On January 10th, should Liz...

... Drive to Tampa to see The Dresden Dolls?
... or stay in Orlando to see the Editors at House of Blues?

... or be lame and work through both shows cause she's too silly to remember to request the 10th off.

opinions?

If your life was a movie, what would the soundtrack be?
so, here's how it works:
1. open your library (itunes, winamp, media player, ipod, etc)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. when you go to a new question, press the next button
6. be honest, even if you're embarrassed to have the song or it doesn't fit

opening credits: Monday Morning - Pulp

waking up: Fight! - Art Brut

first day of school: Munich - The Editors

falling in love: My Favorite Accident - Motion City Soundtrack

fight song: Lazier Than The Furniture - The Matches

breaking up: The Affair - TwoIfBySea

life's ok: Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground

mental breakdown: Fuck It Up - Towers of London

driving: Nice Dream - Radiohead

getting back together: Repertoire of Uncommon Depth - The Faint

wedding: Come Undone - Robbie Williams

birth of a child: Idioteque - Radiohead

final battle: Modern Art - Art Brut

death scene: Let's Get Fucked Up And Die - Motion City Soundtrack (omg i love that one)

funeral song: Art Star - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

ending credits: He Knows - The Futureheads

i gotta say this works a lot better than i thought it would. i will keep this in mind if i ever get around to making that movie.

i really don't think the idea of a totally gender neutral society is radical. at all.
it's quite possibly the most sensible thing i've ever heard of.

In the past two weeks I have:

- photographed two topless females for different projects.  it seems like something one would have to be a bit more prefessional for, but what can i say, people love to take their top off for art.

- seen my favorite band in the entire world at the social. I thought the bassist in the opening band was literally retarded for about half of their set. I almost got hit in the eye with the bass a few times. Art Brut is awesome. Besides the fact that they are just so fucking good, they also have the coolest socks in the world. Like, you couldn't even get those socks in America.

- seen Blue Oyster Cult, Foreigner, and Styx perform in West Palm Beach. Observations:

- Blue Oyster Cult have not aged well. We thought they were just some random opening band for awhile. But they closed with Don't Fear the Reaper (obviously) and it was pretty cool.
- Foreigner was just freakin awesome. I don't think the singer's hair is real, but it looked good.
- The thing that I noticed about Styx was that Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung seemed to be having this unspoken competition about who could introduce the other band members the most.  I think that Tommy Shaw won, because he seemed to talk more, and he used the word 'inimitable.' But Dennis DeYoung had crazy arm twirl things that seemed physically impossible. But Tommy Shaw still had the best hair of anyone there. They said that they could play this rock n' roll music for us all night long. I think we left by 11 which is the earliest that I think I'v ever left any show. But it was AWESOME.
- West Palm Beach is on the East coast of Florida. Both Zach and I wondered aloud why it was named West Palm Beach, without really coming up with a decent answer. Only Steve staunchly defended that we were, in fact, on the West Coast of Florida.

- learned a very important lesson from the rock group Styx and their music. It's true that a lot of people seem to lead pointless lives. And this could be from any number of different reasons. Sometimes, you want to just tell people this, because you want them to know so that they can better themselves. But you can't really tell them, because that will not make people happier or more productive or better at all. You have to make something good. You have to put something good out into the world that will inspire people to better themselves.

- cut a lot out of this lj entry that in hindsight wasn't that interesting. But I really did do a lot more than this, and i am very tired.

Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with six random facts about yourself. In the end you need to choose six people to be tagged and list their names.

1. I have been in the same relationship for longer than anyone who can possibly be reading this. And it is awesome.

2. I feel like I have developed an extremely acute olfactory sense. This has happened in the past year I believe. Smells are so very strong to me, and they completely change my mood. My house is full of scented candles/incense/scented oils/febreeze. It causes me great anxiety to think someone else might think me or my house smells anything but spectacular.

3. It bothers me when people talk about sex. I think this has something to do with the 10 years I went to Catholic school and the residual guilt. (Cause just so you know, I took all the shit VERY seriously, for a very long time. A lot more than most of my peers.) Anyway, with a few exceptions, I just don't enjoy talking about it very much. I think that a lot of the time it can be fairly disrespectful, if your talking about what you did with a certain person, and they don't know that you'd be talking about it. It's also a bit silly if you are talking about this for medical reasons, as that can be a bit icky. I suppose its alright if you are trying to give someone helpful advice. Most other times though, it just seems like something that should remain private between whoever is having sex with each other, and it just makes me uncomfortable to hear about.

