Saturday, July 14, 2001
I overslept a bit, eh? I awoke to find Tony and Nicole sitting on my sofa watching South Park. They were feasting eating all my chips, fig bars and my Ben and Jerry's. Nicole said it was pennance for not meeting them at Bauhaus an hour earlier as promised. I say it looks like a case of the munchies to me. They are being awfully silly as well. They swear they aren't, but I have my doubts. (laughing) Apparently we're going to the midnight movie at the Egyptian. I have not heard of "Run Lola Run", but I've been informed by the gigglers that the "Sleep Queen" has no power here. See what I mean?
Ashley, they will be crossing the border shortly I imagine. (laughing). It wouldn't surprise me if many of you have tracked me down on the net, but I didn't expect anyone to do so on foot. I may check in when we get back. If not, in case I am no longer here it really has been a pleasure. I might have done a few things differently, but I wouldn't have traded this experience for the world. Best of luck everybody.
Posted by Rachael @ 11:50 PM PST [Link]
Another puppetmaster sightening??? damn, thats insane. And btw, anyone can reach me at tedpuppet@hotmail.com. Alright, I'm ready for another night of dancing, hopefully with no guns this time. And if this is my last post to you all, its been a pleasure.
Posted by Ted @ 10:21 PM PST [Link]
Rach, you've gotta be kidding. That is too weird. Two Puppetmaster sightings? How odd. And for my "fan" that asked for "inside info" about me, hi! Feel free to e-mail me @ ashley@puppet.co.uk. Maybe you can come visit me at work too. Vancouver isn't THAT far from Seattle. No, really...
Posted by Ashley @ 08:06 PM PST [Link]
Today at work these two young guys came into the store and said, "Rachael, We're here to say we're rooting for you." I looked at them a bit puzzled. I had never seen either of them before to the best of my knowledge. I was steaming some non-fat and almost dropped it when I realized what they were talking about. One of them said, "Wow, Like you really do work for Starbucks." (laughing) Yes, I most certainly do.
They asked how Tony is and if things were going as well as I had said. They will be seniors this Fall and they are both very cute. They told me their Puppetmaster theories which they had been arguing about. I told them who I voted for and why. One of them asked if I had any inside info on Ashley. (laughing) Anyways. Thanks for coming by today guys and for your support. It was really sweet of you. They had been to nine stores and had come all the way from Issaquah.
After work I went for a short run. I came home and took a shower and fixed myself a spinach salad. Now, I'm really in need of a nap. I'm going to go lay down for a bit.
Posted by Rachael @ 07:38 PM PST [Link]
My obsession is slowly killing itself. Ernie, with that three post limit, I'll NEVER live at this rate!!
3 X 10 = 30
3 X 9 = 27
3 X 8 = 24
3 X 7 = 21
3 X 6 = 18
3 X 5 = 15
3 X 4 = 12...
*sob* It is too quiet here! I realize I never really post during midday or the mornings, but that is because I sleep from about 4AM-2PM. I'm a teenager, I NEED a lot of sleep. So kids, START USING ALL THREE POSTS! I NEED MORE HOT PUPPETMASTER LOVE! *cough* Uh, yeah. Moving on...
I had THE strangest dreams last night. Two, to be exact.
In the second, which I will describe first, because it is both shorter, and fresher in my mind... I had just met my soulmate. We met on a golf course (?) because I was some pro golfer. I was off at boarding school, and didn't want to tell my dad I was living there because it'd have made him mad - friends planned on sneaking me in and letting me attend all of their classes. Anyway, at breakfast the first morning we were there, she was eating the EXACT same things that I was, had the same handicap in golf as me, (we were eating breakfast in the golf house) and drove the same car. We met up, and within minutes were kissing, only to be seperated by an avalanche. Suddenly, I was trapped in my car (which was, for some reason, in my house) and Soulmate (throughout the dream, she never had a name. Weird.) had gotten one of those snow shoveling guys along the road to rescue me. When I finally got out, we ran off and got married... which was ALLOWED in this dream. She and I lived happily ever after. How odd.
In the first, which, upon waking up, I wrote down... well, it was SO WEIRD. I'm attributing the dream to Bob, who has had me thinking about James Bond since I met him. I was James Bond, or, to be practical here, Jane Bond. Me and a bunch of friends and family, (which included people such as my Grandmother, Great Auntie Joan, Peter, Aaron [who had on this extremely strange shirt, it said "I AM BLUE!!" on it, in blue letters, and on the back it had...well, something weird that I can't remember now.], and Brandon.) were waiting at the airport for Bertie to show up because she was late.
I remember shoving Brandon out of the way so I could sit with Aaron and hug him. My Auntie Joan was asking me about my grades, and if I had graduated or not. We had to board early to avoid the lines and avoid flight delay. When we were boarding, I remarked, IN my dream, that, "Hey, this airport looks just like a dream I had once!" We were all flying to Israel on a secret mission. Only everyone else thought it was a vacation. All I remember about the plane ride, after Bertie showed up, was having sex in the airplane bathroom with someone. I think it was Peter or Aaron.
We got there, and I immediately took off and set up my supersecret elite computer from my cellphone. It was basically paperthin and weighed nothing. I started talking to this rich Israeli leader, who looked suspiciously like a millionaire friend/ex boyfriend (who I dumped when he couldn't quit bragging about how rich he had gotten through .com's) I had when I was younger. This leader loved me because I was smart. I eventually got this leader to give up some naked pictures (?!) of himself to me, after coaxing him with some of what I claimed to be me. He decided he wanted me to shower in his private bathroom, and wanted me to cry (?) into the drain so he could taste my tears, because the drain would seperate them and send them via e-mail to his office. Ooookay.
I did as he asked, and then went on some excursion through a desert. I don't even know if there's a desert in Israel or not. We were sitting around on the hot rocky sand around railroad tracks that hadn't been used in years... and looking at all the starving children around us. Looked like one of those "Please, sponsor a child" commercials. Suddenly, this starving child came bolting down the tracks in some plastic tricycle and Amanda, a friend from school (who is a very artsy and human rights-ish, person, involved in PETA, etc...) stands up and starts yelling, "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE, LOOK AT ALL THESE CHILDREN, IT'S HORRIBLE!" I ended up leaving because she made me upset, and...
Wound up meeting the leader guy and his kid. I shook his hand and gave him a business card, but it turns out it had the wrong information on it. The company that had made them had goofed and had printed seemingly everyone's names but MINE on the cards. When I dug into my little box for more, I found that the remaining cards had porn on them. I threatened to give out the bad pictures of him, and he said, "will you marry me, if so, I will quit sending the nukes to Canada". I said "Sure" and got him to deactivate and give me the key to them, and then fled Israel. And then, I woke up. Talk about strange.
Posted by Ashley @ 04:09 PM PST [Link]
OK, so the flatmates kept me awake past at least 3am last night. And they were being quiet. Damn, but it was depressing. I really do need my sleep. I'm not the sort of person who can just sleep through anything. David, you're right. You know, I was lying there last night just fantasising about a new place. It's hard because I've lived with Flatmate 2 for four years and it works really well - when, as I said, they're not wrecking my night. I mean, it wasn't always like this - we didn't always have people round ALL THE TIME, and he wasn't as much of a stoner as he is now.
(Or maybe it's more the case that I was, and now I'm not?)
Anyway, I have a good friend who is thinking about moving into a flat in Gorgie (i.e. miles away) for the sake of cheap rent, and I'm thinking he and I should get a place together somewhere central instead. We could make it work ... maybe we could get a one-bedroom flat and he could have the bedroom and I could take the living room. I have a mattress, bookcase, computer desk & chair, and beanbag ... what more do I need? I mean, I just throw my clothes around anyway. In all these years the concept of a chest of drawers or a wardrobe hasn't got very far with me.
I should stop thinking about this until I've actually managed to speak to him. But even if he's not up for it, I really do think I need to move on. Kick me at the end of this month and remind me of that, will you?
Ted, that was a scary thing to happen! Was anyone hurt? I liked your little fantasy of saving the day. I do that too.
So, today I was reshaping urban space at the Foot & Mouth Festival. I was going to scan a few of my own pictures from last year's for you, but I'm too tired. Well, basically a few hundred of us got together for a street party and to protest capitalism. My camera battery decided to die just as our section joined up with the other bunch of people who were coming from a different part of the city, so I think I missed out on some good Kodak moments there. However, it managed to kick in again just as someone got arrested for climbing over a railing to go to the other side of the street (yes, really). Good to see from the website that all arrested were released by 9pm.
I guess I probably wasn't as much in the mood this year, given my lack of sleep and spending the morning trying to persuade Londoners to talk to me about investments (as my first project, this one really sucks. Thank ungod it should finish tomorrow ... after I spend ALL DAY at it). I got interviewed by a journalist when we were waiting for it to get started but I really wasn't feeling very articulate (um, kind of like now, you know?). I did manage to get onto a rooftop for a minute to get a good shot of the procession on Lothian Road. There was a big police presence but mostly they were friendly. Once in a while though I'd see or overhear confrontations and keep an eye out for things. I'm not keen on getting arrested - and you're not likely to find me doing anything to warrant that, but people do get arrested for stupid things - but I had a solicitor's number programmed in my phone just in case.
Damn, I'm too tired to even go into it; I hope someone else who was there today will write something better! OK. I really want to get to bed. Hope you enjoy the dance tonight David, and happy birthday again James! Good luck all on the quiz ... I wonder who it's going to be. I just hope it's not me because I haven't got that blog ready yet. But, whatever.
Posted by Eva @ 03:55 PM PST [Link]
*David wanders across the prairie, tumbleweeds rolling by him*
Quiet in the Primate House today. Everybody's off drinking French wine and celebrating the Storming of the Bastille, right? Except for James, who's drinking Bud Light (yeesh) and celebrating being old enough to vote, fight, be tried as an adult, consent to certain sexual acts, and do just about everything except drink. Oops.
I'm going to a dance tonight, and I'm only partly looking forward to it. I'm talking about social ballroom dancing, which is my thing... but I'm going as a Stag. (That's "partnerless male," for the non-Yanks.)
In bigger cities, the social atmosphere of a ballroom dance can be pretty much the same as what you'd find at any club: people hang out in groups, dance with anyone they feel like, and generally mix a lot. In my small town, the ballroom scene is much more couples-oriented: you come with your partner, you dance with your partner, you hang out with other couples. (There's also some degree of expectation that you and your partner are dating or married.)
When you're a Stag, nobody knows what to do with you. You don't fit into any of the geometry. And you also fall under the gaze of the Does, who are eager to land themselves a partner...often not just for dancing. In theory this is not necessarily a bad thing--but the herd of Does in our local group is not to my tastes. The fact that I am one of the better, and younger, dancers in the group works to my disadvantage.
Still, it's been months since I've been out dancing (another disadvantage of the small town: miss one dance and there's nothing until next month), and I'm eager to get out on the floor. Who knows--maybe there's somebody new in town who needs a partner. So I'm going. Hope everybody's enjoying their respective Saturdays, and I really hope I'll see most of you tomorrow!
Posted by David @ 03:27 PM PST [Link]
Sitting here listening to Alien Ant Farm and Alicia Keyes on Random Alternating Shuffle in my CD player eating some gummi sour worms. I tell you my food of choice while on the computer is anything sour, its becoming a habit. Thank you guys for voting for my for immunity on my birthday. My pour heart couldn't take being ousted on my 18th. *hugs to all four who voted*. Philo you got my vote that round ^__^ I love me some Philo.
Anyways, yesterday was a blast. I left Jeremy early because I was tired but around 4pm I got a burst of energy and went to pick up my check from work. I met Christine at the mall and from there we had a blast. Yesterday I ate a hell of a lot though Chick-fil-a (12 piece nugget meal @2pm), Shogun (Teriyaki Chicken and Shrimp with a lot fried rice@7pm), and aIHOP (IHOP monster cheese burger thing and fries@2am). I felt like a complete and total cow. Oh yes, this food post is again for the Ted.
We went to 4 partiest toal. One was a raverish thing with a band playing. We arrived between band set changes and got really bored really fast. The two inbetween were totally whack, and the last one was even more whack (whacker?). It was advertised as a KEG party but obviously it was BYOK, because there was no keg. There were drinks but people started to stake claim to everything but the Bud Light, and that stuff is pissy nasty so I had half of one and poured the rest in their pushes. After that we went to IHOP.
I also hung out with this girl named Audrey who I went to school with and who Christine was really cool with, but I never bothered to hang with them together. Last night I realized that she was really really really cool. I'm glad we hung out.
Anyways I need to go shave my head, and shower and keep an ear out for The Bitch (my sister) because I've got to go pick her up from the movies.
Posted by James @ 11:00 AM PST [Link]
I sent in my quiz and I feel my picture fading in contrast already. I'm going to be busy for the next 24 hours or so, so if I don't get to post again, come see my site and it's been great playing the game with you. Philo: lunch.
Posted by Nancy @ 08:16 AM PST [Link]
Hmm. It is awfully quiet in here. My leading scenario right now is that Philo is my PM, but ... I guess I can't use that one anymore than I could give myself the immunity vote.
Ernie, Ernie, Ernie. Proofread those quiz questions!! Ha. It will be no fun at all if you ever get one completely right.
I'm down to maybe 5 theories here and ... I guess I'm just going to have to make another leap of faith and hope that luck saves me once more. I know the rest of you are probably closing in on this thing, and I'm just not.
Happy birthday James, and to cryptic Philo also if it was your b-day you meant earlier.
I liked watching Ted explain how he, um, later decided not to vote for Ashley. Rachael, what's your story re: the Ashley non-vote? Inquiring minds, etc., etc.
Posted by Nancy @ 07:57 AM PST [Link]
I should know better than to try to do that quiz before my morning coffee. Ernie, you are one sick, sick individual.
I will neither confirm nor deny that I am a mushroom strangler. (And I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means.) Eva, congratulations on the new job, and my sympathies that it ended up being telephone surveys. Now that you're a working stiff, maybe you can use that as bargaining leverage with the flatmates. you know: "I have to work in the mornings--so either the Procedure leaves this flat or I do."
Meghan--wow, near-death experiences and kiddie porn all in the same day. I wish I had your job... Ashley, sorry about your sucky weekend shifts. If it's any consolation, I have to work this Sunday. If you show your supervisor your pus-filled, suppurating, gangrenous knee maybe you can at least convince him to give you a stool or something at the register, so you won't be on your feet the whole shift.
Ted's "Crouching Raver, Hidden DJ" story (or was that "Final Fantasy?") made me giggle. I do have to wonder though--who would rob a rave? I'm glad you got out okay, and hope nobody was hurt. Man, I'd hate to be some kid trying E for the first time at that party.
Does anyone want to buy me a present?
Agh. REALLY need coffee.
Posted by David @ 07:41 AM PST [Link]
Immunity for James! Congratulations birthday boy. Something I've learned is if people aren't going to celebrate you and your big day, then for God's sakes get out there and celebrate it for yourself my friend. Repeat after me. "I AM THE PARTY!" You have started your relocation fund, right? Hope your birthday was super James, which is more than I can say for someone around here. Ahem.
Rachael, I'm happy you two worked things out. That rocks. Glad you're getting some in a major way too. That's the part about last night's date that sucked. Pretty soon I'm going to pull an Ashley and start screaming MY NAME IS PHILO AND I NEED SEX! Last night my morals and standards got in the way of me getting laid again, dammit! Note to self: Stop listening to your conscience. It's holding you back. The fact that he was married was more amusing to me than anything else. I'm endlessly fascinated with life and people and what makes them tick. I meet a guy watching fireworks, make out with him in his car, feast on bad Chinese food with him and suddenly he's got a wife of 12 years and kids and "she knows all about my bisexuality and doesn't care as long as I'm safe, honest!" Stories like that are actually extremely plausible in these parts so you never know. For me personally though I can go many places on this big blue marble I call home, but I can't go there. I'm not really looking to screw an entire family. Rachael, can we talk privately?
(Ok. I wouldn't say it out loud cause I don't want people to think ill of me, so just between you and I Rach you made me spit my soda all over my keyboard I was laughing so hard. I'm glad we could share this private moment together now please go away and leave me alone. You're scaring me.)
Eva, Congratulations on coming off the dole! Sounds like a job for a future craziest job competition. For the record Dave really is the Mushroom Strangler. He's scaring me. And Nancy needs to stop being me! She's scaring me!
It's been a fine day for hearing from favorite people in distant places. I love having friends all over the map, but I wish they were all someplace normal like here instead of these exotic places like Paris, New York City and Iowa. Then I could treasure their existence all up close and personal like on a regular basis. I'm listening to this killer CD my best friend made and sent me that I'm extremely impressed with. It's the ultimate soundtrack for feeling completely brain dead and finishing the very last of my Dreyer's Limited Edition Christmas Peppermint Ice Cream. God bless you for waiting all this time at the back of the freezer for this very special moment.
I'm glad it was a relatively quiet day on Puppetmaster. I even got a vote! Woo Hoo! Thanks somebody! I was afraid I'd have gobs o' reading to take care of on top of getting in a post before bedtime to fend off that wee bit o' guilty feeling that has been plagueing me all day. I had a very gruelling extra long work day and I couldn't even bring myself to turn the Imac on when I got home. But here I am spilling out another novel. I'm going to take care of this test, get naked, slide my incredibly sexy body into bed and make hot passionate love to myself. Woo! I AM THE PARTY!
Posted by Philo @ 03:04 AM PST [Link]
omg, you guys are not going to believe what happened to me tonight. Ok, where to start… so my friend brad and I decided to go this rave in downtown. It was at this really small building that probably was an office of some sort in the daytime. My three favorite DJs were spinning, and I was happily dancing my little heart out to the amazing music that they were pouring out. But the music was so good, and I was dancing so much, that I got sick. Yes, my body gave up on me and told me I had to sit down. So me and brad were sitting in the upstairs hallway, just chilling and trying to catch our breathes, when we heard this loud sound like someone dropped something big on the floor. Right after that, we heard a louder sounding BANG followed with a flash of light. Then all these people started to rush toward us. I thought it was just someone playing with fireworks because the people rushing us were smiling. And then one of them said "SOMEONE IS ROBBING THE PLACE AND THEY HAVE GUNS"!!! One really freaked out girl told us that two guys with masks rushed the front door and fired three shots. One had a sawed off shotgun, and the other had a pistol. Completely shocked, all that came out of my mouth was "oh shit". So we rushed to the bathroom and tried to hide out there (yours truly was hiding out in a bathroom stall). I was like "oh my god, I'm going to die at a rave". Someone with a cell called 911, but they wouldn't pick up (how typical of the police). All the usual prayers to god and freaked out nerves were in effect. We were like "who the hell would rob a rave"??? The creepy thing tho was that the music was STILL playing and all we heard from the other room were people screaming. After some intense moments of silence after they finally shut the music down, we found a backdoor, and just got the hell out of there, glad to be alive. So what did we do afterwards? We went to another club.
This is what happened for reals. This is what happened in Ted's mind:
So after the five gunmen with the A-Ks and the double Uzi's came rushing in, me and brad were pissed because they were ruining our dancing and the vibe of the party. So we decided to do something about it. They were holding 2...no...5 girls hostage when we started to rush them. So brad and I first blinded them with our light shows, which gave the girls a chance to run away. Then brad performed a beautiful butterfly kick that took out three of the gunmen that left them instantly unconscious. I busted out with my legendary "shadowless kick" that decapitated the other two gunmen. We executed both kicks in slow motion and landed at the same time to pose with intense looks on our faces. After we had defeated the evil gunmen, I performed my little victory dance over their broken bodies to the tune of the loud cheers from the crowd. We then continued to dance, (with the five rescued and extremely grateful girls) as if nothing unusual had happened.
Posted by Ted @ 02:52 AM PST [Link]
It's wierd having Tony here while I am writing this. He's watching TV though and not peering over my shoulder. There is a movie on called World War 3 about terrorists with biohazardous weapons. I teased him earlier for watching, the dialog was awful. I've been sucked into it too though. I'll be writing more during commercials.
Last night we met at the B & O and it went really well. When Tony left here the other night he went to see Michael, Tony's best friend. The two of them went online and read every bit of my journal, all of my archives. I still feel very exposed that Michael was reading with him, but Michael helped him see the big picture. Once they made it past the frustrating week Tony and I had looked at, they found the good as well. How much I love him. How jealous I got one night when we were out dancing and I never said a word about it. How he made my birthday the most special night in my entire life. He even found where I had mentioned that he really is the greatest lover I've ever had.
We still had a lot to discuss last night. We talked for hours. There were many specifics I needed to address and explain and I did as best I could. He is still having a bit of difficulty as to why I didn't tell him from the start. He told me he knows I never meant to hurt him though. At some point last night there was a shift as well. It's as if now that he has read my site he is seeing the real me clearer than ever before. Thank God he likes what he sees. Tony wants me to be certain to tell you all that the spark is back. It is. It really is! (laughing) I think you can see what his biggest concern was.
Tony is loving Puppetmaster by the way. I don't know how I missed Shea's comment in the sidebar, but he caught it right away when we got home. Shea, I'm rescinding my apology. We wouldn't really be even if I didn't. At least now you can go back to chasing ambulances and playing Dungeons and Dragons with your little friends back in New Jersey. After all, you have the free time.
Happy Birthday James. I do hope someone did something extra special for you today. I would have given you a free latte if you had dropped by the store. I did give you my immunity vote though. Please consider it a birthday gift for the boy with the freakiest wink.
It appears I may have underestimated a few of you when I read the immunity vote tally. David, we are the ones to beat. That's why I couldn't really give you my vote Ashley. I meant every word I said though, except for actually giving you my vote because you asked for it. I need to get ready for bed now. Morning and my workday will arrive too soon and neither of us will be sleeping for awhile yet. I'm glad tomorrow is my Friday. Goodnight everyone.
P.S. Thank you all for your support this week. It really has meant a lot to me.
Posted by Rachael @ 12:11 AM PST [Link]
Friday, July 13, 2001
Whew. Just finished the quiz. I don't know if I did so hot though, but hopefully, what I *did* do will get me through it. I noticed that Ernie screwed up some questions, however...*thwack* for the THIRD TIME IN A ROW...if this is my last post, it's been great, you all. I'll miss you. Better start designing that blog. When I get kicked off next round, it'll make 3, and that's enough to have a blog with, right?
Posted by Ashley @ 11:44 PM PST [Link]
Wow work was very, uhm, exciting today. We have been in the new department since Wednesday, and it is so much nicer than where we were located before, but there are still a few things to get used to. The PIC was showing a customer a VCR today, he stepped a few inches to my left to show the customer another VCR on the other side of the display when an 8in steel pipe came crashing through ceiling, bounced on the floor and landed in the CD's. If he hadn't moved, he would be in the ER. After the initial shock wore off, I looked up to find that the pipe had crashed through the roof of the building straight down to our department floor, leaving a nice sized hole where one could see the blue sky if they were to stand in the right position. He took a break, took some muscle relaxants and went back to work for a lot less than he is worth, but damnit that shows loyalty or something. Tonight more fun was had when two high school girls came in wanting a VHS adapter for their Hi-8 film, which of course we don't have, so what to they buy, that's right all, a video recorder. Now, what in god's name would be so important on that video to buy a $300 recorder? Why it was nothing but AMATURE UNDERAGE PORN, and I thought I was wild in high school. So tonight, I am going to Lake Oswego to watch said video since I was *so* helpful. nite all.
