we head into a new year: -If you are suddenly stricken with a case of explosive diarrhea in the restroom of your neighborhood bookstore, please be so kind as to attempt to clean up some of the aftermath before making a hasty exit from the premises. Your efforts will appreciated since the staff employs an outside cleaning service to take care of the bathrooms, and hosing down poo in the handicapped stall is so not part of our job description. Additionally, since the cleaning lady is apparently not paid enough to give a damn, the restroom will smell like d...

Can you believe it's here? It's January 3, 2009. 2009! 17 days till Inauguration Day, 14 days till my birthday (after which, I have decided to no longer admit my age unless it's absolutely necessary. Lame and vain, I know. But last year's milestone had me pretty messed up in the head for a minute, so my future refusal to disclose my age is merely a way of preserving my sanity). And I'm sure that 2009 will shape up to be a huge year, just like 2008 was. But for all our sakes, I hope it's a huge year in that "OMG so many awesome things have happened and things are getting better for once" way and not in the "OMG everything is going to hell in a handbasket and it's only going to get more disastrous" way that we all felt in 2008 (Election Day excluded). All we have left going into this year is optimism. If we all decide that things have no direction to go but up, things will get better, right? Sadly, that's not the case. But we can all do...