4. I don't like people who won't let you take their picture. This bothers me even more since I've become more involved in serious photography. But even for snapshots; If I'm drunk, and you're drunk, and you're at the party, and I'm taking pictures of the party, I'M GONNA TAKE YOUR FUCKING PICTURE. i don't care if you don't look good. I don't look good, I'm drunk too. But I don't care how bad I look, I will run my fingers through my hair and smile for you and let you  take my picture. Hmmm, that is another weird contradiction about me, I really like having my picture taken, but I hate it when people look at me. I am quite paranoid about that actually.

5. I can now understand why people have inane conversations about things like the weather. I've been noticing the weather a lot lately. It never much affected me in the past, it was just what was going on as I moved from one building to another one. It still doesn't make much of a difference, but I notice it now. I can talk to someone on the phone "How's the weather in Florida?" "Oh its pretty hot, and its been raining all day. How's the weather up there?" blah blah blah... you just killed like 30 seconds. It's kind of useful, and it changes every day. And if it doesn't change, then you can talk about that. That's a drought or something. I now know why older people watch the weather channel so much. ...It beats talking about sex? Hmm, I must be a boring person to converse with.

6. I truly believe that we are lucky to be alive. Even if you think there are no answers, or you think you know what the answers are, or you aren't sure at all, I think something is going to happen. If it happens in my lifetime, or 10 million years from now, I think something will happen and we will all have been a part of it in some way. So life is a good thing, and we should be happy while we are alive. If you are not happy in your life, I think it is your responsibility to change that. You can't blame it on your parents, or your poverty, or your shitty childhood, or your anxiety, or whatever. All people have circumstances that make their lives shitty. It is your responsibility to rise above whatever is dragging you down. I'm certainly not writing anyone's suffering off as something that's easy to overcome. But once you take responsibility for your own happiness, you will be a better person for having done so.
All of that might have sounded a bit condescending, no offense mates. That's my self-empowerment speech for the day.

I tag these people cause I like them:
dark_cherry  jacksonlpt  lazyangel1317oldschool8  xghostorchidx 

Here's something that bothers me: when people bitch about how unattractive celebrities are. Or how unattractive anyone is really.
Know why people think Paris Hilton is hot? Its not cause she's rich and annoying. Its because she's fucking hot. And she's a helluva lot more attractive than anyone probably reading this.
Oh Britney Spears used to be so freaking hot but now she's fat and trailer trash. SHE JUST HAD A BABY. She's about to have another one. SHE'S ALLOWED TO BE A LITTLE CHUBBY.
Oh and Jessica Simpson's a slut. How the hell do you justify saying that?? Because you personally know everyone she's slept with?
When i'm standing in line at the grocery store or walmart of something i'll read us or in touch cause its always a long line and i get bored. But i dont actually talk about this shit like dissing celebrities is a good way to bond with my peers.
and the sad thing is, people do this all the time to each other. If someone annoys them, they will find every imperfect physical feature of that person and bitch about it and how completely ugly that person must be. I used to do this in high school. Its freakin pathetic that I know people that still do it. And usually if you don't like someone and they're a girl, they will eventually get called a slut. Guys... well honestly people don't seem to tear guys apart as much. But maybe thats just the people i'm around.
Seriously, if you have a problem with someone, confront the problem. Don't be in high school. And once you confront the problem, and you see that its not really a problem worth having, just stop hating.
And stop talking about celebrities. If Paris Hilton really annoys you that much, get her out of your fucking head and go read the Bible or read Being and Nothingness or SOMETHING just fill your head with something more worthwhile.

This actually happened, like the other day:
Teacher: "And what does Liz want to do with her life?"
Entire class: "She doesn't know!!"

Other:
-Don't try to watch a period piece with a high person. You will never get past why the fuck does this early 19th century British military captain have a faux-hawk ?
-All people need to stop taking black and white photographs of a solitary tree in a misty field. And I need to stop looking at them like they interest me.
-The other day, a woman was trying to open the door at Skechers with a baby in one arm and a drink in the other. The baby's face was pressed against the glass, so I ran over to help her, but by the time I got to the door, she had already opened it. So i just looked really stupid. And I hid until she left.

"Americans they do not deserve what they have. They have the eyes of small children who are forever looking for the next source of distraction, entertainment, sweet taste in the mouth." 