Posted by Meghan @ 11:23 PM PST [Link]
Another gruelling day at work, and I'm beginning to hate people more and more. I just found out I have to work NEXT Friday, AND Saturday, nights... as well as THOSE being the ONLY hours I work next week at all. Who is bitter? Hi! Me!! Sigh. On top of it all, I got stuck late at work tonight and my mom had to wait 20 minutes after my shift ended for me to cash out and get in the car. She wasn't happy, and I got bitched at. It's not really my fault that I got stuck at the register until that late. God. They always make me work past when they say I will be. It makes me so frustrated and angry, because, while I do get paid by the clock, I am not allowed to phone people to tell them I'll be late. I'm exhausted right now, and after standing for four hours with my break being cut short - my knee is throbbing. And I think it's infected. Could I bitch any more? We'll see. Later.
Posted by Ashley @ 10:57 PM PST [Link]
wow, its real quiet here tonight. Ok, I'm all geared up and ready to go. Be safe everybody, nite!
Posted by Ted @ 07:45 PM PST [Link]
Morning all!
Happy birthday to you james, and immunity as our present to you. Ashley sweetie, I’m so sorry I changed my vote! I haven’t been feeling the love from you recently, and decided to change my vote at the very end for strategic reasons. But after reading your post, I was like, "WHAT HAVE I DONE"??? I’m so sorry, I’m on my way to your place right now. *trips over big law book titled Legal Age of Consent* Damn it all! But I do think you need a boyfriend who won’t get tired of you so easily. *Ahem* Hey, why is my hand raised like that? And geez, 13 gigs of porn is a lot of porn. I don’t even have 2 gigs of memory on my poor mac (yes benjy, another guy mac user).
And in other news, in keeping with the tradition of not staying home on weekends, I hopefully will attending a rave tonight. I think I’m seriously need to get my grove on like at least once a week or else I’ll turn into a pumpkin or something. I will let you all know how that goes.
Bertie Why do you know so much about the legal age of sexual consent???
Posted by Ted @ 04:02 PM PST [Link]
I did something unexpected today. I came off the dole (that's unemployment benefits if you don't know) and dashed off to my first shift at a new job. It looks like I'm actually going to have three jobs over the next few weeks. After that I don't really know what happens, so this is maybe a bit of a gamble, but I was sick of turning down temporary work on the grounds that I had to keep it below 16 hours a week. Now I just have to hope that I won't have to sign on again and go through all that paperwork once more.
So, um, my new job is doing telephone surveys. Friday night, I discovered, is a great time to start because either no-one's in or they're not in the least bit interested in spending 20 minutes talking to you about investments. (What an exciting survey to start with!) The folks there are pretty dead on though. When I logged into my computer, it said DAVE IS A MUSHROOM STRANGLER. Um ... OK.
All that bothers me now is the fact that the boys haven't taken The Procedure elsewhere at all, and I need to get up early tomorrow to work again. This has been a major issue in the flat ... they get trashed, have people round, and make noise. It's fine if you're in the mood for it but miserable if you're not, and even when they're trying to be quiet, drunk people are never very good at it. After a while you start to feel bad for having to go through and ask them to keep it down. I have to be honest, I've considered moving out before. Every time they keep me awake for hours, I vow that "this will be the last time". But then they plead with me to stay and say they won't do it again. Dammit, they're so nice to me when they're not wrecking my night.
Oh well. So judging from recent posts, it looks like Misery Day today, no? I have to admit, I still feel down thinking about some of the stuff I talked about today. Never mind. David, I pretty much agree with all you said about the L-word. Bob, in my own experience I seem to know pretty fast if I'm falling for someone. Enjoy those feelings when you've got them. That's all I should say because it hurts me to look back on that stuff - I guess I haven't entirely managed to move on yet. Make the most of it and hopefully everything will go the way you want it to.
I'm going to try and get some sleep. Happy birthday, James.
Posted by Eva @ 02:29 PM PST [Link]
Seems to me that Ashley, Eva, Rachael, Bob and I are the ones to beat: no votes means everybody wants us out of the game. I also notice that some people claimed to vote immunity for people who didn't get any votes *glares at Ted and Rachael*...
Posted by David @ 01:55 PM PST [Link]
Boy, it sure is pleasant to have a computer that can have 3 separate sessions of IE running at the same time. This way I can shop on Amazon (my only contact with commercial America) and read PM and post at the same time. Yay for me.
Also, it's nice to have MTV Europe, an MTV that actually plays videos. I got really hooked on M2 last time I was in the States and I'm glad there's something close to it out here. I'm a cheesy dance music fan and MTVE has a whole countdown devoted to it. Again, yay.
I saw Travis back in 97 or 98 when they opened up for Ben Folds Five. They pretty much rocked the house if I remember correctly. Obviously not as much as BFF (I shook Ben Folds hand and haven't washed mine to this day) but they were still pretty good. I got their newest album however and must say that it's pretty low key.
Thanks David for your views. I meant more like "I just met you" by the way. I've been around the block enough (I think) to know the warning lights and bells and right now they're all signaling "You're In For It Now". "...being stationed half a world away" is just about the size of it too. Damn these eyes, always getting me in trouble.
Curious, 10 contestants but only 5 people get voted for. Some of us aren't as convincing (or loved) as others.
Dammit, I still haven't had that beer...
Posted by Bob @ 12:31 PM PST [Link]
I think I'm back into "long and rambling" mode.
Bob--Do you mean too early as in "I'm just a kid" or too early as in "I just met you"? I tend to think that the first is not so much a case of calendar age as it is of life experience. How are you going to know true love until you've beem on both ends of an unrequited crush, had a puppy-love episode that didn't last, a passionate but nerve-grinding affair, and been in a coupling that was comfortable but with no spark? I've known teenagers who were grown-up enough, and thirty-year-olds who weren't.
As for the other, I'm not a big believer in the thunderclap, love-at-first-sight type of love. But I'm told it happens, and have known couples who knew they were going to get married before the sun went down on the day they met. (And have been happy for decades together.) I think there's no single thing that you can point to and call "true" love, because not only is every love different but every love changes over time. If there's one such thing as true love, it's a love that changes the same way for both of the lovers.
The only rule of thumb I have is this: If it's true love, it's easy. No matter what obstacles life throws up for you--being stationed half a world away, objections of your family, financial hardships--you'll find a way to overcome them. This is perhaps a bit of a rose-colored approach to the whole thing, but I know for darned sure that the counterexample is correct: if the prospect of being happy together involves more complications than it ought to, you haven't found your soulmate.
Eva, I though of you as I listened to the radio reports from Belfast yesterday. I have to confess that I just don't understand how these people can manage to keep such a petty and destructive feud going for generation after generation. Protestant, Catholic. Jew, Palestinian. Serb, Albanian. How can any amount of ethnic pride, any spot of land, be worth the number of lives these people are willing to throw away? For a few years, I had hope that at least the British and Irish had realized this--but it looks as though I was wrong. Shit.
James gets immunity for his birthday. Happy birthday!
Posted by David @ 11:49 AM PST [Link]
Conversation with friend to whom I showed PM:
Friend: I know who the fake is.
Me: [excited] Really? Who?
Friend: It's that Bertie guy.
Me: ::sigh::
Posted by Nancy @ 11:29 AM PST [Link]
Somebody is really smart here... *shifty eyes* I believe I've been found *sulks in his corner* Shawcable.net? *bites lip*
I have nothing particularly intelligent to say right now- I don't think.
Bob- I've never been in love, and I don't hardly ever toss the word around unless using it for close family members, or my girl Christine, but I don't think there is a time limit until you can say you're in love, ya know? I've always just believed it something you felt and not something a person can describe or anything. I do however think that some people don't really know what love is when they say they are in love. Maybe its just the asshole guy in me that wants to smack other teenagers upside the head when I hear them say "I love (insert boy's name here)". To me, that is a little young to be all "in love" but then again I suppose that directly contradicts my position that love is not time limited or describable, huh?
Philo- I took a year of Karate, need me to take care of that sucka for you? But for real, stuff like that really pisses this guy off. I'm in Nancy's and David's boat. Did I mention that I despise people who cheat? This is coming from a guy who rarely has the chance to be in relationships, and to see a person get one, then get another on the side pisses me off. Its greedy, ya know? Spread the love! But thats not the point.
Ashley- from one teen to another. *high fives* I so totally hear ya- horniness is a virtue. And do you usually date older guys? I really don't like them my age.... they're just blah.
Anyways, Jeremy has a hot date tomorrow, or so he tells me, so he is taking me out today for my birthday. We're going to go eat (dutch ofcourse), then I'm going to go watch him get his funky red hair cut. Wow, this is the best birthday I've ever had!! *jumps for joy* Boy, that Jeremy knows how to treat me.
Posted by James @ 10:00 AM PST [Link]
I read all of the sad posts about sad times and I can but wonder: How soon is too soon to fall in love? I mean like "head over heels, will you marry my sorry ass because I can't seem to get your smile out from the inside of my eyelids, I can't believe that you exist because it's just too easy, sleep is for people who don't know you" fall in love? Anyone?
A big problem with this game is that I've been ignoring Ernie's real site, which has been a perennial favorite of mine for a couple of months now. I didn't even know about the Survivorblogs until well after they were over. That's how big of a loser I am. Of course, I've never actually seen an episode of the TV Survivor either so take it for what you will...
Welp, it's Friday night and I've had a hell of a week. I wrote part of a report that berated a close ally of the U.S., was told that my next job is going to be a pretty cool one that I think I'll enjoy, and did one more thing I'm not comfortable telling y'all yet. You'll get over it I'm sure.
I think I'll drink a beer now.
Posted by Bob @ 09:34 AM PST [Link]
Good morning all.
Philo, sorry to hear about Mr. Married. I don't know why men do that but I'm with David: I feel really bad for their wives. And for you, of course. It ain' right. Re: progress, not perfection, Philo, booyah! [This game might single-handedly revive that expression.]
Ernie, tell Philo to stop being me. He's scaring me, and he yanks the strings too hard.
Re: long-distance love, my last one [breaking the ex-'s rule again] was a long-distance love. My friends still shake their heads. My girlfriend calls her "Satan," but that's mostly because she still sends me flowers sometimes.
Amor de lejos, amor de pendejos. That's what I say.
Posted by Nancy @ 08:35 AM PST [Link]
Meghan, David and Philo, sorry to hear all your stories (also sorry that last night's one didn't work out, Philo). Ted, thanks for that story link. I liked it a lot; I've tried reading Haruki Murakami before but not got far.
Me, I met that so-called 100% perfect person almost two years ago. Honestly, that's how it seemed. I don't fall for people easily, to put it mildly (and even less easily now, thank you very much). I was amazed at what happened. If you had asked me to make a list of everything I could want in a partner, from the superimportant qualities down to just nice little optional extras, I would have described this boy to a tee. So meeting someone like that in real life was not something I expected. Of course ... it was long distance. And it was great for a while, and then everything started to go bad.
I don't know if it started with me getting paranoid for no reason, or whether I already had reason to be paranoid. We'd always been long distance, which made things feel not quite real sometimes. It was like I needed some sort of proof that the boy I was visiting this month was the same one who had visited me last month - if that makes any sense at all. Then it seemed like he changed. I was already feeling paranoid and awkward, then he didn't talk the same way as he used to. I remember things like, he denied some insecurities he had previously told me about. Or, he said everything had been sorted out with this person he didn't used to like being around, but didn't explain it. Whatever.
Eventually, I got a letter through the post, then a traumatic phone call, then a few weeks of waiting until I had given up hope, then an angry e-mail ... I know I've never been that down before, or since. After some months, he started to send me the occasional e-mail, but I realised there was no point. They were short and if you'd read them you would think we were no more than passing acquaintances, and it hurt me too much even to read them. So I stopped responding. I haven't heard from him since last December and that hurts too but probably not as much as it would to keep in touch with him. Nowadays I consider that maybe, some day (I don't even know if I want this, but I suppose I do) I'll meet someone else who is just as perfect - with the added bonus of not dumping me in a horribly painful and confusing way.
And like Philo (although it hasn't been as long as five years), I still look back and lament.
Damn. I didn't come on-line to talk about this stuff, really.
I got a text message from Belfast last night.
HEY. GUNSHOTS OUTSIDE, BUT AT LEAST THAT'S IT OVER UNTIL NEXT YEAR. WISH I WAS WITH YOU. X
I guess this is why I left Belfast. Because it doesn't change, it just goes round in circles. I must admit that, every time I go back, it does have new good things. It just seems to take more time than other places. Last time I went back, I actually had a really good time. This is mainly because I suddenly had a whole bunch of people to meet up with, thanks to a website and message board for the music scene. Before then, going home sucked because I only had a couple of people who kept in touch with me.
But, god almighty, all that bigoted political crap. Although there are a lot of young people who want to get away from that shit, it also seems like there are a lot of young people who are happy to inherit prejudices from their families and get on with looking for Catholics/Protestants (delete as inapplicable) to beat up. And the gun stuff ... I used to think that I had nothing to do with it. Violence never came knocking on my door, you know? But I've realised that everybody in Northern Ireland at least knows someone who's been touched by it. For example. When I was younger and went away on holiday, I'd meet English kids who'd joke "Oh, are you in the IRA?" I started to answer things like, "Actually, the IRA shot my uncle", just because I wanted to get through to them that that's not funny and that you actually could be talking to someone for whom this is true. Well, um ... I finally found out about two years ago that the IRA really did shoot my uncle. In the neck.
It was the summer of 1996, just before I left for Scotland (via the factory from hell) that things began to flare up again, I think. That was the summer I tried to hit an Orangeman with my mother's car - hey, I was young, I was stupid, I won't be doing that sort of thing again. I saw later on the news that a woman had been dragged out of her car and beaten up for trying to drive past their barricades. There were also burned out cars in the exact same place where I had done my stupid little stunt. After that I went away to North America for a month and during that time this guy I knew woke up with a gun pressed to his head. I don't think he was ever the same again.
I used to fiercely defend the place to foreigners - I hated when people were too scared to visit. "You're an outsider, no-one's going to have a problem with you, it's fine." Then an Australian backpacker got his ear sliced off a couple of months ago. I feel like I want to apologise for my entire country. Ack, I don't know. I just hate the 12th of July and it just makes me feel negative about the place again. Oh, and if any scary people are reading this and want to make something of it, I'd like to just claim fictionality. Thank you.
Bertie, yeah, Travis are boring. But we've also got the Newtown Grunts, which more than makes up for it. As for drugland, I'm sick of it. I think things are getting normal again - maybe this game just started during a stupid week. The French girl has moved in, the mushroom woman will hopefully not be back, and the boys are taking the Friday Night Procedure to Duncan's house tonight since his parents are away. Now if you'll excuse me, it's about time this post ground to a halt.
Posted by Eva @ 07:19 AM PST [Link]
Thanks to all of you for your support. Despite the tone of that post, I'm really not bitter or scarred or anything--time has passed, and I'm getting on with my life. Actually, I've agreed with Bertie about long-distance relationships since even before Naomi and I were dating--I just managed to ignore my own good sense for a while.
Rachael, I hope the absence of any posts from you after 6 PM means good news on the Tony front. Let's clear out some of the miasma from yesterday. Ashley, just find a big magnet and "accidentally" leave it near your boyfriend's hard drive. Two problems solved at once: no more porn on his comp, and he'll need to look elsewhere for stimulation. Philo--I'm sorry, man. Sorry for you, but also sorry for Mr. July 4's wife and kids. Ted, thanks for the offer of vengeance, but it's not necessary. That story was poignan too--thanks for the link. And don't apologize for voting immunity based on cuteness. There are worse reasons...
Okay, it's Friday the 13th and projects are underway to put a portal on the Space Station, and to raise both the Kursk and the Ehime Maru. Does anyone besides me feel a little twitchy about this?
Posted by David @ 06:12 AM PST [Link]
If I let myself stay up too late for a few days in a row, I'll manage to get into a depressive funk that will last a couple of days. Like right now. I knew I should have gone to bed at midnight like normal people do. I have to work tomorrow at five, and I am really not looking forward to it. My knee has been really sore and the thought of putting half my weight on it for four hours while standing and checking people out - well, I don't like that idea. Perhaps I'll pop a couple painkillers before going to work tomorrow, might ease the pain, but it also might make me dopey as hell. "Excuse me, miss? MISS? CAN YOU RING THIS UP PLEASE?" "Huh?" Yeah. Not a good idea. Also, I'm bitchy, because it's the second Friday night I have to work in a row. Joy to the world!
Mark seems to have a reduced interest in sex lately. Of course, this could be attributed to my teenage libido (he's 20, three years older than me), but still. I can't help but feel I've done something, or am doing something, wrong, when we're together - but, he's never complained and he certainly seems to ENJOY himself. But, right now work has him stressed out, *I* am stressed as hell... and, to put it bluntly, when we're stressed - he gets tired, I get horny. Not a good combination. HI!! *waves* MY NAME IS ASHLEY AND I NEED SEX!! Any takers? Ted? Peter?? (And, for the record, Bertie is absolutely gorgeous but I'm too shy to hit on her.) I have a feeling I shouldn't get any deeper into this for fear of a) revealing too much and b) seeming more of a nymphomaniac than I really am. Oh, and then there's always c), the fact that Mark reads this goddamn thing sometimes. *wince*
Hey, Philo, thank you for the sweet Rainbow Brite comments. I'll have to keep that in mind. Sorry your date didn't work out, darling. If you were more my age, I'd set you up with a good friend of mine - he's gorgeous, but also 18. Not a good idea. Ernie and Bel, I will NEVER forget that conversation tonight. You two are HILARIOUS. James, where the hell have YOU been lately, puppetman? Out having a life if you're real, presumably? NOT FAIR. I NEED ONE. (I really do. I don't get out much.)
It's funny, everyone seems to have broken the "no talking about exes" rule but me. But I only have a couple sob stories in my past. I'm actually on pretty good terms with most of my exes. For example, there's the most recent one, whom I download porn from. No joke. He finds this hilarious. So do I. And then, the ex-girlfriend, who is now a BDSM freak that invited me to a 'naughty party' via e-mail a little while ago. thanksbutnothanksi'llpass... And how can I ever forget my very first boyfriend, "Jared", whom, when I turned 13, told me "I'm gay!". We'd broken up three years before, however. We were nine and ten respectively while dating, and were each other's first boyfriend and girlfriend. We're great friends to this day - hell, he took me to my high school grad! (That's what you Americans refer to as, "Prom".) But, of course, like everyone, I have a few skeletons in my closet. None which I feel like discussing here, however. I guess I'm just not ready to make that kind of stuff public.
After writing this much babble, I actually feel a lot better. Maybe now I'll actually be able to get some sleep. Goodnight.
Posted by Ashley @ 04:45 AM PST [Link]
What a wierd night. I could tell you all the gorey details, but let's just say Mr. 4th of July is less than fireworks. Less than even discount fireworks. Less than even a single fuckin sparkler. Okay - I'll give the guy five sparklers. One for him, one for his wife, and one for each of the kiddies. Someone will need to supervise the three month old baby though. We don't want everything going up in flames. No, I wasn't with him all this time. I left his sorry ass after dinner at that restaurant. Time for sleep. Must find bed now. There it is, right where I left it.
Posted by Philo @ 02:41 AM PST [Link]
I feel so trapped here. Suffocated and barred in. I talked to my oldest internet friend tonight and he is such a wonderful person, especially listening to me constantly talk of Ryan. Ryan the ex, my one and only love and the guy I can never seem to fully get away from. It's been 7 and a half years since he moved in next door, and he has been the only constant thing in my life. He disappears and reappears and i drop everything in my life for those few weeks of absolute bliss, just to know we are together yet again. Every time I believe that this is the last time, that it is finally our time to stay together, but that is shattered for reasons beyond our control. U hurt so many people, cast them aside just so I could be with him, and now I look back and wonder if it was worth it. Is he worth it? I think myself silly, asking too many "what if's" hardly ever acting on my impulses anymore. Calculated, cautious. I don't want to hurt anyone else by the mistakes I make.
Posted by Meghan @ 02:26 AM PST [Link]
Thursday, July 12, 2001
Well my vote has been cast, and I couldn't have done it without my brother. I had him look at all the pics and tell me which person he wanted to stay. Good stuff. Ernie, you better keep this going for a few more years because he wants to be involved when he's older. God I love little kids. I was covering someone’s shift today, so work was only four hours long. my manager was there and she took me aside (I thought she was going to reprimanded me for leaving 30mins early on Tues which was accidental) and told me how wonderful of a job I was doing and how she wished I was staying there during the fall instead of going back to school. Oh goodness, my brother just had a brilliant idea, to find out who the puppet and puppet master is, I should talk to all of your mothers. So, please if you willl email your mother's names and phone numbers so I can clear this whole thing up. God I really love the way little kids think. So simple, yet so adorable... :)
Posted by Meghan @ 09:33 PM PST [Link]
David,
I had a long distance relationship once. Okay, maybe three or four times. I had graduated from dating drug addicts and emotionally unavailable guys and moved on to finding ones who were geographically remote. Progress not perfection, right Nancy? Several long distance relationships, but only one of them was The Big Kahuna. He was the only guy I have ever "popped the question" to. We had been spanning the globe for months. I even flew out once to meet him and his parents for Easter in Peoria, Illinois. You know I was lovesick if I was willing to do that!
Last trip out we were at that jumping off place, where our relationship had to move to the next level or die an untimely cold bitter death full of resentment and self pity. We went to this diner for breakfast one morning and I told him everything. I loved him more than anyone I've ever known, that I didn't want 2000 miles to continue to separate us, I was willing to quit my job, give up my killer cheap flat in San Francisco and all I wanted in the world was to shack up and live in sin as happily as clams. I even said the words Will - You - Marry - Me down on one knee in the cafe. He said no. He couldn't handle the idea of me giving up my whole life to share his. It was too much pressure and if it didn't work out he'd never forgive himself.
That was five years ago and at least once a week or month at this point I still think about him and lament. If he had said yes, if he had just not been so fuckin afraid, would it be as beautiful as I still picture it? Thank you David for the reality check. Nobody has ever given me that picture to look at before. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself, literally. In fact, I could really see you up there in Oregon and what not as I read along.
I'm sorry Ashley and Rachael. You know I'd love to give either of you a full on thumbs up here, I do like you two. Ashley, Miss Rainbow Brite who can even charm your therapist into checking the Puppetmaster website during your session, you could turn the world on with your smile. Rachael, you make me wanna slap some sense into you, laugh, cry and hurl my lunch all at the same time. In a way that's quite a compliment. Please take it as such and good luck tonight. I can't give either of you my vote though. Perhaps the remaining non-gay guys will be so charmed, but as I said early on I'm playing to win. That's why I'm giving my vote to (HEY! WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M TRYING TO TALK OVER HERE!) because with all those strings attached to that head I know I won't be giving it to any of you who need it.
Guess what boys and girls? I'm heading out to meet Mr. 4th of July right now. Phone tag has ended. I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! I'm mighty curious about why he was so adamant about me not picking him up at his house though. Does he have kids? Is the man married? If he does have a family, why weren't they all at the Marina watching fireworks with him? Must go investigate now. Wise the bap Philo, Wise the bap!
Posted by Philo @ 08:51 PM PST [Link]
Nothing big or interesting going on in my life this fine night in july. Checking mail and wasting time as usual. Work was actually good today. It went by fast, and Scott and myself talked a lot. He has a massive crush on Christine, so everytime she comes to visit me he gets all flirty with her. Moving along...
Damn, I can't vote for myself? GRRR... I know who my vote will go to.. MWHAHAHA!
And is it me or are these time zones fucking me up!! I don't log on for 3 hours and there are a million posts, but when I'm online there are none. Anywho, boring again- I'm off to download photoshop. It'll only take 4 hours.
Posted by James @ 08:26 PM PST [Link]
Another day come and gone, and I still have no more X's on my chart. After my short-lived discovery of one of you last night, my searches have not turned up anything else. And gee, it's sucking. Staring at this little table of X's is slowly driving me crazy. I do too much research on all of you. I'm slowly ruling out people based on their posts for this next quiz thing, but I don't know if I want to stick with my current theory as I've done for the past two or not. I mean, it's gotten me this far, but I could be screwed next round. That is, if I don't win immunity. *bats eyelashes* Vote for me?
You should all see my room. I am somewhat ashamed of it. There is crap everywhere. I suppose I should clean it tonight? Nah, that would take work. My dad will have a heart attack when he gets home. The guy should be paid for raising my brother and I. I swear, my house is like a zoo - and David, that monkey thing wasn't so far off. Eerie.
Was talking to Mark a couple nights ago, and guess what I found out? He has thirteen gigs of porn on his harddrive. Now, I guess I don't have the right to be mad. I mean, *I* have some, 95% of my guy friends/bi-les girlfriends do - but NOT THAT MUCH. This instills some warped sense of jealousy in me. Is this normal? He claims to hardly ever watch any of it - which he BETTER NOT. Seeing me naked should be enough for him, and if it's not, he's in BIG TROUBLE with me. Maybe I'll check on him via his roommates... Mark, if you're reading this, I'm just kidding. REALLY. He's just lucky I'm not using his real name - then he'd really kill me.
He's really a sweetheart, if not for some quirks. I mean... what guy do you know has his house rigged with voice commands? Currently, only his bedroom works, but if you say, "Mr. House, turn A-1 lights off.", it does so, and says "Your wish is my command". He did it when we were talking on the phone the other night and I just couldn't stop laughing. "Did you program that thing with a pornstars voice?" "HEY!" (okay, I didn't actually say that, but that's what I was thinking)
David, that story was heart-wrenchingly touching. I'm sorry you had to go through it. You can always marry me - well, it might work better if you weren't twice my age. Ted, I loved the 100% perfect girl story... made me all nonstalgic...and Rachael, good luck with Tony, and thanks for the vote. I'm out.
Posted by Ashley @ 08:02 PM PST [Link]
I’ve been trying to come up with a rational reason to vote for Ashley for immunity that didn’t sound too superficial, but I really couldn’t figure one out. So I’m confessing now that I’m voting for Ashley purely because I think she’s cute and that I want to continue to flirt with her. Yes, I know it’s a horrible reason, but I’m a sucker for cute girls….*sigh*
And I am also pleading, begging asking for your vote for immunity as well. I promise you that I still have a shit load of silly mindless stories for you all (and for those of you who know me, you know that this is true). If that isn’t enough, I like to announce that I will whore myself out to anyone who will vote for me. How do you think I got this gig?
Me: *gets up from knees*, ok Ernie, I won’t continue until you promise you let me play in Puppetmaster.
Ernie: *on brink of orgasm* ok, whatever… you’re in…
love you Ernie!
Posted by Ted @ 07:53 PM PST [Link]
Wow, today’s theme seems to be really deep and depressing. Like everyone else, my poor site has also been suffering from my participation in PM. *pets site* I’m still relatively new to the concept on keeping an online journal, but unlike Rachael, (hopes things are going well!), I’ve been hesitant to post more about my more deeper feelings and such. This might be fear from certain people finding my site, and learning things about me that I don’t want them to know about. However, I do believe that expressing your emotions and problems online is a great way to deal with issues. It’s just so effing therapeutic and cathartic to do so.
David – I do believe that is by far one of the most heart wrenching stories I have ever heard. And reading yours and Meghan’s back to back makes me reconsider a lot of my bitterness and disenchantment towards love. I think it takes a really strong will and personality to bounce back from such a heartbreak, and you clearly possess those attributes.
Meghan I must admit that your story is probably your best post to date. Again, it was another heart wrenching post and I’m sorry that something like that happened to you. I hope that awful experience doesn’t hinder you from taking more risks with your heart.
If either of you would like some kind of vengeance taken upon these evil souls, please do not hesitate to ask me for help. I will be more than happy to go over to their homes, bash their door in, and give them a yelling of a lifetime on what a great person they both missed out on (while wearing a "Defender of Love" t-shirt on).
I myself am bitterly single from many horrible encounters with evil and confusing girls. I seem to have the "get every girl but the one you want" curse on me tattooed on my forehead. Not to mention the "every girl that you turn down will hook up with your friend" curse as well. And I do believe that the last person to hit on me was a guy. *sigh* I use to believe that there is a perfect person out there for you (and I probably still do in a way). But I’ve become so bitter and jaded lately that I’m just not sure anymore. I guess I’m just getting tired of waiting for her. But if the perfect person for me is reading this right now, FUCKING MEET ME ALREADY, I’M GETTING TIRED OF YO LAZY ASS!!! heh, ok… but this sad story always cheer me up. I don’t know why, it’s a really depressing, but just the fact that there was a 100% perfect person out there is comforting to me. So please read it, it’s a beautiful story.
Posted by Ted @ 06:36 PM PST [Link]
I'm home from work and I've had way too much caffiene again. Needless to say I'm in a different space than I was last night. Karen made me a Velvet Hammer when I opened the store. It's a drink we make each other with a quad shot, too much chocolate and hazelnut syrup, steamed nonfat milk and whipped cream. I probably had six more shots today? Anyways. I am physically pretty tired and mentally wired.
I shouldn't even be reading Puppetmaster right now. It's making me crazy! Case in point: I was laughing at Bob about his thoughts on Meghan because I know Meghan is real. I talked to her online the other night and I really like her a lot. Then it hit me. Was that even Meghan at all? Did she post her aim to throw people off? If you're real I'm sorry Meghan, but there really is something very wrong with that story.
I feel so much better today. Tony came by the store on his lunch and we made plans for tonight. I almost wrote the name of the restaurant and time, but I'm getting it now. Thanks for talking with me Ernie. Last thing I want is a live audience watching Tony and I work things out tonight. I'd be staring at the other people the whole time. (laughing) It could happen!
He wasn't overly warm today, but he did kiss me goodbye. I think that's a pretty good sign. And he did come all that way to see me on his lunch hour. He's only done that once. I think that's a good sign, isn't it? Maybe not. I think the game is really starting to get to me.
I read. I looked at your pictures. I read some more. I have decided to give my vote to Ashley for three reasons. I don't want her to leave, she really makes me laugh and she did ask for the votes. You have my immunity vote Ashley. I've also decided to go ahead and ask for your votes as well. Truth is I know I haven't been much of a player lately, but I'm really not ready to leave yet. My mind hasn't been on the game the past two days and I need your help. Please? I've had a very stressful week already.
I have to go meet him now. If things go really well I may not be posting again tonight for obvious reasons. I'll let you all know as soon as I can everybody.
Posted by Rachael @ 06:18 PM PST [Link]
Oh, man, David, I'm sorry.
Posted by Nancy @ 05:22 PM PST [Link]
And my immunity vote goes to Nancy, for being the exception to the rule.
Posted by David @ 04:27 PM PST [Link]
Okay, this post is not gonna be pretty. It started out as a happy little tangent from Nancy's ring-shopping story, but quickly spiraled into the black depths. It is officially Relationship Hell Day here on Puppetmaster. You have been warned.
Naomi and I had been dating for a couple years, then she moved six states away. We continued to date long-distance for a while, and the next April I took a couple weeks and went out for a visit. I brought along the engagement ring that had belonged to my great-grandmother: not entirely certain whether I wanted to do anything with it, but just in case. We spent a week or so on a driving trip, and by the time it was nearly over I had made up my mind... That morning, at a bed-and-breakfast overlooking the Cascade Mountains, I slipped the ring onto her plate when she got up to get a muffin.
I should have known right then what I was in for. "What's this?!" she exclaimed in a tone approaching horror. I missed the implications though, and earnestly told her that I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her. She dithered; I told her to take her time coming to a decision. 45 minutes later she said yes. By the end of the day she was recovered from the shock, wearing the ring, and beaming.
Things went on much as before for a little over a year. We were in a typical long-distance relationship: hour-long phone calls almost daily, letters, occasional trips to visit, the works. But we weren't getting anywhere, and eventually I decided I had to make a move. I quit my job (with the elevator shaft), terminated my lease, sold a lot of my stuff, and loaded the rest into a Ryder truck and moved out to rural Goldendale, Washington.
Nine days later the engagement was off. Naomi, it turns out, had been sleeping with her next-door neighbor for about a month and a half. She had also, somehow, convinced herself that A) she could put him out of her mind as soon as I showed up, and B) it wasn't worth mentioning to me. Needless to say, neither of those delusions was anything close to true.
I spent the next month just getting from one day to the next. I drove to Portland and crashed on a friend's floor for a week. I flew home to stay with my folks for a week. I couldn't stay away forever though, and some nights I slept in Naomi's bed while she slept next door.
During one of those nights, I happened across one of Naomi's old journals--and trying to get any sort of a handle on what happened, I read parts of it. I am not proud of this. But I learned that even back when I proposed, Naomi should never have accepted: she suspected (and was probably right) that if she had said no, our long-distance romance wouldn't last much longer. She hadn't wanted to give up the now, so she committed to forever. Later on, I was a lot more angry at her about this than I ever was about the infidelity.
I had been--I thought I had been--deeply, thoroughly in love with this woman. But by the time I was thinking clearly again, every last bit of that love had disappeared. I didn't hate her, I wasn't enraged or vengeful or bitter (well okay, a little bitter). I didn't wish her ill. All my friends were a more incensed at her than I was, at least at the time. I later got mad, and then got over it again.
As soon as I could manage it, I loaded my life back into another truck and took off again, this time to stay with family friends in Chicago while I put myself back together. I worked retail for six months before getting back onto my career track. I sometimes wonder where I'd be now if she'd turned down my proposal; I know I wouldn't be where I am today.
I've had no contact with Naomi since I left Goldendale. I heard from a mutual friend that she was still with the neighbor a year and a half later; the news really didn't mean anything to me at all.
Posted by David @ 04:19 PM PST [Link]
Meghan gets my immunity vote for listening to sex while sitting in a laundry basket, drinking wine (out of the bottle?), and crying. There is no way one of the real contestants is getting my vote.
Posted by Bob @ 03:55 PM PST [Link]
Oh, that is too weird. I was thinking yesterday about how it would be possible to have Immunity in this kind of webgame, and here comes Ernie with just that. What I'm curious about, however, is what's going to happen if the puppet or it's master gets immunity...would it be wasted? WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR ME! You KNOW you love my pictures of Rainbow Brite and monkeys, the fact that I am SHAMELESSLY PROMOTING MYSELF FOR IMMUNITY RIGHT NOW, and uh... *ahem* Also, you should vote for me because I'm cute. Okay, that's a lie.
I already sent my vote in, which was purely strategy based. I want to WIN this thing, damnit.
My last few posts seem to be getting longer and longer, and my website is paying the price for it. I don't write anything GOOD on it anymore, it all gets said here. Also, I try not to mention the same things on this site and mine, simply because it would be a giveaway. Rawr. I am not looking forward to Saturday, because my dad will be coming home then, and until then, I have the house to myself. Which means four things: 1) Loud music 2) Eating junk food 3) Being messy 4) Coming and going as I please. Envy me. Oh wait, you all do that ANYWAY, because you're OLDER than me. Bah.
My knee is beginning to heal. It looks disgusting. I am never going to be able to wear pants again. Oh well. Well, one more thing before I go - VOTE FOR ME DAMNIT, no-one else has whored themselves out like me! I DESERVE YOUR VOTE! ...otherwise I might get booted Saturday *sniff*
Posted by Ashley @ 03:27 PM PST [Link]
Well, I had really looked forward to having one more longish writing sample for everyone upon which to base my next quiz. But no such luck.
Whom to choose for the immunity? Someone I'd hate to lose? Someone I think is the puppet anyway?
Belinda said we didn't need a reason, so I just went with my gut and voted for ... ::airplane passing directly overhead during elephant stampede:: ... and I don't think I have to defend that choice to any of you. : )
I'm also back to thinking I'm the puppet.
Posted by Nancy @ 03:20 PM PST [Link]
I've read and reread Meghan's post... and frankly I'm dumb. I don't get it... although I'm not sure if there is something to get. Anywho. I'm digging through the inet looking for serial numbers and ftp software and blah blah blah. This is exactly why I used to bitch and moan about Macs. Anywho...
Work today from 5-9:30pm. Next week I'm going to look for a new job. My first check, assuming that I ever get it, might not even break $100. In fact, I'm sure that it WON'T break the hundreds. I'm going to applebees or something and try to get a job being a waiter, I'm cute I have a nice smile and I'm friendly. Can you say major tips? For real, I hope I'm able to say that soon. There are so many things that I need to buy for my dorm room- so when I'm eventually booted from this thing Ernie is going to set up a Help James Get Through College by Sending him Shit Fund. I think its a good idea? Don't you? So Ernie Bertie, set up those paypal accounts and whatnot.
Posted by James @ 12:54 PM PST [Link]
There was this girl who was beautiful and wonderful and I absolutly adored her. Last year she even was able t stay with me for a week while her mom was moving up here. We went to Seattle, she and her squirrelly bf were sitting in the back seat saying things like, "Oh those poor trees, logging is such an atrocity." My friend, Nikki, who was driving, was offended by these remarks because she comes from a family where logging was the main source of income for the past few generation. We just sort of sat there, looking forward, listening to their insipid comments, trying not to turn round and ring their necks. When the girl and i were alone, we had so much fun. We went downtown and she got her nose pierced and I got my tongue done. But when she was with that boy, call it jealousy, she pushed my to a point where I was disgusted and hurt. She had promised me that they wouldn't mess around. I believed her. We were at Nikki's house, spending the night, and they were sitting on a love seat, necking then it came to a point where she asked me to leave the room, I grabbed their bottle of red wine and complied. I drank myself silly that night. Sitting behind the bathroom door in a basket of dirty laundry listening to their sounds of sex, crying myself silly. Finally that evening I decided enough was enough, and in my drunken state, quietly walked out of that apartment, drove the mile home and only came back in the morning in time to take him to the airport.
Later that week, the girl and I flew down to San Fran. He picked us up at the airport and I got my first glimpse of who he was. The revolutionary was just a poseur, driving a newer Isuzu Trooper and living with mommy and daddy in Hillsboro. When I walked in that house, I was afraid to touch anything, it was like a museum rather than a home. There were pictures of squirrel boy everywhere; they were following me. His little blonde fro and gargantuan nose was almost too much to take. But I controlled myself, quietly stayed in the back when her friends convinced her that her parents were absolutely horrid people and she "run away" from them, not go to college and stay down there and party party party. I don't know where she is. I wonder though, if she is still with that boy or is whoring around as per her very open sense of morality, if she has a job and a place to live, if she is happy with her life.
So that m'dears was a year ago give or take a few days, and now here I am, unable to let go of the past, battling with he thought of emailing her. Yes, I do lead a boring existence. I do not deny that. It is simple life, most likely trite. I am cautious, making sure that I won't get hurt over the choices I have made, as I have been in the past. Maybe, as time moves on, i will be able to share my tales of stalker boy friends, more drunken (funny) nights and other random high school antics. For now though, I must go to work.
Posted by Meghan @ 10:53 AM PST [Link]
Rachael, the whole online thing is so odd. It feels very anonymous when you write it but ... the oddest things happen.
When I started my site, it was much more personal. Too personal. And although I pulled it all down eventually, it lives on in broken links and Google caches.
Now, I'm fairly conservative with what I write about myself on my site. PM has been a change from that; I've written more things about myself in this past week on PM than I've written in the year-plus of the current incarnation of my site. And I've revealed things most people in my offline life don't know. Interesting what the web does to us.
Anyway, hon, good luck with your boyfriend. Take responsibility for what's your mess and don't take any crap about the rest of it. ::wink::
Posted by Nancy @ 10:29 AM PST [Link]
*yawn* This is way too early for me. I'll post more later when I'm more coherant, but for now read this little story I foound.
A little rabbit is happily running through the forest when he stumbles upon a giraffe rolling a joint. The rabbit looks at her and says, "Giraffe my friend, why do you do this? Come with me running through the forest, you'll see, you'll feel so much better!" The giraffe looks at him, looks at the joint, tosses it and goes off running with the rabbit.
Then they come across an elephant doing coke, so the rabbit again says, "Elephant my friend, why do you do this? Think about your health. Come running with us through the pretty forest, you'll see, you'll feel so good!" The elephant looks at them, looks at his razor, mirror and all, and then tosses them and starts running with the rabbit and giraffe.
The three animals then come across a lion about to shoot up... "Lion my friend, why do you do this? Think about your health! Come running with us through the sunny forest, you will feel so good!" The lion looks at him, puts down his needle, and starts to beat the shit out of the little rabbit. As the giraffe and elephant watch in horror, they look at him and ask, "Lion, why did you do this? He was merely trying to help us all!"
The lion answers,
"That little fucker makes me run around the forest like an idiot for hours every time he's on ecstasy!"
I seriously sat there and laughed my ass off for like five minutes when I read this. ok, back to sleep....
Posted by Ted @ 10:12 AM PST [Link]
My last post of the day. You know what? I really don't want to get involved in the whole tunaphobic nightmare landlady vs nice Canadian story.
That's because I am a wuss. I am. I just don't want to know. I live in a building surrounded mostly by old people who already hate us. We've already got regular nights when gay boys gather to drink pints of vodka, smoke dope and listen to hard house under a UV glow. We've already got muppets Credible Punk Rockers staying with me once a month threatening to kick down the neighbours' doors. We've already got an ever-changing cast of characters including Scandinavian backpackers (OK, enough about them already!), cupboard-dwelling Canadians, Australian dope fiends, long-distance lovers, a round ginger drug dealer that we call Scotch Egg behind his back, and a poor sweet innocent French girl who doesn't know what she's let herself in for yet.
So I really, thank you very much, do not want to have to lie to the woman up the stairs who keeps coming round looking for Flatmate 1, who is a) still at work and b) terrible at lying, so she can find out the new location of her recent tenant, who we helped to move out on Sunday. I do not want to be interrogated about whether I thought that was odd, or whether I knew she was "doing a bunk", or who her friends were who provided the transport. Fine! Call the police! Just, for the love of ungod, don't come round my place again. Thanks.
Posted by Eva @ 09:54 AM PST [Link]
The whole concept of a class ring is not something I can get my head around. What exactly is that about?
Personally, I have a phobia of rings. Rings and icebergs and perhaps deep water. I've never been near an iceberg so I'm safe on that count so far (although, I do have serious plans to visit Antarctica one day). I just can't wear rings, they freak me out. A girl I met in a dyke bar in Sapporo gave me a ring to remember her by. I tried, really I did. I maybe lasted a week or two, but during that time I sometimes got freaked out and had to take it off and put it in my wallet.
Bob, go ahead and like Robbie Williams. I don't mind what anyone listens to (unless it's, like, Celine Dion). I just wanted to be clear about disassociating myself and my homeland from him. Instead, Northern Ireland has given the world semtex, champ, Therapy? and Liam Neeson. Hmmm.
I don't have too much to contribute today so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's topic so I can go off on another long ramble. (Someone stop her!) I'm behind in my e-mails (but what's new?) and I didn't design that blog yet. I'm going to a gay bar tonight with Emily, who used to live in our cupboard. In fact, she lived in it for a record two and a half months, and yes, for those of you watching at home, that means "closet". You can just about get a mattress in there if you squash it a bit and force the door shut. Emily is from the west coast of Canada and none of her friends do anything "normal". They all end up designing bondage gear or something. She tried to give me a normal one - "...My friend Jen makes shoes?" but I don't think that's quite good enough.
Posted by Eva @ 08:50 AM PST [Link]
Drat it, my top candidates for Puppet or Puppetmaster keep getting eliminated. Shea, it was great having you around. The Primate House won't be the same without you.
Rachael. I'm proud of you. You're hurting, and because of advice I (among others) gave you. I know this has got to be hard, but it will pass. Give Tony some time to assimilate what you've sprung on him. He'll be back, if he's worthy of you. Meanwhile, let Nicole support you--you're very lucky to have a friend like her around.
I've gotta go--I'll do one of my regular long, rambling posts later on. So long all!
Posted by David @ 08:24 AM PST [Link]
Bertie, I've decided not to be pissed at you. When I first read your post, I had just woken up and I was furious. How dare you question me? Well, then I woke up some and realized that you have a lot of reason to question me as far as this game goes so I lightened up. But really, let me tell you a little something about chutzpah. I walk out of my door every morning with two thoughts in mind: 1. There are a large number of people within 100 miles of me that would very much like to KILL me personally because of where I work and who I represent. 2. At any time and anywhere I could be blown the fuck up by a random explosive device placed in a car or a trash can or a simple bag left in the corner of the cafe where I'm sipping a coffee. No joke, it happens all the time. Chutzpah is walking out that door every day and living my life to the fullest I can and not letting those facts crush all the spirit I have. It's some scary shit that you don't know the first thing about and I would rather if you would just back off. Really, I'm not too pissed but I'm a little offended.
As for who I am, I'm a 25 year old white male who grew up in a number of rural/suburban areas around the U.S. I never wanted for much as a child or adolescent aside from the acceptance of my father. The hardest thing I ever did was tell my father (who was paying my way through college) that I wanted to change my major from Chemical Engineering to History because I knew he would object to the point of cutting me off. Fortunately, I lucked out, he didn't cut me off and now I'm a diplomat and he's proud of me. As a high schooler, I was totally devoid of self-respect or esteem (maybe Dad's fault, maybe not) and had a total of one date and my virginity intact upon graduation. The only thing that saved me was a girl my freshman college year who had different issues but enough compassion to look beyond my utter self-deprecation and help me to get on my feet. Now, after some practice, I'm pretty damn suave and debonair (that's pronounced "swayve and debone-er") with the ladies. I have a really hard time dealing with stupid or ugly people. Stupid people I don't need to explain and the ugly part I really can't. I just don't see any reason to spend my time interacting with people that I don't think are attractive in some way, male or female. They just make me feel uncomfortable. That's a really mean attitude and I know it. Everyone's got to have some faults. So, will that do for now?
Eva, am I wrong for liking Robbie Williams? I think his stuff is pretty damn good. Eh.
David, you didn't work in the HRC on some off chance did you?
Philo, more sleep hombre. More sleep.
Well, I'm calmer now that I got the above out. I've got some serious anger (more like rage) issues. Hmm.
Posted by Bob @ 08:23 AM PST [Link]
OK, I'm just checking in briefly. The muppets band have gone out. They'll be picked up by the drummer in a few hours and go to Aberdeen to play their next gig. Last night Shelter were playing, and one of the muppets went to the gig, but the rest of us couldn't afford it and drank cheap cider in my kitchen instead. It was quite a mellow night though. The toffee yoghurt saga is over! The wee Baron was good enough to clean it up seeing as nobody who actually lives here was going to. As an encore he mopped the kitchen floor. We went to his new girlfriend's website and saw that she likes to have her picture taken whilst lounging on sofas scantily clad. He is never going to hear the end of it.
Bertie, my dear: BZZT! I am not from England, nor do I live there. So my country did not give you Robbie Williams. Rather, my country is best known for the riots that occur leading up to today. Yes, it's the 12th of July, and I am glad to be living in Scotland instead.