-Art Brut is at The Social on May 12th. Erm... this is a super big deal. BRITISH BANDS NEVER COME TO FLORIDA. And I love them so so so so much!!! And it is their only florida show, and they are coming to Orlando!!! I know that its because I went on their myspace and left a comment that said 'I love you so so much please come to florida' or something to that effect. And they were like 'alright mate cheers' or something. YAY!
-I called Mack on 4/20 (its a bit sad that i didnt call on his birthday, but i associate that day so much with him that i had to call) I called around 12:30 and I woke him up. Isn't that a beautiful thing?? My little brother wasn't doing anything illegal, he was sleeping cause he had school the next day! I was so pleasantly surprised and relieved. I mean, if someone wants to smoke out all day, thats cool, but i know Mary and him were having sooooo many problems, and I'm just relieved that things are getting so much better for them :)
-At Skechers, we have this thing called the FISH award. It is basically like Employee of the Month(It's based on this whole business philosophy of the Seattle fish markets where everyone likes working and shopping there blah) Well, we did have it, but for '06 they changed the policy, and we don't give the award anymore. However, I think Eric is so conditioned into voting for who gets the award every meeting, that today we ended up voting anyway. And I won!!! I won a non-existent award mostly because I was the only person eligible(everyone else is either brand new or has worked there for years and has already won it) But it still made me kinda happy :)

and also there is a rat loose in Skechers that is living off the popcorn crumbs. This is scary, but so far has been fairly amusing.

Guilt	What is yours?	Explain yourself
Culinary:	Smoothies	I'm sure they're not as healthy as I pretend they are. But hey, you don't have to chew.
Literary:	Bret Easton Ellis	His characters are all one-dimensional rich druggy pricks that only a high-schooler would find interesting (except maybe in American Psycho) But you will feel smart for finishing a book in one day!
Audiovisual:	Desperate Housewives	I feel like I should hate it, but I never could. You need to give it a chance if you haven't.
Musical:	Ayreon - The Final Experiment	A blind musician living in the time of King Arthur is sent a message from the screwed world of 2084 and he's the only one that can change anything. It's a dorky concept, but the most original thing I've heard in years. It's awesome.
Celebrity:	Keira Knightley	Cause everyone loves her now, it's just too obvious. But I definitely think she's probably the prettiest person to have ever existed. At least that I've seen.

Now I tag:-

dark_cherry xghostorchidx lazyangel1317 mojaroni and jacksonlpt


to complete this same Quiz, Its HERE.

I walk in, hands in my jacket pockets. There are two Xeroxed maps of Vermont.. actually it's New Hampshire or maybe Maryland, up on the wall, above the computer and the bottle of Stoli.
..................................................
"what i mean, like, um, why are those maps, um... yeah, like what are those maps doing up there?"
"Maryland's cool," Susan says.
(the rules of attraction was worth re-reading just for that)

I have $500 to give someone!! I think he does not want it.

I am taking world religions and photography this summer.

Apparently, I never finish anything, but just leave a tiny little bit that no one will never eat or drink in the fridge. Just to annoy you. Also, I still act like I'm in 12th grade. Thank you Steve-o for this enlightenment!!

The security at High Point Club Apartments is phenomenal.
"Do you guys live here?"
"No, we broke in just to sit and smoke on this generator right here."

Oh and everyone points out how I'm doing nothing with my life, well what else is new ?

i find myself having very little to do at work. i make lots of lists of things i have to do on post it notes and crumple them up and leave them around my room. the following is a long pointless compilation of the content of those notes:

apparently i am hyper today. i basically summed up my life story to zach, but i did it by describing my relationship to olives. and it made so. much. sense.

stephanie flies in tonight at midnight. hot hot hot.

We have ants in our kitchen. Today Zach was looking for the source of the ants. It is somewhere under the carpet near the wall behind the tv. We think. We were going to purchase ant spray. Zach saw some ants near our trash can, working as a team, picking up a crumb to carry back to their little ant colony. After awhile, we realized we still had ant spray from the last time we had ants. So Zach went over to the wall behind the tv to spray the ants, and realized that the same ants who had the crumb by the trash can had walked all the way across the living room(which must be long for an ant) and were about to reach the wall and their little ant colony. Then he sprayed them. They died.

I think this is a rather poignant allegory for life. Lots of pointless work and activity, carrying your little crumb for the greater good. Eventually all your efforts come to nothing, ending with your certain death.

Didn't that just brighten up your day?

Now I'm going to go buy a vacuum.

Yesterday at work about 12:30, we're pretty busy, quite randomly the power goes out. It was very annoying because we had to ring people up WITHOUT registers for about half an hour, but then we got to close. Skechers was the only store in Waterford without powers. So we went to Panera. There wasn't much else to do until the power came back on.