Peter's summaries are starting to remind me of "Our Graham with the quick reminders". UK readers will know what I'm talking about (perhaps). Everyone else, don't worry about it. I love your comment about my puppetmaster needing time off to think up more ludicrous stories. I thought everyone lived like this! OK ... well ... maybe not quite. Oh, and you want star encounters? I've had many, but I just don't know where to begin.
Shea: surprised and sorry to see you go. If it's any help, one of my friends has a brain-crush on you. Oh, and thanks for retracting your kisses to me! Ah well.
Oh my god. I just got this e-mail from a friend of mine in the States. Her friend teaches a course. Gender/sexuality and literature, perhaps? I can't remember.
i don't know if this will freak you out or excite you. i told amy about the porn that you are having published. she said she would be interested in having it as a part of her course. i am not sure if the journal will be out yet or what. let me know if you are interested.
I had a dream last night that I was the father of this girl who was about eighteen and we were working in an office when an intruder came in and stabbed her or something with a broken bottle. At this point I knew she was supposed to die and I was supposed to spend the rest of the dream seeking vengeance, but instead she survived, she was just more fragile now. I managed to get her to a police station that doubled as a gay bar and then the dream went off on a tangent, I think I was myself now and I got some jobs doing flyering.
Wise the bap? Wise up. I think bap means head. I don't know why, but who am I to question it?
I'd stick around and write you another dissertation, but I want to make it look like I'm not a total geek. I try telling these guys I'm actually an Internet rock star, but I don't think they're buying it.
Posted by Eva @ 06:15 AM PST [Link]
Uhm, Good morning? I was watching TV with the House Mate and the last thing I remember was South Park. Eric Cartman was out for revenge on this 8th grader and he was trying to train a horse to bite the kids penis off. Something about Radiohead and someone having ass cancer. There was some fat guy on after that. Some obnoxious unattractive big funny fat guy wearing a big funny fat suit. Or maybe it was a gorilla suit. I guess that's when I dozed off.
I was going to post my latest opinions on all of you monkeys tonight or some such bloody madness, but I just came to. I'm delerious. I'm going to get naked and slide between the sheets. After all, tomorrow will be just as good of a day to stir shit up. Now is time to sleep and dream about playing my favorite game - hide the banana. Yodalayheehoo! Goodnight. Zzzzzz.
Posted by Philo @ 02:16 AM PST [Link]
Rach, I empathise with you. What you did takes courage and now it just takes some time for him to understand. I hope everything works out for the best.
Posted by Meghan @ 01:17 AM PST [Link]
This day is gone. A day can be a year or just a short hour, can be without any strength or power. If he'd call I could tell him all I have been thinking about on a day that has crept by ever so slowly. It's not like Tony to actually make me wait until tomorrow when we've had difficulties in the past. This morning he said Thursday night and Thursday night it apparently is. I have been waiting and watching people passing by outside, wondering if I'll see him drop by unexpectedly like he often does this time of night.
Nicole is without a doubt the best friend I have ever had. She fixed lemon pepper pasta and asparagus. She opened a bottle of wine and listened attentatively to my melodrama in a way where I felt heard, seen, accepted and loved no matter what. She helped me clarify a few things tonight for myself.
I told Tony the truth. Whether it should have been sooner is irrelevant at this point. The past can not be changed. As for his difficulties with his exposure to my personal writing this will either serve as a door to a new beginning in our relationship or it will bring it to it's rightful conclusion. She said, "Rachael, if you plan to continue to share all of your thoughts, dreams and feelings online they are available to him. If he can see that as the gift it is cherish him. If not you'll either need to edit and censor yourself for him or find someone who wants you for who you are. I don't see you as the kind of woman who wants to live a edited and censored life." She's absolutely right.
Thanks James and Ted for your support tonight. I started my site a few months ago. It hasn't been online very long, just long enough for me to create quite a mess. (laughing) For the record I did use pseudonyms for the people I know. Only those who know me very well know who they all are. Ted, it's not that Tony and I haven't had great sex. A few weeks ago I wrote that I wasn't sure where the spark had gone and I wondered if it would return.
Nicole reminded tonight that even though the circumstances are strange and my Sweet Valley High saga apparently has a large audience, I am learning and being forced to be really true to myself and not hide my light under a bushel, not in my relationship, not anywhere. I can't say I'm enjoying Puppetmaster right now for that reason, but it certainly has already been a catalyst for change in my life. In the long run I know I will be forever thankful.
Time for bed. I have to open tomorrow.
Posted by Rachael @ 12:47 AM PST [Link]
Wednesday, July 11, 2001
Wow, I'm actually using my third entry today! Ern will be proud! Enough exclamation marks. Man, Shea, I'm gonna miss you, girl! God, that whole flies story had me DYING with laughter. And gagging at the same time. THAT takes talent. Nicely done. I'm still in awe that someone recognized you from Puppetmaster. Jesus. You'll be sorely mourned, and hopefully that after-game blog can get started now that two of you have been eliminated. What I'm wondering is - is the puppet going to blog after the game's over? I mean, we KNOW they're fake, but - it'd still be nice to have them around every so often... I'm gonna miss em! *sniff*
I'm trying new formatting with this post. I have had huge paragraph breaks in all my other ones, so maybe I only need one br command to make a new paragraph. Clueless me is JUST figuring me this out after last night's formatting disaster (the conversation with Ernie). Bah.
My knee is feeling slightly better. I've washed it and covered it in zinc oxide and it's not stinging as much. It looks disgusting. I'd post a picture but a) that would be a giveaway and b) i don't feel like making you all lose your lunches. Yes, it's that bad.
What else can I babble about? Oh yeah. I've started a little sheet ruling out people according to the statistics I have. People that have been eliminated, websites of those I've found, and etc. It's tacked to my wall. And filled with little X's. I may just win this damn thing yet! Of course, I could lose horribly and become victim #3 and just EAT my words upon the next elimination... heh.
Ted - you sound like you're as addicted as me. I checked this from my COUNSELOR'S office, how sick is that? And whenver I walk into my bedroom, no matter what I came in here to do, I run to the computer and check. It's kind of sad, actually. Also, Indian food is SO good. But Thai food is better. There's this restaurant in my area...which is to DIE for. Mmm. I'm salivating just thinking about it. And you can kiss my knee if you'd like, but it's rather...gross.
Nancy - that is SO sweet. And I have to give you props for having the guts to go out shopping like that. I'm still somewhat in the closet to the public due to just, well, inexperience and my age I guess. I respect you, and will want to kill your master if you're fake.
Philo - Philo, Philo, Philo... I still can't tell if you're real or not. You're my number one guess for Puppetmaster at the moment, simply because of your excellent writing abilities and how you told that duck story. But that could change, and knowing me, it probably will.
James - You and Oprah are both black, both obsessed with food *cough* (that was bad), and both nurturing as hell. Maybe you should start your own talk show?
Bob - you're seeming more and more real to me. Maybe that's just because I'm attracted to your James Bond-ishness.
Okay, that about does it for me.
Posted by Ashley @ 11:15 PM PST [Link]
Ok, so I drove 45 minutes to a University today to go do some research there for my project and have lunch with a friend. And whats the first thing that I do when I get there? Go online to see if I was kicked off. And spending all my free time there checking out PM until I found out that Shea was eliminated (sorry shea, you will be missed!). I swear, I was so freaking paranoid today. And to make it worst, my picture would always be the last one to load, so I always thought I was the one who got kicked off. aiya.
And I had the best lunch ever. I went to this Indian place that I used to go to when I went to the University there. I swear, nan is the best fucking beard in the whole world! (yes, I just bolded nan, its more than just a bread). Needless to say, I stuffed myself silly today because I know I won’t be going back there soon.
Shea I agree with Peter that you were the funniest among us. The whole Things that dangle from the ceiling by their ass need to be killed had me rolling on the floor. And omg, the PM web celeb thing actually happened??? That’s just insane I tell you, insane!!! I totally thought you were blowing smoke up our asses on that one.
Rachael I’m sincerely sorry to hear that your confrontation with your boyfriend didn’t go too well. I do think that you expressing to him that this is a start for you to share more with him about your life is a great beginning to what will hopefully build on an even more stronger relationship. But I would like to tell you that posting about you not enjoying sex with him as much anymore on this particular well read and popular site probably isn’t helping the situation. And if you ever need someone to smoke with, just ask and I’ll have a cig with you anytime.
David loved your metaphor of whats happening here at PM. Its funny because its true. Maybe we can all watch Planet of the Apes or something
Ashley ah, sorry to hear about your bike injury! I can kiss it and make it all better if you want. ^_^
Posted by Ted @ 10:51 PM PST [Link]
Last night it was all I could do to get my topic up and test in and Glory Halleluah, I'm still here! Thank you baby Jesus. God Bless you too Shea. I'll miss your lap dances. Honestly, I didn't know what to make of you early on, but over time I have decided to build a shrine here at Puppetmaster to honor your rather warped sense of delightfully grouchy humor! I'll miss seeing you in these parts, but I'll be checking in lady.
One thing that I've realized with the coming of your definitive reality is that the "You're Shea from Puppetmaster!" encounter actually did happen. If the first two leaving and the things I did not believe about them are any indication of how well I am playing I'm doomed. DOOMED!!!
My biker friend Peter (not our Color Commentary gifted writer Peter) left for The City of Angels this morning and man did it ever rock my world to spend time with him these past two days. I've been playing Julie McCoy a little too much and have been a little lax around here. I'm posting Pete, I'm posting! Thank you to everyone for props about my crazy job story. Maybe it is just that, a story. Fact or Fiction? Only my hairdresser knows for sure.
Where have I been? Peter couldn't come visit San Francisco without a burrito from Pancho Villa, an espresso from Cafe Trieste and the customary picture by the Golden Gate Bridge, could he? The House Mate came with us and we rode the motorcycles all around San Fran. It was a blast. Gosh darn dang it! I burnt another frozen pizza! Wah!
Posted by Philo @ 09:48 PM PST [Link]
Sitting here watching Politically Incorrect and drinking a Nestea Cool. My dog has a serious case of bad gas, and its really starting to make me sick to my stomach. I have a poodle, and I swear he has every disease under the sun. Dry skin, allergies, and aparently bad gas. But maybe its just his old age, he is like 7 or 8 years old now.
Tomorrow I have work, from 5-9:30pm as usual. I'm so tired of those hours its not even funny. Weekdays are so boring at the store and we always watch the same movies. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Charlie's Angels, Bring it On, Meet the Parents, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Replacements, etc. Everytime I walk out of the mall I feel like I lost a million of my precious brain cells, and looking at my previous posts I can't really afford those lost cells.
Bertie - I can't wait for SurvivorCam II. You don't understand me. If I could get that setence to sound an more excited I would. I knew Marissa would win, she is a pimpress. And you do manage to swing some excellent fundage for you games don't you? It only pains me that this potential puppet wasn't invited to be a part of the next round's festivities. I thought I proved myself *sobs* Alas, this is the life of a "reality" logger. And thanks, I like my head too.
Rachael - I'm really sorry to hear about Tony's reaction to your journal. Is your journal fairly new to the web? I ask that because I think we all, well those of us with only journal/logs, went through something similar when we showed our pages to those that knew us in real life. While mine wasn't as dramatic ( not a good choice of wording maybe? ) as yours, it still might help. I know when my mom stumbled upon my page I was devistated. This was before I had come out to her, mind you, and my mom was swimming with possible outcomes. At first I lied to her and made up this horribly fragmented story about this and that. She just nodded and accepted it, although I could see that she didn't believe it. We didn't talk that often for a while after that and I knew that I had to do something about it. I swear, I felt like I was on a television drama. I sat my mom down and did the "I need to talk to you" thing. It took me forever, had to have been 2 hours, for me to get around to the topic. I finally just broke down and told her. It was the most relieved I was in my whole life, because she hugged me and asked me "What did you expect me to do? Throw you through the window?" She asked most of the questions Tony asked you. "Why couldn't you tell me?" "Did I not make myself available for talks?" "I didn't know you felt like that..." It all broke me even further because she was upset more at how I felt than my sexuality. I felt like it was all my dramatic mind weaving my actual life into something bigger and better than it actually was.
I calmed down and when I thought about it I realized that my feelings don't have to be justified for anybody but myself. So yeah I've rambled on, and while I doubt it was any help, sometimes its just better to know that others have gone through things similar to what you are currently going through.
Everything will be all good between you and Tony, no matter how it turns out.
*closes his book* Damn, I feel like I'm on Oprah or something.
Posted by James @ 09:48 PM PST [Link]
Last night it was all I could do to get my topic up and test in and Glory Halleluah, I'm still here! Thank you baby Jesus. God Bless you too Shea. I'll miss your lap dances. Honestly, I didn't know what to make of you early on, but over time I have decided to build a shrine here at Puppetmaster to honor your rather warped sense of delightfully grouchy humor! I'll miss seeing you in these parts, but I'll be checking in lady.
One thing that I've realized with the coming of your definitive reality is that the "You're Shea from Puppetmaster!" encounter actually did happen. If the first two leaving and the things I did not believe about them are any indication of how well I am playing I'm doomed. DOOMED!!!
My biker friend Peter (not our Color Commentary gifted writer Peter) left for The City of Angels this morning and man did it ever rock my world to spend time with him these past two days. I've been playing Julie McCoy a little too much and have been a little lax around here. I'm posting Pete, I'm posting! Thank you to everyone for props about my crazy job story. Maybe it is just that, a story. Fact or Fiction? Only my hairdresser knows for sure.
Where have I been? Peter couldn't come visit San Francisco without a burrito from Pancho Villa, an espresso from Cafe Trieste and the customary picture by the Golden Gate Bridge, could he? The House Mate came with us and we rode the motorcycles all around San Fran. It was a blast. Gosh darn dang it! I burnt another frozen pizza! Wah!
Posted by Philo @ 09:37 PM PST [Link]
Oh Shae, I am sorry to see you go. I was driving home from the movies (more on that later) and was thinking about the quiz, hoping I answered well and most off hoping that when I logged on, my pic wouldn't be faded out. In fact I didn't even notice Shae was the one until I read a post. Me and my keen obsersvational skills.
Well, I had a well deserved day off today. I was awoken this morning by the phone and in my tired state answered it with, "Fredmeyers Home Electronics." The Microsoft Representative laughed quite a bit when I abruptly corrected myself and then told me I should be getting my copy of Windows XP in the next couple weeks. I'm happy about this.
I was lazy, only getting out of my pj's at 3pm today so I could take my brother and sister to see A.I. I am not usually one who enjoys the previews, but today's were exceptional. There was Lord of the Rings, which happenes to my current desktop, Harry Potter which looks very cool and then a teaser for The Time Machine which I am terribly excited about. Well, A.I. was very cool. Though, next time I see a film like that I will not take my chatty sister and my 9yo brother.
My mom just told me that my cousin was told she couldn't go back to college next year because she failed her math class. I feel bad for her. I was able to relate to her before because I was also on Acedemic Probation, which sounds a lot more frightening then it really is, but now, oh goodness I just feel horrible. And it wasn't like she was fuckign up like skipping class and not doing homework, she was a genuinely good student, she just had a terrible time with math and some horrid medical problems last year. I hope everything works out of her though, she really deserves a break.
Posted by Meghan @ 07:37 PM PST [Link]
I'm not looking forward to the results of that test. I had a lot on my mind this morning when I filled it out before work. I'm not even sure I care very much if my time is up anyway. This is going to be difficult for me to write.
Last night I met Tony and I told him the truth. He had been wondering what I wanted to talk about. He thought he was in trouble for something. My having an internet journal was not an option that had crossed his mind. At first he was very cool about it. When I told him about Puppetmaster he was even genuinely excited. I was so relieved. We went for sushi and afterwards he wanted to see it all for himself. I signed on and he started with my journal. I could see him become more and more agitated as he read. He kept reading and I felt the distance between us grow. Then he started in on it. "Why couldn't you tell ME how you felt?" "How come I never knew I hurt your feelings?" "What do you mean you're not enjoying sex with me as much as you used to?" "Why is all this on the web Rachael for everyone to read and I don't even know anything about it?"
The more he spoke the more I wanted a cigarette. When I lit one Tony started in on that too. "Have you been smoking all this time and hiding that from me too?" We ended up talking for a quite awhile. I didn't and still don't have a decent answer for is why I didn't tell him about all this in the first place. I know I had my reasons, but none of them carry any weight anymore, not even with me. It's the question I keep getting stuck on. The answers just lead to more questions. Am I really afraid to be that intimate? Should I be seeing a therpist? Have I been holding back, or am I pretending that I care about Tony more than I genuinely do? I don't really care if he reads this anymore. I honestly don't know very much right now. When he said he felt like he didn't really know me, I did tell him I wanted to change that and I do. I explained that telling him this was part of doing just that. I wanted things to change. He said he hoped so too and he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.
It wasn't the worse case scenario I could have imagined, but it was pretty close. At least it's over. I do feel a sense of relief that it's all out in the open. The hard part is it's very wierd when you realize many of the problems you are having with someone might be all your fault. Do you ever wonder how screwed up you are or is this really just being normal? I was up late last night and I would sign on to Puppetmaster, but I just couldn't put anything into words. I called Tony at work this morning and he was polite. He said he'd meet me Thursday night. I hope I have the right thing to say.
I'm sorry I haven't posted lately. Nicole's making me dinner and I'll write more tonight when I get back. Oh, it was Shea. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm going to miss you Shea. And while I'm apologizing I'm sorry for saying you were retarded. I really didn't mean it. Anyways. I'm late.
Posted by Rachael @ 06:53 PM PST [Link]
Wow. Shea of all people. Everytime these quizes roll around I'm amazed by the outcome. I come to the page half expecting to see my portrait greyed out and "eliminated" plastered on it or when I log on to AIM I'm expecting Ernie to msg me with a cute way of saying "Ha, Ha, idiot. You gots ta go." But I'm still here.
*swoons* @ Nancy. I swear, you are so romantic... even if you're only buying a ring (only?). If you were a boy, I'd be all over your jock. I know what you mean with all that trouble picking out rings for ladies. I always used to go with my dad to help pick out gifts for my mom. Me and my mom are really close and have the same tastes in many aspects, so I'd be the authority on her or something. Rings were always a pain to choose. You can never hardly tell if they'd like a particular one, even if its only different by, say, a slight cut of the stone. Rings in general are always a bitch to size, even my own. My class ring fit perfectly when I first got it, but now it kind of dangles on my finger, then on other days it'll be too tight. I really do look forward to the day when some guy will be ring shopping for me, or me for him. Although in the back of my mind I don't ever think it'll happen, I hope one day it will. You go Nancy, when all of this is over, and if you are real, I want to see pictures of your leading lady.
Ashley - I haven't ridden my bike in years. I was such a good bike rider, or so I thought *remembers Puppetmaster Application*. I used to ride every morning. But upon discovery of a drivers ID and a car I abandoned the bike. I never really had any place to ride too as I grew up, unless it was just around the neighborhood and even then I just lost interest in riding bikes. I used to have scrapes and bruises and skin marks everywhere. Going against all gay stereotypes, I am and was a very athletic person, I can just never keep an interest in it. I played Lacrosse for like a week, ran track for a year, and gave up after those two. Sports are rather boring, even though I rock out at them. If it helps you to feel any better my knees are warm. The laptop is in my lap and the little fucker gets terribly hot on the bottom of it.
I went and bought a mouse today. That touch pad is a bitch. If you guys don't already have one I totally recommend that you guys go and buy an optical mouse. Those things rock! I used the official mac one during school and didn't like it too much, but this logitech one is pretty swanky. I'm using my bedspread as a mouse pad.
And can I say that I'm so happy to have this laptop in my room. And think, once I get that cam I saw today, my live shows will be pretty nifty *shakes his money maker* (was this post good for people interaction??)
Posted by James @ 06:42 PM PST [Link]
Ashley, sorry I weird you out. Ha. I'm just one of those people who looks vaguely like a lot of people. [Or am I the most generic photo the PuppetMaster could find?] Even more weird, I have a master's in psychology and actually was a counselor for teenagers once upon a time.
But truly surreal was what I did today. I shopped for an engagement ring for my girlfriend. All the good jewelers are in one part of town, The Most Heterosexual Place on Earth [with props to Mickey].
TMHPOE: Shop after shop of fluffy dresses, invitations and, yes, the really good diamond stores. Me saying things like, "Well, but her hands are much smaller than mine, so I'm not sure that would look right on her." "If she hates it, can I bring it back?" "No, she only wears yellow gold."
It was a lot like the dog/cat adventure: a couple of yelps, a lot of curiosity [no hissing].
Anyway, so I found the store but not the exact ring. I'm going back Monday. [If somehow you know my g/f, please don't say anything. She doesn't know, and I want to surprise her.]
Posted by Nancy @ 05:27 PM PST [Link]
So I just got back from my appointment with my "family counselor/therapist". I go there for two reasons. 1) I too, was a victim of sexual assault when I was younger - although he got a bloody nose and I got away. Thus, seeing my counselor, I work through some of the issues that have arisen because of this. 2) My parents split when I was fourteen. They want me to tell someone how I "feel" about it three years later. Yeah. Anyway, while I was there, she was having trouble with her computer. She was typing in a URL in a search engine and wondering why it wouldn't take her to the site. She also tried typing it into the "Address" box, and then hit "search" instead of enter. I showed her how to overcome these difficulties, and then she got up, turned around, and looked at me...and...
...I swear my therapist is Nancy. NANCY YOU ARE SCARING ME. She looks exactly like her. In a rush, I told her all about the game, and offered to show her the site. I showed her YOUR picture, Nancy, and she agreed. By the way, the site looks like HELL in Netscape...anyway. Nancy is now a doctor AND a psychologist. Woo!
The other fun thing that happened today was that, when I was biking home from the appointment, this little kid cut in front of me on his bike and slowed down. To avoid ramming into him, I swerved, and ended up in the bushes. His mother shouted at me, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" - uh huh. Because that was SO my fault. I'd just bought a new pair of 80$ khaki's for work, and worn them once... and now they have a large hole in the right knee, and where that hole is, I am missing a bunch of SKIN from my right knee. It is exceedingly bloody and GOD DOES IT HURT. I also skinned my hands and elbows, but not nearly as badly. Goddamnit, I hurt.
Posted by Ashley @ 04:51 PM PST [Link]
I vote we change the name of this thing to PuppetSlayer. ::Sniff::
David, excellent spider joke. Re: sexual orientation, the heterosexual people I talk to had their aha moment around age 5 or 6 [also when a lot of gay men seem to], but they don't call it "realizing I'm straight." They call it "noticing girls" or something.
In fairness, sexual orientation can be a very fluid thing, esp. for women it seems, and God knows I have no real answers about any of this. Which is perhaps why I have decided I don't care why I'm gay.
Eva, please do explain "wise the bap," because I think we are all dying to work it into a conversation so we can seem witty and worldly.
Bertie, Bertie, don't give up on us. It will be less of a mess as we are fewer.
I can't believe I'm still here. And did you see? Someone sent in another $20.
Posted by Nancy @ 04:16 PM PST [Link]
Quiz Notes: a) I was the late one. I apologize to Ernie and everyone involved. I am literally the ONLY American without reliable internet access at work. And I really can't use my work email for this kind of stuff (I do have a security clearance and all). b) Ernie, James doesn't live on the East Coast or the West Coast. He lives in Lousiana which is more like the (sorry James or evil automaton) Suck Coast. c) Was I supposed to answer #11 in reference to the PuppetMaster instead or just not at all? Crap.
David Notes: a) I didn't have an "aha" moment for being hetero but I did have a confirmation night in which I kissed a number of guys (the exact number is under 6 but the Diesel makes it VERY hazy). I realized a couple things: 1. Guys have bony faces and don't have good lips. 2. Goatees are not fun to kiss. 3. I definitely don't much enjoy kissing guys which pretty much precludes any other activities in my book (I've never given the "bag over the head" option much credence) b) That Jawa picture had me in stitches. Reminds me of an adventure I had with a keyboard that crapped out on me. An adventure which I seem to remember got me Geek Site of the Day status a number of years ago. There's one for you Web Historians/Sleuths to look into. c) Keep up the good work.
Eva Note: WISE THE BAP? What in the name of all that is good and sacred does that mean?!
Eve Notes: a) The non-cognitive section is funny. As far as I can tell, it doesn't work. b) The Foreign Service really is cool, and I highly reccomend it as long as you remember that you are signing up to work for the largest bureaucracy on Earth, now that the Soviet Union has collapsed. Well, maybe China has a bigger one but I'm still pissed that they had the gall to bill us over that plane thing. c) When (as an American) you've lived overseas long enough, you come to realize how freakin' great the U.S. really is. We have our faults sure, but we live in a civilized country where people generally line up, mostly drive their cars between the lines, and USE DEODORANT. That, my friends, is why I'm a patriot.
Peter Notes: a) Never lived in New Orleans but I wouldn't mind spending more time there. It's a fun (and weird) town. b) Starting out with languages other than English helps but they're more than willing to teach you new ones as I found out while sitting in class for nine months (and getting paid for it) to learn a language that I'll be able to use in only two places: where I live right now and Brooklyn. I'm pushing for Spanish next... c) I don't think the Department cares if I do this as long as I don't give away secrets. But who knows, I might get a call tomorrow asking me to report for my "re-education"... Hehe.
Me Notes: a) My mom loves me even if I'm a puppet. b) I got some work done today, including turning in a performance review that was technically due a year ago. c) I'm going to Warsaw in a couple weeks. Yes, Poland for tourism. I figure it's cheaper than Rome, right? d) I am butt-ass tired. Man, does that look weird in print.
Posted by Bob @ 03:23 PM PST [Link]
Peter's challenging me. (Yes, I'm doing the boldface name thing now too. Thus are conventions established.) So here, hopefully stripped of identifiers, is the elevator shaft story.
It was an exhibition on book illustration in the Renaissance. We had assembled somewhere between eighty and a hundred of the finest illustrated books published between 1450 and 1600: Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica, the Dürer Apocalypse, early atlases, scientific treatises and much more. Before installing everything in the display cases, we had it up in Conservation where supports were custom-made for each item and everything was double-checked to be sure it could survive being held open and exposed to light for the length of the exhibition. The conservation assistant and I had a half-filled book truck like the ones you see in libraries, and were getting ready to take it down to the main floor. The elevator arrived on the seventh floor, and we started to wheel the truck in--when a wheel lodged in the crack between the floor and the elevator. The truck started to tip over. We managed to catch it in time, but one or two items did fall off the truck. (Nothing actuallyfell down the elevator shaft; I was engaging in dramatic license.)After we'd recovered from the tip and gathered up the fallen pieces, the assistant looked at me and deadpanned, "You know, the material on this truck is probably worth around six million dollars." And these were the items that weren't receiving the special care in Conservation. When you work with treasures long enough, it ends up seeming like just stuff, you know? Then something happens to remind you just what a treasure it really is.
Yes, that probably was my craziest job to date. That was also the one where I had to explain to people over the phone that in all likelihood, we would not be interested in buying their great-grandfather's Gutenberg Bible. And Peter, I actually have a fairly large "web footprint" as I think someone called it--so if I get too specific about my occupation it'll be very easy indeed to find me. Not that I think there's anyone reading this, that believes I'm the Puppet. I could just as well drop all pretense and give out my phone number and Amazon wish list.
Unless I'm bluffing, of course.
Shea, you shouldn't kill spiders. I'd expect you to feel more affinity toward your fellow insect-eaters.
James--I wouldn't know. What's penis envy like?
(Hey guys, if you don't want the abuse, don't leave me such tempting openings!)
Eva has got to be the genuine article. Not only does she use such wonderful expressions as "wise the bap" and spellings like "civilised" and "yoghurt," but she knows about Moomins and Tove Jansson. Eva, as for people and their idiotic tendency to shout out the obvious, I should introduce you to my friend Seven-Foot Erik. Green hair you can at least cover once in a while... Erik's mom told him when he was a boy (I was going to say "little boy," but that wasn't quite the case) that he was going to spend the rest of his life listening to people telling him he was tall, as if he hadn't noticed. Since it was going to happen, he might as well learn not to let it bother him.
The daily thunderstorm is moving through. Yesterday at this time, and the day before, we had a storm come through, make a lot of noise, and the sun was out an hour later. (Old coot voice:) "Why, when I was a lad, they knew how to have real thunderstorms! Four hours straight of deafening booms, and rain pelting down in gallon buckets! None of this namby-pamby rumbling and grumbling! Kids these days..."
Posted by David @ 02:57 PM PST [Link]
OOps. Meant to blow kisses at Peter and Eve over in color commentary. Eve and not Eva. Just wanted to mention that. I wanted to make sure my suck up points went to the right place. :) Not that I am. ¬.¬
Posted by Shea @ 11:08 AM PST [Link]
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh! I just woke up and found that quiz. Ernie's trying to give me a heart attack. Bad Ernie. I saw the 12:00 on it and rushed through it. Then hitting send I saw it said PST, and got all mad. I had until frickin' 3pm to work on that thing. Oh well. *sighs*I am so out of the game tonight.
*blows kisses at Peter and Eva* Making ya laugh, and keeping you guessing. I think this is damn fun. I wonder what that list is saying about...
THERE'S A SPIDER DANGLING IN FRONT OF ME!!!! Excuse me. Be right back.
Dear lord, he was huge! Things that dangle from the ceiling by their ass need to be killed. There's a squish mark on the wall now the size of a silver dollar pancake. shudders Blek. EwwWWWwww Anyway, where was I?
Oh, I wonder what that list is saying about us?
Posted by Shea @ 10:59 AM PST [Link]
I wonder what those guys on that discussion list are saying about us. How about one of you color commentary guys lurk and tell us. I wonder who hates me and who doesn't.
Anyways, I planned on getting up this morning bright and early like so I can get that quiz sent in. Obviously, since its 12:27 my time, it didn't work. However, after that quiz I can say that I either did really well or I need to start redesigning my webpage for my triumphant return. Fuck it all.
Yeah, Eve I do have a sugar daddy. Yeah right, thats not my style. But honestly, I've had offeres in chat rooms. Thats an ego boost I tell you. Actually, my aunt with no children got me this computer as a graduation gift. I love me some macs again. I had the shittiest mac a few years ago, then I got a PC for christmas and now I'm back to this since I need to get a mac for college.
David is computer envy anything like penis envy? *drum roll please*. My birthday is saturday, I want gifts from all of you. A potential puppet/puppetmaster has needs also.
I love me some Robot Nancy. While I like everybody here, I hope she atleast is real. My poor heart can't take it if she isn't.
well anyways I'm off to circuit city. I need gadgets.
Posted by James @ 10:35 AM PST [Link]
This should be interesting. I'm either a lot closer to the truth, or a lot closer to being booted.
- Number of questions shared by Quiz 1 and 2: 12
- Number of answers I changed: 8
- Redistribution of Puppet "suspicion points": +40 points among 3 players, -15 from 1 player
- Puppet suspicion points I had given Pete in Quiz 1: 25
- Redistribution of Puppetmaster suspicion points: +30 points among 4 players, -25 among 3 players
- Puppetmaster suspicion points I had given Pete in Quiz 1: 5
For Quiz 1 I didn't subscribe to any one scenario; I'm sticking closer to a single theory in Quiz 2. Great if I'm right; if I'm wrong--well, it's been a blast, guys.
Pete, I hope you're still following us. I'm loving your blog, mister. As for turning off those X10 camera pop-ups, I have it on good authority that it's not too much of a chore to tweak that code and change "30 days" to "30 years".
Eva, Nancy--in the interests of stirring up some controversy, I'm going to question the "when did you know you were hetero" ploy. Some people have always known, yes--but others do have an "aha" moment when they realize "Hey--I'm [gay/bi/straight/whatever]." (I have one friend, for example, who was really bothered by the movie "Henry and June" until she realized that she had the hots for Uma Thurman.) And in a society where, for good or ill, poeple are assumed to be straight until shown otherwise, I would think the "aha" moment almost invariably involves realizing that one is not straight.
Or am I full of crap? I await your brickbats and rotten tomatoes with enthusiasm.
Posted by David @ 09:58 AM PST [Link]
Damn! I only just discovered that Tove Jansson passed away. I am truly saddened. If you haven't already discovered the Moomins, you really ought to work on that. Oh, and notice the discreetly worded "long-term companion". I wonder if she survived her?
In other news, the friend who let me know this is going to Denver, Colorado for a five day harmonica convention.
Posted by Eva @ 08:18 AM PST [Link]
OK, turned in my quiz and now I've completely changed my mind about who the P/M combination is. I hope I still score OK.
Eva, yes, the "How did you know?" question. I used to ask my audiences sometimes if there were any "admitted heterosexuals" and get one to talk about when s/he first knew s/he was heterosexual. It was a joke but it did get the point across and they did need to think about when it actually was that they were aware of it.
Re: tattoos and piercings, I don't think it's for attention. To me, it's a purge, a rush, a distraction from the noise in my head. It works for a few days, sometimes longer. But I think I'm done. I'm too old and too Midwestern-looking to pull off anymore than the remaining five piercings and one gigantic tat that I have.
James, I don't think you're boring at all.
Ashley, Damn, that picture looks like me. Where did you find it?
Philo, dude, the duck stamp job wins. All in favor?
Good luck to everyone on the quiz.
Posted by Nancy @ 07:48 AM PST [Link]
Jaysus. Where to start? I've missed so much!
Nancy, you crack me up. Consistently. I've had plenty of those stupid questions, too. And don't you just hate it when you make a casual reference to liking women, and some straight person starts wanting the whole factsheet. When they start with "How did you know?", I know it's going to be a long night.
Philo, your duck stamp story was hilarious. You win the craziest job award, I think. David, I love your monkey house analogy. Welcome Eve; I am already getting confused when I read references to you.
I met Morrissey. It was boring. I've met bis, too. They were OK, but they were supposed to give me an interview and then didn't. I was smuggling underage fans into their gig that night. It was fun, but my posts are already thesis-length so I'm not going to go there.
Um, about the discussion group. Could it not conceivably generate a spinoff devoted to speculation as to which members of the discussion group are PM contestants? Dear me. The possibilities are endless.
So, last night I went to see a couple of bands from Belfast. One band is staying in my flat, apart from the drummer who's shacked up with his girlfriend. I invited my flatmates to come to the gig, but they were too stoned to move. (Well, Peter, I wish I could say that it's not like "Trainspotting", but I see your point. However, we have a French girl moving in tomorrow and she thinks we're normal, so we have to WISE THE BAP somewhat, as they say. I do actually want a less alcohol-fuelled life, so that's fine by me.)
"Will you clean up the toffee yoghurt, though?" I pleaded (and no, I don't know where it comes from. The nice Canadian gave it to us).
"We'll do it tomorrow," they said (too stoned to move).
"I'm not doing it because I cleaned up after Friday night," Flatmate 2 added as an afterthought.
"What happened on Friday night?" asked Flatmate 1. I myself was halfway to the gig before I managed to remember that on Friday night Flatmate 1 put a vegetarian haggis in a taxi and came back with four Swedish backpackers.
The gig was good. Some random Italians were going berserk up at the front. Of course, thanks to the bassist of the headlining band being a scary bastard who wants to beat up my boyfriend, said boyfriend didn't come over on this tour, which means I don't get to see him for another few weeks. This pisses me off. I hate long distance.
The Most Pierced Woman In The World was also there. I think that's official. She's going to do my friend's hair extensions. I bet people stare and ask her stupid questions all the time. All I wonder is how she can put up with it. I have green hair and I get crap all the time, but at least it's temporary. Oh, wait, piercing's temporary too, but if she ever gets sick of it she'll still have dozens of holes in her face. I constantly get people shouting at me, just in passing. Like, I'll be walking down the street and a car will go past with someone yelling "Green hair!" out the window. I really don't understand that. Maybe it's not just me. Maybe they've all got some sort of disorder that makes them describe everything they see. Maybe they continue on their journey yelling "Red coat! Small dog!"
... Maybe not.
Anyway, it's often said that people dye their hair and get tattoos and piercings just for attention. Please. It's not that simple. Most of the attention I get for it is negative - people in my own circle might be cool with it but the rest of the world isn't - and I can only imagine how this woman gets treated on a daily basis for looking so different. Also, I don't like attention that much. There are times I just want to hide and not be noticed. I think it's more a case of doing it despite the attention.
A bunch of us came back here after the gig to drink, of course. The toffee yoghurt is still here, but Joanna suggested we could start growing watercress out of it, so maybe that's OK. I remember confessing to everyone that I would sleep with Gilly Goolden. Whoops.
I was woken at 9 this morning by the tunaphobic nightmare landlady from upstairs. I hadn't met her before and I kept yawning in her face and she had to apologise for getting me out of bed. She was looking for Flatmate 1 in the hopes of tracking down the nice Canadian. All I could think was "Hey, you do look kind of like a mushroom."
Posted by Eva @ 07:22 AM PST [Link]
Damn, the whole concept of discussion groups talking about us is insane! And I’m going crazy with this quiz right now. So…much…paranoia… to the point where I’m starting to think that every single one of you are just figments of Ernie’s imagination. But if that was the case, then there would be a buck-naked Brad Pitt in the game, and I don’t see a buck-naked Brad Pit here, so I guess you’re all real (well, except for one of you).
Ashley - aw girl, sorry I haven’t been giving you more attention, but you know getting "busy" with your boyfriend does tend to hinder affection from other boys. Hmm…but then again, that hasn’t stopped me before in the past…so lets start over then, "Heey, how are YOU doing"?
Nancy, Philo, and Shea – I loved all of your job stories!!! I was laughing my ass off when I was reading them. Shit, if I had all three of your jobs, I would develop a serious phobia for ducks, flies, and people asking me about my gay lifestyle. And it would be called fly/duck/people who ask stupid gay related questions-phobia"
Eve – Nice to meet you. I look forward to flirting and kissing up to you .
Well, here we go again with the fear that this might be my last post. And fitting enough, I’m listening to the last song on radiohead’s Kid A right now which has a line that perfectly expresses how I feel about you all. It goes "cheap…sex"… no wait, that’s not right… it’s, "I will see you in the next life".
Posted by Ted @ 05:11 AM PST [Link]
Another dawn creeps over the Primate House, and the monkeys rouse from their slumbers to face a new day. Once more onlookers will file past their cages, some seeking crude amusement, some a reflection of their own humanity, some merely a distraction from their everyday lives outside the zoo. The monkeys know the routine well; they have come to love it.But today, the Trainer comes to test the monkeys. Most of them will be clever enough to do the tricks, swing through the hoop, respond to the Trainer's commands. One poor creature will not make the grade--and will be taken from the Primate House, sent back to the jungle to fend for itself.
The tension mounts among the monkeys. A gibbon, on a high perch, jabbers and tosses bits of fruit at the others. An exotic specimen makes a show of being distracted by a sticky dried puddle of something, while secretly sizing up the others in their cages. The howler monkey complains loudly. Aged silverbacks relax in the corner, apparently at ease; but their slitted eyes are also moving from one figure to the next.
A subtle dance is underway. Monkeys try to sidle behind each others' backs, to peer into each others' eyes. Is that a zipper? A mask? One of them is not a true monkey, but an impostor in a gorilla suit. The monkeys know that if they can be clever and find this impostor, the trainer will let them stay.
And which of the monkeys is helping the impostor, secretly putting on the show? That is the cleverest monkey of the lot: the one who knows it will never be evicted from the Primate House because the Trainer loves it best of all.
James's got a birthday coming up? When do we get to set your dessert on fire James? Or are you keeping it a secret to be mysterious and puppet-like? James, I have such computer envy. It's going to be a while before I can spring for a new computer. My current one is the PowerMac I bought in 1996(?), and I got that only after the death of my 1989-vintage Mac Plus. This is what my friend John, who had the car accident, had to say on that occasion:
Ted, I love your Beck story. It's always great to hear about celebrities being treated like ordinary people. Excellent Morissey impression too--could've fooled his own mother. Hey, speaking of celebrities, did you know that all of us have Bacon numbers of 4 now? We are connected to Ernie, who's connected to Min Jung Kim (through the SurvivorBlogs), who's connected to Lawrence Fishburne (she's an extra in the Matrix sequel), who's connected to Kevin Bacon (through Quicksilver). Didn't that just make your day?
Philo, the duck stamp story is priceless. Definitely one for the "Best of Puppetmaster" archives.
Posted by David @ 05:03 AM PST [Link]
Ask me how much I hate linux stuff.
I sent Ernie in my quiz. I can't say much only that I'm pretty sure I did worse than last time.
- Ernie: you were the first person to hand in your quiz
Ashley: well then I GUESS I WIN IF THERES A TIEBREAKER HUH
Ashley: god i'm stressed now lol
Ernie: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ernie: I can't tell you how you did, but I suggest you not worry.
Ashley: THANK YOU ERNIE
Ashley: now i just magically hope everyone else fails
Ashley: i'm sure you said the same thing to Pete. "oh, don't worry, you'll do fine. you did okay (except for of course the fact that you are GOING TO BE BOOTED MUAHAHAHA)"
I've had the urge to listen to Michael Jackson songs for the last couple of days. It's all my friend's fault who mentioned I should download Smooth Criminal, a Michael Jackson cover, by Alien Ant Farm. I then wanted to hear the original, and what ensued was a downloading frenzy that I'm sure almost killed my cable modem. *petpet* It's been so faithful to me all of these years.
I suppose I should be hauling my ass to bed, but goddamnit, I'm NOCTURNAL, and I DON'T HAVE TO WORK TOMORROW. Two factors which will probably be the deciding two in me staying up all night. Or, at least until 5AM as per usual.
Philo - I loved reading about the duck stamps. Oh, how I laughed. "Boots" reminded me of a Dean Koontz or Stephen King [can't remember which] character that kidnaps her favourite writer when she finds him a car-wreck, and forces him to write her a novel. Boots sounds almost as psycho as this character. I also forget the name of her, which doesn't help much. You are a funny man - or puppet. I also laugh to imagine you in drag.
Rachael - Hope everything goes smoothly with Tony. Mark knows about my website and even writes for it on occasion. I doubt he'll be angry or even phased - mine is actually GLAD I keep a journal (or did, rather.. not anymore) - because he could keep up with me and how I was feeling. Good luck nonetheless.
Nancy - The "No sir, have you?" = priceless. I really, really, really hope you're not a robot.
Ted - Why, darling, have you quit flirting with me? Did I do something? Say something? Am I not goth enough for you anymore? HUH? IS THAT IT?
Yeah, I really need to sleep. This is getting frighteningly long.
Posted by Ashley @ 02:07 AM PST [Link]
Tuesday, July 10, 2001
The temp agency had given me the address. Getting off the bus I was surprised to find a house rather than a business. I knocked on the door and the artist himself answered, showing me to a small claustrophic room where other temps were already in place. He introduced himself as one of a world reknowned artist of duck postage stamps. Our mission: to deperforate thousands of stamps featuring his latest duck creation. I think it was for the state of Colorado to save their wetlands or something. We would deperforate and place each duck stamp individually into tiny wax paper stamp collecting envelopes. The rules were explained immediately. There will be no talking. No radio. If you tear more than five stamps you're off the job. However, if you deperforate so many postage stamps within the given time period you'll receive a bonus at the end of the day. If you all hit the necessary production level we could have radio. It seemed bizarre, but I was broke. He came in with a stopwatch and hollered "On your mark, Get set, Go."
Off we all went deperforating little duck postage stamps from very large sheets. Some of us did well, others did not. At lunch time the artist's wife entered the room. Her name was "Boots". She looked over our individual production quotas and one poor girl was asked to leave the house and not to return due to her sloppy workmanship. That was when the rest of us realized our agency had pimped us out to work for Ilsa - She Wolf of the lucrative duck postage stamp industry! I'm not sure why we all returned after lunch, but we did.
The project ended up taking an entire month. Daily I would get on the bus, ride over the hill and prepare myself for Boots, her OCD and her complete lack of any basic manners. As the days went by she grew worse. People walked out daily only to be replaced by more duck stamp deperforating cattle. After three nightmarish weeks a girl named Elizabeth and I were the only two remaining from the original crew. Elizabeth was involved in the whole Lifespring movement and was using her new outlook on life to not let the abusive work conditions change her attitude. Every day she tried to get me to come to one of her meetings. I was simply desperate for cash and had received many a bonus due to my expert duck stamp deperforation skill. The agency assuring me, daily, that they had nothing else for me was key as well.
The final week was insane. Boots had completely lost her mind and during our ten minute morning break Elizabeth and I contemplated what level of medication she might have been taking. We might as well have been working in a plastic fork factory removing extra doohickeys from the tines. It was excruciatingly dull and Elizabeth and I were on our way to getting in trouble one more time. Yes children, we started talking. In came the artist and his drill sargeant wife.
"THERE, WILL, BE, SILENCE!"
Our radio priviliges were removed again and we grew bitter and poised for rebellion, purposefully making as many tears as we could without jeopardizing our potential day end bonus. After lunch, with several days worth of stamps left to properly assimilate, Elizabeth and I waited and then turned on the radio and cranked it. The Commodores were singing Brick House. The two of us sat there ready for her and she stormed in.
"WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!!"
We told her we were listening to music. She walked over and turned the radio off and reminded us that the radio was forbidden. I told her that her antics were probably forbidden by federal labor laws.
Elizabeth told her that only the Lambada was forbidden. We laughed and once we started we couldn't stop. You could see the veins in Boots' forehead start to swell. She was going to snap which only made us laugh more. We laughed as we collected our things and left to. The other two worker bees followed us like mice. As we wandered down to the bus stop Boots was standing on the front porch screaming at us. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" It was sad in a maniacal sort of way.
That night I received a call from the temp agency. All four of us did. They had heard in depth over the previous weeks what our work conditions were like and had done nothing. Now they were calling to ask us to reconsider and return to the house of torture the following day. I said no. Apparently everybody did. The next morning brought a surprise. The woman from the temp agency was on my front doorstep. "If I have to get down on my knees and beg I will." I told her she didn't need to degrade herself like that. She just needed to agree to my terms. 1. Double the pay AND I get a daily bonus no matter what, 2. We can all talk, 3. We can listen to the radio all we want and 4. Boots will not be allowed anywhere near us. She almost fell down the stairs. "I can't do all that!", she pleaded. I told her to have a nice day and closed the door in her face. An hour later the phone rang. My terms had been accepted. I got on the bus and arrived to find Elizabeth the only one there. We completed the job for the agency in three days, doubling our record workload.
In the end Elizabeth and I made some serious cash, the artist and his wife got their project finished on time, the agency received their payment - and most importantly, the world was a better place for duck postage stamp collectors everywhere.
Posted by Philo @ 11:57 PM PST [Link]
I am having a bad night, because I can't seem to stay awake. The theory among the women in my family is either exhaustion or mono. I'm thinking exhaustion since my life is so hectic. Either way I feel like a zombie. A lovely, well coifed zombie...but the undead nonetheless. Therefore you get a late night post, or does this count as an early morning? After midnight shouldn't be morning, because one doesn't eat breakfast at this hour. I wouldn't say no to some rice pudding though.