So we were all sitting in the back eating, and Matt said something about how the two words that freak him out the most are the 'P-word' and the 'C-word' (and this guy, though he's awesome, is probably one of the grossest people I know) And I just mentioned how if the worst thing you can call someone in our society is "cunt" (and he actually flinched when i said that) what does that say about our society's views on female genitalia and females in general(since our genitals are the only things that define us as male or female) There's such a negative connotation built up around the word 'cunt' and that stays in the back of your head whether you have one or you're in one, so just fucking think about that. Think about that the next time you're going to use ANY word to insult someone, think about what that word actually means what you're doing to that word and maybe just try to be less insulting?

There's so much NEGATIVITY. Its not meant to be funny. Its dragging me down, its dragging you down too.

Later, I was talking to someone about sexual harassment. Supposedly, there was some guy who called a woman 'sweetie' and he got two years in jail and had to pay a $10,000 fine. I said that was really excessive and he was probably just being made an example of, which was unfair. I SAID THAT FIRST. But then I said that calling someone 'sweetie' in a professional environment is condescending. And then someone called me a hardcore feminist, (well i AM a feminist, though i am not sure if i am hardcore) but of course that is a BAD thing to be. For some reason, no one seems to understand how calling someone 'sweetie' can be condescending. Well here's an example. Let's say a middle-aged guy walks into Skechers and sees me and says 'Sweetie, can you tell me where the Work boots are?' Would that same guy say the same thing to Stephen, my middle-aged general manager? You know he wouldn't. Here's my point. If you are treating me, or any woman, or any PERSON, as less than an equal, then you are being condescending or worse. And that is just unprofessional. And I'm sorry if you haven't caught up with this crazy new idea of EQUALITY we as a society are trying to practice now, but that doesn't mean I am going to just smile and take your shit.

So if you've just read this long, unorganized rant, and agree with any of the things I said, just leave a simple little comment that says 'I agree' or something so that I don't have to feel so alone. If you've just read this and are thinking of leaving a comment that says 'Make me a sandwich' or something, guess what, it's really not that clever.

I see this degradation and separation around me all the time, and sometimes I just want to cry because I feel like most people simply ignore it or worse, don't see it as a problem at all.

FOUR CITIES YOU'VE LIVED IN:
- Wheaton, MD
- Venice, FL
- Olney, MD
- Orlando, FL

FOUR TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH:
- The OC
- The Office
- Anything on the crazy christian channels
- Skating With Celebrities

FOUR FAVORITE PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
- Ocean City
- Holy shit i dont think i've ever really been on vacation
-
-

FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
- (sigh)myspace
- deviantart
- livejournal
- google

FOUR SCHOOLS YOU'VE ATTENDED:
- St. John The Evangelist Elementary
- Albert Einstein HS
- Montgomery College
- Valencia CC

FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
- PANERA anything
- Spaghetti
- Burritos
- Popcorn

FOUR THINGS YOU WANT RIGHT NOW:
- A car
- Rent money
- Good night's sleep
- I want YOU to go to http://mintyfresh114.deviantart.com

I went into Panera at 5 this morning. Apparently, I am going to be an opener since all the other openers are leaving. Honestly, I don't really know what this means. Nothing is very explained. It's just kind of, now we're open, make some drinks slice some bagels refill the cream get cream cheese get some pastries make me a caramel latte that one wasnt good enough make another one and another. I made one asshole three caramel lattes, because none were good enough for him(though i followed the Exact directions) and i dropped a bunch of bagels. :( but. one guy told me the mocha latte i made him looked great. :) and for the most part people are nice and friendly and patient(it was my first damn day) but of course its the people who are dicks to you that you remember.

steve and i watched donnie darko the directors cut. let me just say, if you haven't seen it, you definitely should, because everything just makes so much sense now. I watched the original one about four times and thought i understood it. turns out i hardly did at all. there are excerpts from Roberta Sparrow's book, that really make sense, and i can't understand why they would cut those out. this sight has all of the book that has been released: http://www.tonystuff.co.uk/darko-time.htm. Also, the official sight has a lot more information, but its kind of weird to navigate. anywho, if you never saw the directors cut and the original just bothered you cause it didnt make any sense, go see it cause its awesome.

i'm off to bed as i work from 5AM to 10PM tomorrow.

Yesterday at work I was so bored i started making snowflakes out of post-it notes.