I'm sorry Ted, but the more I look at your picture, the more I think you look like that fake dead man from that dumbass A.I. game. I just stare at your picture, and all I can think about is how all my friends that went on and on about how great the movie would be, based on how wonderful the online media campaign was. If you're real, I do apologise. I just had to say that. Posting after midnight loosens the tongue a bit.
Think I'll take this lucid moment to jump into IRC, and annoy people. Good night, or good morning. Which ever you like.
Posted by Shea @ 09:26 PM PST [Link]
Well, I'm boring aparently. What the hell?? I talk about everything else that everybody talks about... oh wait... maybe I'm telling the truth. *gasps* Anyways.
Bob is good.
Lets see what I can talk about that would make me more interesting... hmm... I had a wild passionate orgy with my estranged boyfriend who happens to be older than my grandfather. Is that puppety enough for the readers? Well actually all I did was go see Scary Movie II with Christine. We went to Applebees, because we always do, and the manager there is cute so I always talk to him. Mackin', and spinning my game ya know. Came home to find that my computer came in.
Eve, you can have me any time since it seems Peter has left me assed out in the cold.
I'd like to end this by saying that I'm posting from my brand new G4 Titanium Mac. *stroke computer*
You are right, I am boring.
Posted by James @ 07:37 PM PST [Link]
Well, I’ve had a lot of stupid and boring jobs in the past. But one of the more interesting ones was when I was a security guard for an all day music festival. I took the job because I thought I could goof off and see all of the bands. But hell no, they only gave us 20 minutes for a lunch break, and no other breaks at all for a 12 hour music festival! Not to mention the fact that it was summer time and it was like 105 out. But luckily they put me in a tent to guard some DJ equipment. And the whole time that I was there, I wasn’t supervised or anything because they left us alone. After awhile, I just couldn’t resist the music anymore, so I started to dance with everyone in the tent, which was funny because I had my security shirt on and people were like "what the fuck"??? After that, I just gave up, took off my security shirt, and left my post to go watch bis. And I couldn’t go back to work after seeing bis, right? So I stayed to see morrissey. Oh hey, let me show you guys my Morrissey impression real quick. Ok, you guys ready? Ok…*ahem*… "Look at me, I’m sad"... heh…heh. Yeah I’m stupid, I know… So after seeing him get tackled like 12 times by his obsessed fans, something finally clicked in my head. I have a shirt that says SECURITY on it!!! Meaning, I could go backstage! So I quickly put my shirt back on, and walked passed the backstage security as if I belonged there while going "MUWAHAHAHA… in my head". I walked around, and I didn’t really see anybody cool, so I decided to have a smoke. So there I was, leaning against a trailer smoking away (you’re not the only one who smokes Rachael!) when this tall skinny guy comes up to me and asks me for a smoke. I had my head down, so I wasn’t looking at him. And I said "sorry man, I’m down to my lucky". The tall skinny man in wearing what looks like a James Brown outfit said, "ah, it’s cool" and walks away. I looked up and its BECK!!! My cig almost falls as I drop my jar in complete shock. So yes, I met Beck and he asked me for a cigarette and I said no to him. At least it wasn’t Morrissey or else I would have been like, "hey, you want to see my impression of you"? heh
Posted by Ted @ 07:16 PM PST [Link]
COULD IT BE? No, but I was close. I TOLD YOU SHE LOOKED LIKE A DOCTOR, but no-one believed me. *sigh*
Posted by Ashley @ 06:29 PM PST [Link]
Starbucks is not my craziest job, but we do have a few crazy customers. One would be the foam lady. Everyday around noon she comes in and orders a Venti extra dry cappucino with an extra Venti cup of milk foam. That equals two Venti cups of milk foam with a couple shots of espresso in the bottom of one of them. She then sits at a table and eats the foam one spoonful at a time and makes "mmmmm" noises. It takes her at least an hour.
I haven't had many jobs. I didn't work very much until college and most of that time I've been at Starbucks. How about my worst babysitting story? I hope this will count. It was a Friday night and I went over to babysit for this single mother I only knew by name. She lived in the neighborhood and I babysat a lot back then. I was 15 years old. Anyways. Her kids were brats. Two boys, Ricky and Billy. I think they were 7 and 9 years old. We made popcorn and watched a movie and they would not stop fighting. When it was time to put them to bed it was a nightmare.
The nightmare really began when it got to be 11, 1, 3 in the morning and Mom still wasn't back. My mother had been up waiting for me and at 4 she knocked on the door. I was sent home to go to bed and she was going to "give her a piece of my mind". Their mother didn't come back though. I woke up around noon and the kids were over at our house and Mom was calling hospitals and the police. To make a long story short it turned out the kids mother was across town with her new boyfriend all weekend at his place, drinking, etc. The boyfriend apparently didn't even know she had children. She finally did return on Sunday night to find many people waiting to speak with her over the next few days. Police, social workers, news reporters. She almost ended up losing her kids. The worst part of the story though is that I never even got paid.
I would see her around the neighborhood after that and I never even said hello. She'd wave and smile from her station wagon window like I was her best friend. She could have been dead for all I cared. I felt very sorry for the boys though. It was no wonder they had problems. About six months later they moved away. I wonder whatever happened to them.
I need to take a quick shower and then go meet Tony at his place. If all goes well the truth will all be out in the open tonight. Wish me luck.
Posted by Rachael @ 05:58 PM PST [Link]
What was the craziest job I have ever had? Well, since I haven't really had a "real" job until now, that's kind of hard to say. The place I am now has it's odd happenings, but it is still rather boring. I can tell you the most recent moment of weirdness that occured in my two weeks at the store. Yesterday, I was taking DVD's out of their keepers so we could move them over to the new department, and one of the cart-getter guys comes up behind me, taps me on the shoulder and says, "Meghan, you are now on my Christmas list. Every year I get teh girls a box of Godiva chocolates and you get one this year." I thought that was really sweet. Then today I say hi to thim and he responds with, "I'm too old for you. I'm 49." Uhm, ok that caught me totally of guard, and that was the 2nd time someone at the store rejected me without me even saying a word and most importantly without me having any interest in them whatsoever.
Now wasn't that terribly boring. Do you remember when you were little and everythign about your future was so straightforward. I mean if you wanted to be a ballerina or a firefighter you could, there was nothign in your way. Now, it's so complicated. I am majoring in psychology. I have this grand and idealistic idea that i can help people. Then in the middle of m freshman year I wanted to major in Computer Science, then a month later do a double major in Computer Science and Psychology and then I got my marks and decided to stay with Psychology just Psychology. I guess Psych is a lot better than what I wanted to be when I was younger, which was a nun. I need to go corrupt my sister more, so I'll post agan later... maybe.
Posted by Meghan @ 05:38 PM PST [Link]
Dear God,
Please help me resist temptation and not join that Yahoo PM discussion board. You know this thing is already eating my life, and I really want to win or lose by my own wits.
Amen.
Posted by Nancy @ 04:53 PM PST [Link]
Eve: Welcome. Jon Stewart eh? Well, I've heard worse and better I suppose. The goatee is long gone (after a notable sojourn in Cairo, The City Victorious) and I've started to gel up my hair like the natives so I fear who I may look like now. However, I wonder what you'd say if you saw the rest of the picture... I'm not sure if anyone can find my site but to the victors go the spoils I suppose.
Peter: James is right when he says that Monroe, LA stinks. It has the most godawful stench I've ever experienced and that's saying something since not only have I been in Cairo but I've dealt with Uzbekis. Huh! Take a drive down I-20 sometime and you can't (but probably should) miss it. Nor will you miss Shreveport and maybe you can see James while you're there. In my former life I lived in the capital of a more civilized Nation a couple miles down the road from there.
Shea: I'm the other, other white meat.
Booyah! Foolish phrases never die, they just cause my soul to fade away...
Posted by Bob @ 02:50 PM PST [Link]
Eeew Shea, that's gross. your boss said she'd taken the jars out of the autoclave...but did she say anyone had run the autoclave? By comparison with the rest of you, I'll admit my "crazy" job was pretty tame. I've actually had crazier jobs, by one standard or another, but I can't talk about those without blowing my cover big-time. It wouldn't be fair to say "There was the time I almost dropped six million dollars' worth of stuff down an elevator shaft" without any corroborative details, would it? No, I didn't think so.
Hell yes, Bertie, I'm having fun. This is an absolute blast, and I hope that I'm keeping you entertained too with my banal life. ("Mommy, looka the monkey! Why's he working in a office Mommy?") Better go out and have me some wacko escapades before everyone moves on to the next cage...
My office is in a minor state of upheaval, as one of my co-workers just swiped a bookcase I had not been using (much). This led to rearranging the rest of what I had--including taking two bolted-together file cases and prying off the tabletop someone had stuck on 'em, breaking them apart and sticking them in two different places. The furnishings are a lot better arranged now, but all my piles are now mixed together. Time to grab the pitchfork and clear it all out. (Problem is, people tend to object to my attempts to throw away anything that doesn't have an immediate relevance.)
I agree with everyone else here--AIM would change the game parameters, please let's not use it. Please don't anyone mail me/us with game spoilers either. But if you want to send me hate fan mail, that's okay with me.
Welcome Eve, our new (and yes indeed, foxy) color commentator! Peter, you need to get with the program and get yourself some dark glasses, you're being out-classed.
Posted by David @ 02:50 PM PST [Link]
Okay, the first story is about how I almost drowned working at a day camp. Although you know it wasn't all the way, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I was the only counselor for a group of eight-year-old girls, and so when it came time for water front activities in the canal, I had to participate. Only if I had a second counselor, could I sit on the dock and wave. Well, I didn't want to get into a rowboat with the girls, because they couldn't row, and I didn't want to spend a half hour moving in a circle. Instead, I borrowed a kayak. It had no slip skirt, and I hadn't used a full kayak before. I was used to something called a fun-yak, which was a thicker plastic, exposed your legs, more snub nosed, and had a beveled bottom making it harder to tip. So, I'm in this kayak with no slip skirt and I'm moving between the rowboats with my girls. A sudden breeze kicks up, and I find myself sliding across the water towards a huge, thorny bush along the bank. I leaned away and the kayak tipped. If the slip skirt had been on it, I could have just flipped the boat back upright. However, the boat filled with water, my sneaker was stuck in the tip, and then one of the ends hooked under a rock along the bottom. Sheer panic hit and I was able to use the paddle to push to the surface for a quick breath before going under again. All I heard was little girls screaming. I went under and started counting. I had reached 45, my ears were ringing, and I was starting to see my life flash before my eyes, when someone flipped me right. Another counselor stepped in for the day and I sat up in the kitchen at the main house. I think I drank three pots of coffee before I could say the shakes were from caffeine. And that's the camp story.
The second story was from when I worked as a lab assistant during my college years. It was my job to set up lab, break down lab, help out where needed, and clean up after everyone. I was in the assistant's room, which was really just a huge chemical and supply storage closet with a table, hand-washing vials for a lab the next day. My supervisor came in with a tray of really disgusting jars. She explained they were filled with fruit flies, but they were all dead, as she had just taken them out of the autoclave. For those who don't know, an autoclave is an oven that reaches temperatures high enough to cook off anything, leaving an object just about sterile. So, I was disgusted but I had a bottle washer, and so I figured I wouldn't have to actually touch any of the dead flies. She wandered out and I uncorked the first jar. A swarm of fruit flies flew out of the bottle and started buzzing around my head.
Okay. Who here thinks opening your mouth in a swarm of fruit flies is a good idea? Anyone? Anyone? Right. I didn't think so.
So, I opened my mouth to scream and suddenly found myself gagging on flies. I was dancing around the room, waving my arms, and choking on flies when a student wandered in to borrow more flasks. Her solution was to grab the fire extinguisher and hose me down. There I am, covered in the white foam, some flies still buzzing. At that point, I just leaned over and puked on the floor, which is when my supervisor walked back in. I didn't work there much longer. So, ends that tale.
Mmmm. Flies. The other, other white meat.
Posted by Shea @ 12:37 PM PST [Link]
personally I'm getting more and more excited as puppetmaster gains more "coverage" and I'd really like to read other people's views on the rest of us, I mean who doesn't like to know what total strangers think of them?
But on the flip side it worries me because there will be that one person, that complete asshole, who will post, without giving a name (aren't they always cowards like that?), every last one of the real peoples' websites. But maybe I'm just being a pessimistic ninny.
Nancy- thats what people always ask me. The Who is the woman and who is the man? question. I always tell them that neither one of us. Thats the point, like you said. But still people want to define it. I'm always asked if I've had sex with a girl too. Then when I say no, they ask "well how do you know you don't like it?". Seeing as how I'm a dumb person with sarcastic tendencies I sometimes say "Because girls are funny looking down there." That ALWAYS gets a rise out of people. But remember, you have to say it in a funny baby-ish voice. ;) I've never understood how two woman have sex either though ;) j/k
Bob said Booyah. I love that word. Points for Bob.
Hmm... Now that Pete is gone do we get to post more? I mean, there are just three extra posts waiting around, ya know? And soon, Ernie, you'll have to change my profile. I'm on my way to legal city in a few days. "Booyah!"
Posted by James @ 12:13 PM PST [Link]
Was at the metafilter site... does anyone feel vaguely like a zoo animal, or am I the only one? They want to discuss us? Agh..you watch how quickly they'll find me? No Yahoo clubs! Think about it on your own! I'll be tempted to join, and it'll ruin all of the fun, and BAH, play the game just like we are, damnit!
I suppose I should get this topic over with. I've not had that many jobs at my age, but to give you a short list of what I've done...
- worked at ebay listing a BUNCH of stuff for customers
- doing various webdesign jobs
- babysitting - but that's almost a given
- current retail job I have right now
- "doing webdesign for a foot fetishist site. I quit when he begged to photograph my feet and "make me famous"
So yeah, I'm not all that interesting. Other random tidbits of information as of lately:
- a customer yelled at me so badly I cried yesterday - I got called an "incompetent young hussy that is obviously an idiot" in a voice that would make any major sports announcer jealous volumewise...
- my tongue ring is missing a ball so while I wait for the new one I ordered to come in, I'm keeping the hole open with a large kilt pin from my private school days. Fun! Replacements are damned expensive too.
- Five down, seven to go, puppet/puppetmaster-wise. You all aren't as tricky as you think. Or maybe I'm just saying that to worry you. All I know is that I did HORRIBLY on the test...
Okay, I suppose I've said enough here. I'm trooping back to bed. Days off rule.
Posted by Ashley @ 11:44 AM PST [Link]
Without a doubt, the craziest job I've ever had is the one I'm in right now. I'm a diplomat. Yeah, a diplomat. When I was in college, I took a class called "The Grand Strategies of the Great Powers". It was one of those classes that you end up in and generally changes your life. I was knocked over by the idea that these countries and their leaders were going around and doing such things that affected so many individual lives. I wanted in. Call it megalomania, call it interest in international relations as a career, but this is what I've wanted to do ever since. And now, I've got a job that I don't ever want to quit. I get to live in places all over the world for a couple of years at a time, learn new languages, and get paid to do it all. I get to meet "important" people and do "significant" things. Currently I am one of a small number of Americans authorized to enforce U.S. Immigration Law overseas (basically, I give out visas). Soon, I'll be doing some other job within my Embassy that's equally important to U.S. diplomacy (clean toilets matter to visiting dignitaries). And then I'll be off to another exotic locale with it's own set of challenges. So there, have I convinced all of you yet? Then go on and sign up for the Foreign Service Exam!!!!
Really though, I'm not getting paid extra for that. I really do love this freakin' job. It does have it's obvious risks but then again, so does nuclear power and we're all for that right?! Heh. There's just something cool about serving your country (I am a serious patriot) and getting to put your mind to some of the world's most pressing problems (the one I live in currently is foremost on my mind). Anyway, I think it's pretty damn crazy because I never figured I would be able to walk into a bar and up to a woman, have her ask what I do, and give a sly smirk and respond, "Oh, I'm just a diplomat..." Booyah.
In other news, Ernie's picture is still making me chuckle. And I was asked by Her to mention camels(?). "Remember kids, bestiality only on the weekends..."
And now I'm blocking. More later for my second favorite obsession...
Posted by Bob @ 11:40 AM PST [Link]
I agree that a MeFi-member discussion board would crash PuppetMaster in minutes. If they limited themselves to commentary and didn't investigate us, it might work. But I hope they resist.
Speaking of commentary, this about me: She gots the evil. Just look at her.
MUAHAHAHAHAHahahahaha ....
I mean, I hope you are all enjoying this game as much as I am. ::sheepish grin::
Posted by Nancy @ 11:33 AM PST [Link]
Ohmigod. Went to the MetaFilter link Pete put up. How weird to see people wanting to create a discussion list about us. On one hand, I have the creeps, and on the other hand, I want to verbally strip tease for them now. Decisions, decisions. *Flashes her insecurities, and jiggles her conflicts* Conflicts with a nice firm defense. Drool for mama, now.
Oh, and sorry for not posting a lot yesterday Ernie. No backstage stuff for me. I was pretty much lying on the kitchen floor because it was nice and cold, and I was running a fever. In between that, I was sorta conked out. Every time I closed my eyes, I dozed off. I couldn't sit on the couch without falling asleep for 10 minutes at a time. I was in IRC, typed brb, leaned back in my chair, and was out like a light while a friend sat and wondered what I was doing. So, yeah, the game took a back seat for the day. Still feel crappy, but at least I'm more awake.
This is getting book length. Shall I break it up into another post, so it's not a novel? Hmmm. Nah. I'm just feeling too evil to be nice like that. ;)
Craziest job I ever held? Hmmmm. I did food retail, book retail *eye twitch*, accounting assistant, service dept. rep, price integrity for a grocery store, camp counselor *eye twitch*, and now I work in security. There was my stint as a bio and chem. lab assistant in there somewhere. Nope. I've been pretty boring. No chicken suits or midgets on my résumé.
Saved by the bell, here folks. The microwave just beeped, which means my oatmeal is ready. I'll give you the craziest thing that ever happened to me at work in the next post. Actually, I just thought of two crazy things, so I'll tell 'em both.
Posted by Shea @ 11:31 AM PST [Link]
I tried to keep this short. Really. I did.
Assignment 2: My Craziest Job
I used to be a consultant on sexual orientation issues in the workplace. So I would go into offices and talk to people about domestic partner benefits, anti-discrimination policies, treating everyone equally.
This was in a much-less-enlightened time. So the crazy part was that often I was the first openly gay person they had ever met.
Questions and statements from the field included:
* "Oh my God, you're gay??"
* "Have you ever slept with a man? … A good man? … Have you ever slept with a black man?" [asked by a roomful of African-American cops. With my best don't-shoot-me smile, I said, "No, sir. Have you?"]
* "Why are lesbians so ugly? Can't you people just put on a little makeup?" [Drunk guy on plane shouting after asking what I do for a living. Thankfully, he passed out.]
* "Do you fall in love?" [No, we just rut like deer.]
* "But you're pretty; you could get a man." [Um … thanks?]
* "In your relationship, which one of you is the man?" [The point, really, is that there isn't a man.] "Well, then, how do you decide who takes out the garbage and who does the cooking?" [We arm wrestle.]
* "It must be so nice to [insert insane fantasy of lesbian utopia where you never argue about housework and your lover brings you gourmet chocolates on a silver tray when you have PMS]."
* "Just how do two women have sex?" [at a seminar for elderly middle-school volunteers. As I stuttered, an older woman said she and her husband tried "a lot of things I thought I'd never do" after certain things stopped working.]
Anyway, it was a wild ride. I got tearful phone calls from closeted people. I got a death threat. The county commission was asked to bar me from speaking … What I didn't really get was paid.
Posted by Nancy @ 11:03 AM PST [Link]
Yesterday I was so sure that I was gonna be booted that I went to work and just didn't even come home until around 1 because I didn't want to be tempted to log on. How surprised I was that Pete got the ax. I liked Pete... *sobs* Well anyways tomorrow is another day... sadly.
I'll have to agree with those who have a problem with the email/aim thing. More incidents like the Racheal getting tipped off by readers things can happen. I for one haven't even done research on you guys, but now its getting tempting. I'm trying to keep this true to its Mole roots, you know? On the Mole they couldn't run to resources, so I'm trying not to comb the web like a... well... mole.
Anyways Yesterday at Work Randy and Jeremy came to ask me if I wanted to meet them at Bennigans for dinner. I agreed but when I got there the bastards were ALREADY eating. In fact, they were FINISHED eating. I'm like "WTF, yo'?" So we went to Books-A-Million and Christine called me. I went to meet her at IHOP at around 11, but she didn't want to eat. I did so I scarfed a IHOP burger and we talked about my upcoming birthday, and about the concert that we plan on driving to and about College this fall. It was all very dreamy except for this REALLY ghetto group of queens was next to us and our hostess was a bitch. When I went to the register to pay for my burger my hostess like dropped my correct change all over the floor, register, and counter and everything and I just turned and left. Maybe if she was a nicer person I would have helped her dig for it. Who cares if her register is short. Oh, this food section was for Ted.
David- You know us gay guys, always with the drama in our lives. I'll show up soon enough my pretty, soon enough.
Bob- Monroe? Shudders. Not Monroe, but come west a few cities and you've got me. I've been to monroe, its not fun. Its hot, and it stinks because of that paper mill or whatever is there. Monroe = blah ;)
Nancy- I voted for Pete as the puppetmaster... I am so fucking screwed. *sobs* now I have to formulate a new plan of attack.
Eve, the new color commentator looks cool. Eve, will you be my friend? I've already got Peter wrapped around my finger erm... wanting my body ... Peter is cool. You be cool too? I want peter *drools*
I've only had three jobs in my life. My dad is a bitch and wouldn't let me work during school. "Your education is your primary goal" so I've worked for a Greek fast food place called "The Greak American Steak & More" that was the nastiest shit on this earth. It was this big spool of meat that sat on this rotating wheel. And people would always order their food, look at the meat then ask "What kind of meet is that?" we'd have to tell them "Its 95% beef, 5% lamb" and right after that they'd cancell their order. The fact that I was treated like the resident slave boy wasn't fun either. Frozen spools of meat are not that light, and washing tin containers, full of beef-lamb grease, with 100% bleach can fuck up a person's hands, ya know? I've also worked at a church for the summer. It was in this daycare summer school thing. I got paid a flat rate of $300 a week. It rocked.
Now I work the wonderful world of retail sales. I work at a Suncoast. I sell movie merchendise and everytime I answer the phone I have to say "Thank you for calling Suncoast Motion Picture Company where you can reserve your copy of The Mexican DVD (or some other movie thats about to come out) this is (insert your name here) speaking, how may I help you?" Sometimes when its only the guys worked they think of crazy things to say and always dare me to do it. Yesterday I had to say "Welcome to Suncoast where Replay will knock your S-S-S-Socks off!" *hangs head in shame* We are so fucking lame.
So I guess all in all I've not had any really wacky or crazy jobs. As for what I'd like to do? I'd honestly like to try my hand at bartending and stripping. For real. I think I'd be good in either one.
Posted by James @ 10:09 AM PST [Link]
There. That's better. Imagine this picture in the previous post.
Oboy. This morning I got a call for a job interview from a Big Name on the East Coast. This would be a great job for me, but I'm feeling a little ambivalent about it anyway. The job itself is a limited-term thing; am I really going to want to uproot for a temporary gig? (Let me think...yes. Never mind.) More to the point, B.N.E.C. doesn't have a great reputation in terms of how they treat their employees. Then again, having B.N.E.C. on my resume would definitely help down the line, and I do know people living in the area.
They want me to come out and interview the beginning of August. If I'm not eliminated before then, I'll be AWOL from here a few days, might even miss a quiz. At which point I will be kicked off... *sob*
Posted by David @ 10:05 AM PST [Link]
Pete! Pete, come back! We miss you....
My craziest job has to be the summer after my freshman year at college. I hired on to do maintenance at this bunch of townhouses near the airport. (For non-Amurricans, "townhouses" is code for "whole bunch of identical house-blocks, each one being essentially four houses squished together in a line, with unimaginative landscaping and streets named for the trees that used to grow there before the bulldozers came through.") When I say close to the airport, I mean that the road I drove to work ran in between the end of the runway and the first of the signal lights guiding planes in to land. Once or twice I thought I was going to lose the roof of my car to an incoming plane's landing gear.
There were two of us, me back from college in another time zone and this local high school kid who probably never made it to college. It was a really hot summer, and he usually took his shirt off to work while I kept mine on. We ragged each other about that--"Farmer tan!" "Cancer case!" That summer it got to be over 100°F seven or eight times, and our boss would come out and make us stop and lie in the shade for a while. He was the manager/superintendent of the subdivision, and could whistle louder than any human being I've ever known. He'd be way down at the other end of the subdivision and we'd hear FWEEEEEEEP! Time to drop whatever we were doing and go see what he wanted.
We basically did anything that needed doing and didn't need special training: mowing lawns, cleaning and painting units when people moved out, mixing concrete to rebuild one unit's back stairs, and one rather disastrous bit of scraping old peeling paint off a shed that hadn't been properly kept up. While doing that, I somehow managed to gash myself in the face with my scraper, like this. (I hope that picture works.) I still have the scar, but it's nestled under my brow ridge where you can't see it.
Repainting units involved using lots of masking paper and dropcloths, paint rollers on long poles, and 5-gallon vats of paint. Essentially, we covered everything we didn't want painted, then slathered paint everywhere else without taking too much care not to spatter. We had just finished doing one unit, peeled off the masking, pulled the dropcloths and moved out the ladders and equipment, and one of us--I forget who--grabbed the nearly-full paint bucket and started lugging it out. The top had NOT been tamped down, and the whole thing tipped over onto the living-room carpet. My God what a mess--easily three gallons of white latex, soaking into this wall-to-wall rug. In a sudden panic, we grabbed all the towels we had, ran a hose from outside into the living room, and started blotting and soaking the stuff up. It took a good two hours and three or four soakings, but I think we eventually got everything out. Then, and only then, did we dare approach our boss about it.
Posted by David @ 09:22 AM PST [Link]
Yeah Ernie, if today is a topic day, then does that mean that tomorrow is a quiz day? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would sure like an extra day of rest before another paranoia episode. And I do agree with you philo that this game is starting to be extremely addicting (I too have friends who have proclaimed their obsession with PM). Their reasoning is that readers get to follow along and try to figure out the PM for themselves. And as for my addiction, well…for example, tonight I went to a local café to intentionally escape from my computer so that I can get some studying done. I sat there and tried to read an article on "group composition in relation to conflict and team effectiveness". And as I was reading along, I would be like "hmm…diversity in group composition can be beneficial to team effectiveness… hey, the PM group is pretty diverse…" or "hmm…it says here that conflict can actually make teams more productive….well, there hasn’t been anything real conflict yet in PM, except maybe deciding whether Nancy’s picture makes her look like a robot or not" (love you Nancy!). Needless to say, I rushed to the computers there (it was an internet coffee house, which I probably chose unconsciously without thinking) and checked to see how my new favorite puppet friends were doing.
Oh my, are we starting to talk about food??? Have I mentioned that I’m food obsessed? I’m munching on some lychee as I type *munch munch) and listening to Elliott Smith (whom is not food related). I love kripsy kreme, and cinnibons, but the best snacks in the whole world are Japanese ones. Where else can you find giant Pocky sticks (long pretzel-like sticks coated with frosting) and Ramune soda bottles with marbles in them? (they sold out of the Ramune soda in 11 hours with people buying 20 at a time!) Not to mention that Pocky has a cult-like following that would make the Waco people shit in their pants. And of course, no meal or snack is complete without your boba, which also has a following, but its more like a major world religion with people bowing four times a day towards the direction of Taiwan (which is where boba is from). But my favorite place in the whole world to eat right now is at this little hole in wall restaurant in Korea Town called Ma Dang Gook Soo. They have the best tasting noodles EVER! I swear, they make them out of crack or something because I kept wanting to come back all the time. I can just imagine the cooks in the back,
Waiter: hey, one of our customers said that his noodle soup doesn’t taste right.
Cook: hmm, put more crack in it.
Did I mention that I’m obsessed with food?
Posted by Ted @ 05:49 AM PST [Link]
Finally! I found an on-line quiz that I hadn't already taken ... the queer aptitude quiz by the goddess Kate Bornstein. (Have I mentioned Kate Bornstein here before? If I didn't, I meant to.) I got 35, making me a Radical Queer, or one point away from being Infected, Fabulous, and the Wave of the Future. OK, so I didn't really need a quiz to tell me that.
Posted by Eva @ 05:26 AM PST [Link]
My house mate and I were sitting out back on the deck listening to Peter tell his New York City biker on a rampage stories concerning his motorcycle trip across America. Miles and miles and miles of road life. The soft lights of the tiki torches in our backyard cast a special glow upon us all as we soaked up his tales of encounters with wildlife, the jackalopes and free ice water at Wall Drug, the disappointing Old Faithful, an endless assortment of white trash and lawn furniture, the hip urban microcosm of queers and oddballs in Hot Springs Montana, identical twin senior citizens at a reststop on the Columbia, driving through that giant redwood tree for only $1.50, a mud bath in Calistoga... Needless to say there was so much more and we were enchanted!
We went over to Merritt, home of Oakland's #1 chicken, and had ourselves a feast earlier. Hot topics of conversation included Native American sweatlodges, Peter's gigs on MTV, where people we used to know are now - and my house mate's idea for a new weight loss program, otherwise known as giardia on a stick. His marketing idea: "You've tried Slim Fast, now try Slim Faster!" Nothing like a little toilet humor over dinner.
Work today revolved around meetings. Major highlight was finally hiring someone to fill one of the vacancies on my staff. I could kiss the fucking ground I'm so happy. I've been trying to do my job on top of filling gaps in staff, school and my commitment there, as well as keep my Puppetmaster presence up to date (my poor blog suffers in silence). I feel like I have too much on my plate and I've been losing a few peas and side dish here and there, often in other people's laps. "Sorry about that Mam, I'm just a little overcommitted right now. Besides, cranberry stains wash right out with a little Dr. Pepper. Honest!"
Pete's gone. I too am a bit sad, but not as much as I am relieved to say "I'm still here dammit!" Woo Hoo! Pete, I have to applaud your role modeling of how to exit Puppetmaster with style. You truly are one suave and sexy guy. I can only hope to do so as gracefully/graciously when it's my turn.
Eva, you're one excellent writer. Loved your story of coming out. It, well, rang true! If it was a puppetry ploy it's working. I'm fooled.
Rachael, don't know what you're talking about, but I need to let it go too. A) It must not be me because you said "you know who you are" and I'm clueless, B) I've been rattling my brain trying to figure out WHAT you could be alluding to and I'm clueless, C) Wondering if you're just throwing out a red herring (I'm so paranoid right now and yes, I love it) and D) I'd much rather be having a Cinnabon myself. There's a store in the Embarcadero, but it's not much closer to me than Krispy Kreme (my addiction). Sometimes a guy just has to indulge!
Shea, I'd like to wish you the best of luck with your plan for world domination and I hope you feel better soon.
In closing I want to say I've given it gobs o' thought and I won't be jumping in on the email/aim game. I'm going with Nancy and Ernie on this one. I think Puppetmaster rocks just the way it is. I think it's at its best when we all have the same info. Furthermore Rachael already got an email (providing she's telling the truth) that contained pertinent info of one form or another in an upsetting way. Conversations on the sideline also shut out the greater audience. One main reason I think this game rules is that more than any other web game everybody gets to play. I know people who are OBSESSED with Puppetmaster and not including them in all of it doesn't sit right with me. Besides, I'll have plenty of time to chat and email with everyone on the sidelines once my number is called anyway. Nuff said. Time for bed. See yuz in the a.m.
Posted by Philo @ 03:01 AM PST [Link]
Yay, Ernie! I've been sitting here at work hoping you'd post that topic soon. I honestly have nothing better to do. I've been here over an hour and I haven't laid eyes on another soul. I can't believe I get paid for this.
OK. Craziest job I've ever had? I have two jobs I want to talk about. One was genuinely crazy - or, at least, a really stupid idea. The other, I just want to rant about.
Five years ago, I went off to Germany with a boyfriend on the understanding that we were going to work in a factory for a month. The pay was probably crap by your civilised American standards (hah), but for the Irish, Polish and Spanish students working there, it was great. Of course, you got paid at the end, actually; in the meantime, you got 80 or 100 Deutsche Marks a week, or whatever (does that sound plausible? I can't remember). The accommodation was free and dorm-style. The other people were nice (apart from the Pole who threw my boyfriend through a window). But let's face it, I'm just too highly strung to keep a job like that. Getting up at 3am, working in a freezing cold, supernoisy factory picking rotten plums off a conveyor belt, and being shouted at by a big scary Romanian woman is not my idea of a good time. In addition to that, the accommodation was always noisy and the cooking facilities so disgusting that I either lived on Swiss cheese from the supermarket, or chips with Jägersoße which was the cheapest thing on the menu at the local pub. I also smoked a lot because it was so depressing. Unsurprisingly, I lasted four and a half shifts, but it felt like FOREVER. Oh, and now I know how drinks like Ribena get made. You don't want to know.
Aside from that, I worked in an indie record shop for a few months during this past year. This seemed like everybody's ideal job. You win lots of scene points, you get amazing discounts, etc. Unfortunately, the owner of the shop was a deranged lunatic the likes of which I had never dealt with before. Flatmate 1 still has nightmares about the day he saw this man, for he is more greasy, more smelly and more disgusting than any other. It has been remarked that he looks like he sleeps in the gutter. Worst of all were the bacon rolls. He would eat one every day. Sometimes I would be sent out to get it for him. The mingling smells of the bacon with his BO are going to stay in my memory until I die, and I really wish they wouldn't.
His overall appearance was nothing though compared to the double standards, contradictions, not-so-subtle misogyny, bad jokes and irritating voice. I also didn't get an hourly wage, but the same money every week even though I was expected to stay late as and when he deemed it necessary, and in theory I was told that if I showed up a little late in the morning it would be OK, but in practice I never heard the end of it. I got a lecture for not going to the Wire gig he put on even though he'd never told me to go to it. AND DID I MENTION NO LUNCH BREAKS? I'd been working there a month when I started looking for a job elsewhere. This was prompted by him shouting at me in front of all the customers on a busy day, and clinched by this slug of a man telling me off for looking terrible when I had a hangover.
(breathing returns to normal)
OK ... I'm done now. That do, Ernie?
The toffee yoghurt is still congealing merrily away on the kitchen floor. I refuse to have anything to do with it and nobody else seems interested. I expect the mice to come back any minute now.
I totally know the film that plasticbag.org makes reference to, but I can't remember. Please help me out here.
I'm playing host these next couple of days to a band of wretched Belfast punks metallers pretending to be punks, so I don't know if I'll be about as much. Is there another quiz tomorrow, or do we have more time?
Posted by Eva @ 02:45 AM PST [Link]
Monday, July 9, 2001
So, another long day over with, and I've just woken up from a five hour nap. I was "busy" last night with the boyfriend, (I've decided to give him a name on here. I'll call him "Mark") and didn't manage to get to sleep until about 5:30AM. Not good when you have to be up about 8. Oops. Pete! Man, I'm disappointed it was you... well, not ENTIRELY, I mean, I'm still here, and I can be selfish when the time calls for it... *cough* But gee it's odd to see someone leaving... I was reading your weblog before my nap and LOVED the roommate wars. Hah! I wish my old roomie (I was an exchange student during part of high school) was that much fun.
Seems that the posts are slowing down a little. This will make the second day in a row I've only used two (ha!) but that's because I've been overly busy. Anyway, Mark is currently demanding my attention. He doesn't understand the importance of blogging regularly to keep you all suspicious. Am I real, or a figment of your imagination? Okay, I'm going to run before I get myself into trouble with him. G'night!
Posted by Ashley @ 11:10 PM PST [Link]
Reading my earlier post I have to say I would like to know why I take things so personally at times. I need to just let it go.
I love having Sundays and Mondays off. They are my days of choice. Sundays I get to have an actual weekend day and Mondays let me get everything taken care of while the rest of you are at work. I slept in late this morning. Tony had to go back to work and I didn't want him to leave. I sleep better when he's around and I haven't been sleeping much lately. I got up, made myself some coffee, toasted a bagel and went to the gym. My aerobics class was brutal this morning. We had this substitute instructor and Ouch. I'm so sore.
I just went up to QFC and got groceries and succumbed to my Cinnabon addiction yet again. After all, I did exercise today. (laughing) For those of you who don't know Cinnabon they can tell you about it better than I can. The aroma is excruciatingly delicious. I can stay away from them easily as long as I don't set foot in the store. QFC has the Cinnabon stand right in the grocery store, someone's genius marketing idea. You walk in to pick up the essentials and the cinnamon smell is too seductive. I'm a sucker every time I shop.
Is anyone else sad the TV season is over? I have my shows and with all the rain here I have zero guilt about being faithful to them. In the summer I do miss them a little though. I like to have my daily routine. The weather here is perfect most of the time now though and I should be outside as much as possible. Ally McBeal, Dark Angel, the X-Files. A lot of people I know didn't like X-Files very much this season without Mulder, but I thought it was better. Mulder and Scully have been wrapping up everything with some twenty second explanation I think the show this year had more depth again.
As for the postponed conversation I did mention to Tony I wanted to talk about a few things. He wanted to have the conversation then and there. I told him it wasn't that important and I really wanted to sleep. We made plans to meet tomorrow after he gets off work. Monday nights he has something he does every week I probably shouldn't talk about here. We'll talk tomorrow. As for my journaling, and maybe even Puppetmaster, it will all be out in the open soon, for better or for worse. Okay. My laundry needs me.
Posted by Rachael @ 07:47 PM PST [Link]
I am really surprised at how wiped out I am by quiz tension. And amazed I'm still here. And pleased. Hurray!
Posted by Nancy @ 07:01 PM PST [Link]
*yawns* Jeez. Sorry to see you go, Pete. Anyway, back to sleep, tomorrow starts my plan of world domination through the spread of whatever cold I have. So, I'll be busy, busy, busy.
Posted by Shea @ 06:59 PM PST [Link]
Pete! No, not you! Damn that sucks. SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS!
At least I know you're real now which makes me very happy. I so wish you were still in the game though. I'm reading Analog Cereal and I love it. Do you really live in Normal, Illinois or is that a joke? I never would have guessed you as a film director. You're even cooler in the real world. I'll keep reading Pete, even if you do have a fire breathing girlfriend. I do wish you were still here.
I spoke with Ernie about a situation that happened last night. He assured me no rules were broken, but he didn't know about it. He said I could do with the info what I want. Last night I checked my mail and someone out there sent me a piece of interesting information. I don't know if it was one of you (Pete?) or a reader (Benjy?), but it seems one of us is in this room is more caught up in internet fame then in even playing Puppetmaster well. The whole anonymous nature of all of this caught me off guard and I didn't even know what to think about it last night. I'm not going to be the one to spill the beans, but I do want to express that I'm very annoyed.
I'm not upset with the messenger for letting me know, though in the future I'd like to play the game without any help. If I win or lose I want it to be my win or loss. I'm sure you can understand that. The individual in question though needs to take a long look at himself in the mirror. Not only is this very stupid in terms of playing the game, its rude. You didn't show any respect for Ernie, the game or anybody. I wish you were gone instead of Pete. You know who you are.
Posted by Rachael @ 04:07 PM PST [Link]
"Girls were pretty, cute, sexy. Looking at them made me hug myself, grin, gossip voraciously, blush, and feel goofy. I acted 14. I was incredulous at my good luck."
I just read this article in Bitch, by a woman who realised that her envy of other women was actually connected to her attraction to them. I've never had issues about body image, but I can relate to the feelings she describes above on coming out. It was totally like being 14 again, being able to be open and honest about having crushes, and all those new, fluttery, first-kiss sort of feelings. After I came out, the first girl I really had a serious crush on was the goddess of the mall in Calgary. I was staying at my cousin's place and I went into this shop where I found myself talking to this incredibly divine girl. I'd just come from London, Ontario where I'd been to see the film "All Over Me" and lusted after the pink-haired girl, wishing I could meet someone like that ... and I did, right away!
Not that anything happened, of course. But I did my best. I went back to the shop a couple of times, talking to this goddess. Then I took the plunge and called the shop to ask her if she'd like to go to an "alternative" club with me that we'd been talking about. She said sure. She said, "That's so cute that you called!" But the night we were to meet up was a disaster and nothing happened - the club was closed, I didn't see her.
A year later I was back in town and I took the plunge and called her, wondering if she'd remember me or if she'd think I was a psycho stalker or what. She was totally cool and arranged to pick me up that night so we could go out.
"And you know, if you want to bring her back here that's absolutely fine," said my host, causing me to nearly collapse.
She was looking divine. This time, I was out - last time, I just hoped maybe she'd notice the rainbow badge on my jacket and work it out. I talked freely about girls and whatnot. Eventually, though, I learned that she had a boyfriend, and he met us later. "He's a really nice guy," I reported to my friends afterwards. "But I'm better-looking than him, goddammit!"
That was the last time I saw her ... three years ago now. I probably still have her number somewhere. I don't know if I'd dare use it if I went back again. But I'd still like to.
On a slight tangent, the Bitch article focused on (theoretically heterosexual) women's jealousies of other (attractive) women, and how the author realised that it wasn't a case of her wanting to be these other women, but more that she wanted to be with them. I could say I've experienced a bit of both. My first crush, at 10, was on my best friend, who was everything I was not, namely very funny, talented, and liked by everyone. The goddess of the mall, like some other girls I've fallen for since, had this kind of cute style and was always smiling. I'm not really like that and I don't know if I'd ever really get far in a relationship with such a girl. On yet another tangent, most of the girls I've been smitten with have been North American. Why is that?
Moving on. When I got home from work today I found Flatmate 2's boyfriend sitting on the doorstep. He'd already been there for half an hour and he told me they'd had a huge fight last night and he'd said a lot of things he shouldn't have, and he'd only just remembered it at about 3 in the afternoon and wanted to sort things out. So he came in with me and helped me fix the kitchen up a bit, and then Flatmate 2 came home, and it turned out the fight was entirely imaginary. Apparently he does this sometimes.
I just looked through the call list on my mobile phone and discovered that I called Billy Living Dead last night. He must have been thrilled to be talking to such a drunken mess. Whoops.
Poor Pete. His picture looks so sad now! Sorry you were the one to go, Pete. But I'll be seeing you. Oh, and I love that you live in a place called Normal.
Ted, I have a couple tracks by Mineral on a mix tape. I'll start paying more attention to them. Unfortunately, my computer doesn't even have sound. I'll address that one day if I can ever afford it. Thanks for the offer though.
Oh, and what's with a whole bunch of you posting two minutes apart? Way to arouse my suspicion, folks. I'm going to bed. Goodnight.
Posted by Eva @ 03:23 PM PST [Link]
Aiya, I too now have an aim account. You can im me at tedpuppet I was totally stressed out last night during the quiz. By the end of the night, I thought you all were the Puppetmaster. I was suppose to go do some research today, but I’m way too unmotivated. I have 2 months to do a 25-40 page project which is suppose to be like a thesis, that I’ve been putting off for the last year. I’m freaking out cuz I have done almost no research of yet or have not even begin to start interviewing people.
Eva, do you know who Mineral, Knapsack, or The Killingtons are? Those are some of my favorite emo bands. If you haven’t, check them out or I’ll send you some mp3’s when this is all over.
David, I wish I had some insomnia solutions too, I SLEPT AT 7 THIS MORNING!!!
Bertie, its good to see you back. But when I said *munch munch*, I meant that I was munching on you…wait I mean…cuz you said I looked like a serial killer…not that I was….oh fuck it, never mind. I’ll go hide in a cave now.
I hope this isn’t my last post, but if it is, it was nice playing with you all.
Ok, update, I just found out that Pete has been eliminated. Whew… that’s a relief. We live another day! Sorry to see you go though Pete.
Posted by Ted @ 02:50 PM PST [Link]
Damn Ernie! You are a stern taskmaster. I post, refresh, and suddenly Pete is REAL! And gone. El bummer. I'm hitting the sack now and dreaming sad dreams of Pete...
Posted by Bob @ 02:41 PM PST [Link]
"Let my machine talk to me/ Let my machine talk to me" - World Leader Pretend, REM
There's something about the relationship I've had with my computers over the years. They've been good friends. The only things that really pull me away from my computer is women and beer.
Women. Best = Her. This Euphoria (with due respect to the honorable David Garza). How is it that this clarity is so rarely achieved? What the hell am I doing with my life? Heh.
Beer. Best = Shiner Bock. A different clarity with a variable result. Beer and women together creates havoc. Sometimes concordant, sometimes discordant. Beer and good friends creates the best times I've ever had. Huh.
I'm not drunk by the way, just trying something new. Peter: I'm really a mid-level arms dealer dealing in what we in da bidness call "peasant suppression systems". The visa thing was a ploy to throw someone off as it did you. I work for whoever wants to pay for my little beauties and they usually pay pretty well.... Okay, none of that may be true but it is true that at one time I had a group of young ladies completely believing that story at a party. Put on a black turtleneck under a swank leather jacket and walk into a college party with an attitude and some funky lingo and watch the eyes go wide. Then I tell them what I really do and the eyes glaze over. Really though, she is the same backscratch girl and I'm in like Flint.
By the way, has anyone seen those masterpieces of 60's moviemaking, Our Man Flint and In Like Flint? Few young people realize the origin of the phrase lies in James Coburn's steely portrayal of Flint, the American James Bond with camp appeal. I happened upon the films one night on AMC and was in awe of the complete and total lack of respect to women displayed. That and Coburn's complete and total lack of acting skill (I'm still not sure if the movies were supposed to be campy or just merely bad). I was then frightened when my father walked in and started telling me exactly what was going to happen in the next movie. It seems that he showed the movies hundreds of times in his wild youth of running the local drive-in in the dusty watering hole that Austin, Texas used to be.
That quiz whipped me like I've only dreamed about being whipped before. I honestly have no clue which one of you is my PuppetMaster. Unh. Ernie, you is a stern taskmaster.
James, should you be real, I honestly hope you're not stuck in Monroe. That is a fate worse than taking the quiz again.
I ramble to a close as the funkdified sounds of the new Basement Jaxx album shakes my lily white ass...
Posted by Bob @ 02:35 PM PST [Link]
Eeee-limination time is creeping up! The tension is killing me...or would be if I hadn't managed to snag the ergonomic chair. Mmmm, comfy. It has more controls than my teevee. I'm supposed to pass it along in a couple days (demo model) but I think I'll go into Gollum mode and tell them they mussstn't take my precioussss away from me.
Ashley, giving us a picture of a kitten makes you not-a-goth. A kitten plus a string of rainbow-haired girlies plus cute fuzzy baby monkeys means you're a closeted goth in deep, deep denial. It's okay to get in touch with your feelings about this.
James has been showing up on my puppet-radar lately. He's gay, black and underaged in the South--a scenario that sounds like the basis for somebody's paperback novel. Of course, within that framework he seems to be living the very credible life of a real guy, so I may be wrong. I'll be watching you to see if your life develops any dramatic crises or conflicts...Pinocchio.
Eva, if I'm one of your favorite posters, does that mean you'll pin me to your kitchen wall? Huh? Pretty please?
Um, yeah. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Posted by David @ 02:33 PM PST [Link]
I did a lot of snooping the first two days of this thing and all I found out was that a couple of you were not the puppet. Which means little, since you still might be the PM.
Pete ... snuffle ... bye! I voted for you as the puppet this time. ... I'm screwed.
Philo, lunch at your convenience. I'd love to.
More later.
Posted by Nancy @ 02:31 PM PST [Link]
OK, I've cleared half the kitchen, sort of, and I stepped in the aforementioned toffee yoghurt. That's probably the most interesting thing to happen all day.
Although, a close runner-up to that is thinking I've discovered one of your sites ... that is, if the person in question changed their name to be in this game. Nice tattoos, if it's you. Good site too!
This could very well be my last post in this game, and I've got nothing to say. I'd better start designing a blog.
Posted by Eva @ 09:57 AM PST [Link]
Morning. I'm wiped and working on recuperating from a drag hangover. I don't know why they happen sometimes, but they most certainly do. It feels like I was out drinking last night, only I don't drink, use drugs or even partake of caffiene. This lopsided morning is brought to you by the mighty powers of liquid eyeliner. Someone should do research. There has to be someone willing to fund looking into that, right?
Peter, one of my best friends in the world, has been on a motorcycle trip across America. Last I heard from him he had stopped at Wounded Knee and that was a little over a week ago. Turns out he'll be rolling into town tonight and I'm psyched to see him. I'm looking forward to hanging with Peter big time.
I'm excited, but it feels like a somber morning. I have a drag hangover, the sky is overcast, grey and everybody here seems to be waiting for Ernie to roll out the ole choppin block. The tension. Nancy, it is rather bizarre that we have such similar histories. I knew I liked you. Let's do lunch! I'm listening to Ultra Nate, slipping into a pair of khakis and a dark navy blue Banana Republic long sleeve stretch dress shirt and I have to be at work in twenty minutes and it takes at least half an hour. Gotta motor dudes. See you after work.
Posted by Philo @ 09:41 AM PST [Link]
Here's what I should be doing right now:
- Combing the web for evidence that my fellow contestants are/aren't real
- Napping
- Working on a project I'm behind on, that I'll need to discuss at a meeting later this afternoon
- Figuring out whether it's my turn to take the minutes at this meeting
- Glancing at one of the journals that are on my desk so that I can route it to the next person on the list
- Writing some thank-you notes
- Napping
- Taking a huge pile of paper to the recycle bin
- Grabbing that new ergonomic chair that just came in, before anyone else gets it
- Did I mention napping?
Here's what I'm doing instead:
- Posting this stupid message
Posted by David @ 09:31 AM PST [Link]
Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt. Please desposit five cents. Please deposit five cents. Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.
Home sick. Feeling crappy. Feeling really crappy. Feeling..if my neighbor doesn't turn down the latin music being played so loud Eva could probably hear it, I will go downstairs and shove his speaker up his arse. I should work on my site now that I have time. I should work on a couple sites I owe. What am I going to go do though? I'm going to go lay on the kitchen floor because it's so nice and cool there.
By the by, anyone want a cat? Oreo has completely eaten my chive plants, and I'm ready to ship her to Borneo.
Posted by Shea @ 09:24 AM PST [Link]
My IE isn't working for some evil reason ... and yeah, this looks like crap in Netscape, but here I go.
I think I'm going to skip the email and AIM stuff with all of you until after the game ends. I'd love to know you better, but I like the game as designed.
I feel sure I flunked the quiz because I have maybe five Puppet/Master theories and I had to pick one. If it's wrong, and it certainly surprised me that I went with that one, then I'm probably toast.
I haven't been sleeping, either, and I really think it's this game. I am a woman obsessed, I swear.
Turn in your quiz if you haven't so we can get some results and I can breathe.
Welcome back, Bertie! We missed you. And hi Peter. It doesn't mean we don't love you, too.
Posted by Nancy @ 09:03 AM PST [Link]
Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of posting or whatever. My quiz is in, so now I guess all we can do is sit and wait.
Yesterday my errands turned into actual plans. Me and my friend Christine went to one of the river boat casinos and ate. I was rather dissapointed at the buffet, I had such high hopes for that particular one. Then we rented a movie and went to her house and hung out and talked and shit. Jeremy called at around 9:30 so I told him I'd come over. That seems to be turning into another thing that we do every sunday. So I went over, but took my sweet damn time and ended up arriving an hour after he called, and ran to his computer to check and see if the quiz was in my box. I read it over quickly and promptly decided that I'd be eliminated due to stupidity on my part. We hung out and stuff, did some tarot readings and surprisinly didn't argue a bit. I'm amazed at us. I missed Sex and the City and Six Feet Under last night because Jeremy is the only 26 year old I know without cable TV. But it was fun, I enjoy just hanging out with people. I left at around 1:30 since he has an actual 8-5pm job.
and I should clear something up for Peter. Age laws in NORTHERN Louisiana fucking suck. Jeremy and Randy and Christine and Lindsay and I are all going to Texas for my birthday to go to the club. So yeah that should be fun or something.
Posted by James @ 08:29 AM PST [Link]
Morning all....
Just thought i'd drop a quick note and say that i've added an IM for myself.
You can find me at PuppetPete
back later...
Posted by Pete @ 07:14 AM PST [Link]
Ouuuch. Insomnia sucks. Another night of not being able to get to sleep before 3 AM. I even took a couple "sleep aids" at bedtime--made me feel as if someone had wrapped my brain in Saran Wrap, but they sure didn't help me get to sleep. Somewhere in there, trying to drop off, I somehow became convinced that I was the one eliminated after our quiz. I was sure of it, absolutely certain with the conviction of the too-tired-to-think-straight. I was even composing my farewell statement.
Anybody got any good insomnia cures?
Posted by David @ 05:52 AM PST [Link]
Tony's sleeping (and snoring). Who said 5 pm? I got up and snuck out to do my test. At least it's not a total loss because I've been chatting with Meghan. She is real alright. I know because she even said so. I like her. Anyways. The test is finished. Can you say gruesome? I'm going back to bed to stare at the ceiling and think about my answers and how wrong they probably are. That sounds like fun. I'm very glad Tony's home. Sometimes you don't miss someone as much until you see them and they remind you and no I didn't tell him. He had a pretty miserable trip and his family was particularly disgusting. Needless to say I couldn't do it. Tomorrow maybe. That's all for now. We now return me to my cuddling position.
Posted by Rachael @ 03:48 AM PST [Link]
Flatmate 1 crawled out of bed this morning and I watched as he microwaved his socks to get ready for work. "How did it get like this?" he asked, gesturing at the chaos around us. "I mean, how do we not notice at the time? I remember that happening" - he indicated a pool of toffee yoghurt I was about to step in - "but what about the rest of this place?" There isn't a surface in sight. It's all ashtrays and empty bottles and glasses and pizza boxes and completely unnecessary messes. There are even cacti on the floor because the wind blew them off the windowsill and nobody could be bothered dealing with it. Personally, I don't want to be the first one home from work today because then I'll have to start cleaning it up. I'd say we were about due another complaint letter, but I'd be less surprised if there was a neighbourhood petition to get us out.
Speaking of which: Helped the nice Canadian move out yesterday. A semi-random assortment of people joined in. Not quite as random as, say, a road movie in which someone assembles a motley crew of hitch-hikers along the way, but probably random enough, and most of them had already had at least two bloody marys and a couple of spliffs. Then we retired to the kitchen to continue drinking ourselves silly. Conversations normally centred around Flatmate 1's previous exploits.
"Well this one time, I was with Billy - you know Billy?"
"You snorted coke with him the weekend you moved in here, and then the pair of you went off in a taxi to Newtown to buy drugs and weren't seen again for three days. That Billy?"
"Yes, that's the one. So, it was me, him and this girl Michelle, who I once got arrested with on the roof of Studio 24. And we were all completely nutted" (the stories always come with this disclaimer, as if we need it) "and Michelle said, 'Don't you just feel like taking off all your clothes and going out in the street with a hoover'? So we did, and we were hoovering the street, and then the police came."
Today I'm at my occasionaljob, which is in a computer lab at a university halls of residence. There are 90 computers in here and during the summer, when this place is used for conferences and the like, I see about 10 users a day. If I'm lucky. I don't really do anything. Termtime I give out attitude but this time of year I'm nice, just bored. I'm listening to the Boo Radleys, early stuff. I hate what they turned into but these EPs from 1991/2 are gorgeous for revisiting what it was like to be a juvenile drinker with braces and a lack of romantic success. I'm going to put on some punk rock later, which makes the bulk of what gets me through the day. Ted, our agreeing on Jawbreaker is not to be underestimated. I'm an emo kid at heart, so you win points.
David, you win points too for keeping up with my people. You also get to be one of my favourite posters. Probably second in line, after Nancy. Nancy and Philo: like the others said, "major props" (I don't talk like that, but I can't think how else to put it) for your disclosures. And Philo, well done for making that money!
I like you too, James. You're by no means the least interesting person around here, but anyway I guess interesting/boring ratios have nothing to do with the quiz since it doesn't work as a popularity contest. I too have no idea how I'm going to answer - well, I do have some ideas, but what if they're wrong, anyway? Oh well ... perhaps it's better than nothing. And if I'm first out (I don't wanna be first out! Just let me hang out here for another week!), I'm happy to host the post-blog on my site, too. Truth be known, I ought to put a blog on my site. I just have an on-line journal. I do post on a different blog as my alter ego, but only once in a while. Oh my - how many of us don't have some experience of impersonating someone?
You know, I have only about a million e-mail addresses and I could offer up a web-based one as well ... but I don't feel like it. I logged on to PM, saw that more people are doing it, and felt left out for a minute. But now, I'm just not interested. Why would I want to do that? Like Benjy says, it's better to keep it public.
See that monkey, kids? If Ashley's a goth, I am real fictional Hugh Jackman.
Just read the Cliff notes. Thanks, Bertie, I would gladly call you if I had your number and it didn't incur huge international costs. Also, I'm not single. Just didn't mention it before. More on that later, maybe; this has run on too long. Good luck everyone ... did I mention I don't wanna leave?
Posted by Eva @ 03:26 AM PST [Link]
I'm home, beat, and checkin in before bed with about $200 in my pocket. Not a bad night, not bad at all. The show was a hit, audience loved it and the girls were outstanding. Everybody had big fun. It was so good the crowd would have ordered second helpings and doggie bags if we had been food. There's more to say, but not now. I'm happy and sleepy. I need to go to bed, but I do want to say I did get my test in before I ran out the door tonight (only to realize now that I had until 5pm). If there's a tie at least I was quick. I felt like I was shooting ducks with a blindfold, not that I've ever shot ducks, much less with a blindfold. Ok. I'm rambling. G'nite.
Posted by Philo @ 02:10 AM PST [Link]
I've copied Meghan. You can now catch me on AIM as ashleypuppet. But no, I will not direct connect with you. Sorry to disappoint.
Bertie's back! Yay! As for the whole 'no sleeping in the same room' - my ex girlfriend's new boyfriend did the exact same thing when she slept over here last. Quite funny actually, considering she's basically obsessed with the guy now. Okay, this was a short post. Here, have some monkeys.
Goodnight.
Posted by Ashley @ 01:06 AM PST [Link]
Well, I have jumped on the bandwagon. puppetmeghan@hotmail.com also I got an aim name puppetmeghan because I like chatting in real time. I don't think I am going to sleep tonight. I am getting up way too early for sleep to be worthwhile. My webhost is down tonight, is that good or bad, who knows. But I did pay down my cc, so I know it isn't a money issue. Oh I know, I'll scan some photos... heh I have been meaning to do that for awhile.
Posted by Meghan @ 12:43 AM PST [Link]
Sunday, July 8, 2001
Well, my quiz was sent and now I just to wait and see how I did. It was difficult trying to decide who was puppet and who was the master, since everyone seems so real and lovely and I really don't like that tomorrow one of us will be watching the whole game unfold from the sidelines.
Nancy- I like kissing girls, but I like dating boys. I like the girls at the club because they seem to have the same feelings as I do. And yes women ARE amasing and miraculous.
Peter- The people in charge are not only referred to as PIC's but that is their actual job title and get "PIC Pay"
Today was spent cleaning up the department because we are moving tomorrow. Juno Reactor was playing on the stereo and I realised how long it has been since I was at a rave. Where I live in OHIo, there is definatly nothing like that. The "cool" pace to be, aside for the frats, is the roller skating rink. Finally I am in a big? city where on the weekends things are going on, but I am working.
I drove past my ?friend's? house today and he was mowing the lawn. It seems forever ago that we were in class making fun of all the pseudo-intellectuals in AP English, blowing off drama to play with whipped cream and just being silly. I miss him, I really do. I have severed all contact with my friends from high school. They stayed here and I went away and we just sort of faded away from each other. That's life though, right?
Posted by Meghan @ 10:46 PM PST [Link]
Aw, screw this. I can't even begin to fathom the correct answers to this quiz. This most recent four hours of sleep probably isn't helping. Fortunately, I have until 3 AM tomorrow morning to work on it in my head. I dig you guys so much. So much angst do I have that one of us will be gone
Posted by Bob @ 09:33 PM PST [Link]
Guess who is really going to regret giving me ftp access? Once Peter sees the little munchkins I've stored on his server, he'll go ballistic and delete everyone's accounts. It wasn't my fault, really!
Today was a lazy day, not getting up until extremely late and then going out for dinner with my bro and dad. Afterwards, we went to this store that I had gift certificates to. After arguing with the manager for 20 minutes about how she could not turn the gift certificates I had into ones that would work online, I bought a bunch of CD's I only half like to use up the gift certificate. Which was 150$. My grandmother HAD to buy a store gift certificate, didn't she? It was my grad present from her. Blah. Anyway, I now have everything from the Charlie's Angels soundtrack to Sugar Jones' new CD sitting in my room. Remember the part about 'only half like'? Make that 'Can hardly stand'.
Posted by Ashley @ 08:45 PM PST [Link]
*gulp* I sent in my answers. Perhaps, seeing as this should be my last post [hmmm. did i mention i suck ass at multiple choice tests? check.], I should say how much I'm enjoying this. Um...I'm really enjoying this. :)
I'm always up for email. Just don't expect an answer until after I'm voted off. Unless it's really good, then I'll just answer it here like David. Now, to go to bed. It's got that shiny glow to it, like you see on the holy grail type items on cartoons. I'll be having weird Unbreakable dreams.
Posted by Shea @ 07:59 PM PST [Link]
*whew*
Quiz out of the way and there's a load off my shoulders. Good luck all.
A couple of things for my last post.
About this ... I am truly floored. Honored even. As far as I've ever known, the opposite sex has never really been interested in me...and on occasion the opposite sex maybe gave a look. But i've always been everyone's "good friend" Pete. At first I thought you were talking about Peter....I mean, he's a good looking guy. *insert attempt at brownie points from Peter here* Seriously though...Tom...I think your name is.....thank you. That was a great compliment. Really.
Ted - I have to agree with you, 3 posts is always tough. you've got a good idea there....but there's gotta be some kind of limit or else it could get ever more out of hand. A happy medium maybe?
Rachael - I agree....tell your man. Best way is to get most things out right away.
Shae - I think you and I should start the animated series of The Caffeinated Avengers....I'm hopped up on so much caffeine right now that my computer screen is shaking.
Philo - agree with David....hats are off to you my good man.
Oh, by the way, i've also jumped on the e-mail bandwagon (not to be confused with "The Nancy Bandwagon" from the begining of the game) you can reach me at the_rachael_fanclub@hotmail.com ...I uh...couldn't think of another name.....yeah....
Well, i have to go...this is my last post of the night....(maybe ever?) ....I agree with the Greek God Philo...you guys are great...no matter what happens (haha, i know we're not dying..but..), whatever happens...I'd like to keep in touch with you guys. This has been fun.
Good luck all.
and goodnight.
Posted by Pete @ 06:24 PM PST [Link]
Ok, I have also jumped on the bandwagon of getting an e-mail. Anybody, can contact me at tedpuppet@hotmail.com. And I just got the quiz from Ernie, and after looking it over, I’m starting to freak out. So anybody out there is more than welcomed to help me out. HELP!!! Is this an attempt to whore myslef out to the world? yes, yes it is...
I have an observation for everyone. It would seem to me that since we can only post three times in one day, everyone uses the most out of their posts. Meaning that most of our posts are super long. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starting to have a hard time reading these huge posts. Might this be an attempt to ask ernie to remove the 3 post limits? Maybe, but that would take effort.
Eva—it looks like we will never agree on bands, oh well, we’ll always have jawbreaker.
And where the hell is Bertie? I have no idea where she can be. *munch munch*
Posted by Ted @ 05:58 PM PST [Link]
Oh. My. God.
I just remembered. I completely suck at multiple choice tests.
*whimper*
Posted by Shea @ 05:41 PM PST [Link]
Why am I sweating?
It's an online quiz right...I can do this.....if I just snort some more coke I can make it thro...um.
Ah, fuck you internal monolouge...shut up.........i didn't mean any of that....if by sweating....I mean ....um.....perfectly fine.....and if by snorting coke....i mean...uh...the uh .....shopping...online.....for antiques....yeah...yeah that's it...antiques......heh....yeah.....antiques.......yeah....chairs....and toast....
have to go...quiz....gay man from England.....passsing out...
*ugh*
Posted by Pete @ 05:12 PM PST [Link]
I'm sick of listening to Olivia Newton-John sing "Physical" over and over at this point. Tonight I have a drag show to do and the theme is "The 80's Explosion". Of course I decided to pull out the number one hit of the decade. I have a wild and sexy leopard outfit together for that one for when she decides to get "animal". The thin little leopard headband across the forehead is the icing on the cake. A friend and I are also doing "Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves" by Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox. I've never liked it this song, so listening to it is over and over is downright painful. My friend is a very big girl, she gets to be Aretha. I have a sequined boob tube, short black satin mini skirt and a see through clear plastic raincoat with fish and funny things in the many pockets. It should be fun. All I hope is that there's a crowd tonight and I make some money. $$$ is the primary motivating factor. That and the applause.
Oh shit! The quiz is here. I can do it. I'm smart enough, good enough, and gosh darn it people like me! HAHAHA. Help!
Posted by Philo @ 04:32 PM PST [Link]
Yes, I know I'm using my quota, but I missed Rachael's latest before I hit the "Add This Entry" button. R, you've got to tell him everything. Right away. He's going to find out anyway, so you might as well get it out in the open. If he can't deal, best you know that now. If you keep it a secret, it will eventually become The Secret and then *THE SECRET* and then he'll find out and the resulting firestorm will be twenty times worse. So tell him. Go back and edit your old posts if you need to, but tell him.
For all you web-loggers in the audience: these things get read. If you're blogging for fame, or for community, or for fun--more power to you. If you're blogging your innermost thoughts that you don't want any of your close friends to know, get a blank book. It's a helluva lot easier to hide. As some of our contestants are finding out...
Posted by David @ 03:48 PM PST [Link]
A clarification for my [*cough*] teeming fan-base: you can write me if you want, but don't be surprised if I don't write back. As Benjy of SBlog2 was good enough to point out to me, e-mails can be traced. If anybody sends me something I want to comment on, I may do so here.
Bob, congratulations on the (temporary) demise of your singleness. You dog you.
Quoth Nancy:
I think women are just ... amazing, miraculous ...
Hey, I couldn't agree more.
Philo, you had sex with a three times in rapid succession with your non-preferred gender while blind drunk??? (David prostrates himself in awe and wonder) We are not worthy, O great one.
All joking aside though, I think it's kinda creepy that two of our people's introduction to sexuality was so traumatic and so similar. I'm sorry that happened guys. You both seem to be doing okay though, which is good. My own "awakening" or whatever you want to call it came remarkably late in life--I was probably the only non-religious virgin-by-choice in my college graduating class--and was more or less free of trauma. We were both virgins, and a little inhibited, so it wasn't anything remarkable. (After we broke up, she took to dating married couples, but that's another story.) Anyhow, I'm with Philo in that I want to eventually do the happily-ever-after thing, but am a little less urgent on the meantime-I-have-needs aspect of it all. I've been unattached for 33 out of the last 38 months, and celibate for all of that time. (Not entirely by choice--but by choice of girlfriends.)
I'm not asexual. An active, lusty relationship would definitely be nice. But I don't want just sex, and lately that's all life has offered me--so I decline, with thanks. Woody Allen had a line about sex with someone you love; that'll do for me.
This post has been brought to you by the letters T, M and I.
Posted by David @ 03:40 PM PST [Link]
I've showered, had a bowl of Raisin Bran crunch, a cup of coffee I'm sure Shea would appreciate
Even though my site isn't very old, my brother started his three years ago and some of you know him. In fact one of you and he have mutally linked one another. He called me at work on Friday morning to bitch at me about meeting strangers for drinks. He also told me one of you could be found at imnottelling.com and he was right.
Anyways. I have a problem and I don't know what to do about it. Tony doesn't know I've been keeping a journal online. I just never told him. I didn't because I figured nobody would read it and it would be an outlet for me to figure things out. I don't want him to read it all, not now. As for Puppetmaster I'm realizing I should have had a plan when this game started. I honestly hadn't given it much thought at all. Basically I've just been writing here right now instead. Do you see the problem?
Let me make it extra clear. Tonight we have a test and he's coming home after spending a week with the Munster family outside of San Diego. He's going to want all my attention. And I can't wait to see him. I want to complete the test and get it in fast though too. I don't even know if I'll be online tonight, not without having to have a conversation or series of conversations I don't want to deal with. It's a good thing I'm smoking again. I have to go. I don't want to be late.
Posted by Rachael @ 03:33 PM PST [Link]
Twelve hours of sleep is so nice. I also can't believe that I slept in until three pm. God, I'm lazy. My plans for the day include stopping listening to this Jellystone song, doing my laundry, doing the quiz (which I am almost entirely certain I'll be voted out on. Great. And I'd love to blog after at any place, really. I'll even host it on my server.) and cleaning my room (good luck, Ashley...) When I described the state of my room earlier, I wasn't joking. I suppose I should go along with the crowd and make an e-mail address. Here ya go, ashley@puppet.co.uk (ooh, look who was original...)
I suppose I should get started on all of that crap. Yeah, I should.
Posted by Ashley @ 03:15 PM PST [Link]
Anyhow, back to Shea, I think she's definitely getting more suspicious as a marionette and as someone pulling the strings because of her sense of humor and her way of mostly storytelling and throwing some facts in here and there.
Hmmm. Well the humor is because you caught me in an up swing. My moods tend to scary cycle, and I just got over a long depressive period. I should plateau later in a series of cybersex romps; and a flutter of journal entries about how much I really like nail polish 'cause it makes my nails so pretty, how [insert celebrity hottie] makes my knees weak, and that my kitten is just a Q.T. *gag* Besides, I'm a complete attention whore, and if getting someone's notice through making them laugh works, then I'll be a comedian. As for the storytelling pace of my posts, well chalk that up to being a 'Wannabe Great American Novelist'. I've been writing short stories and learning to perform oral events since even before high school, and received my BA in Literature as a cap on all of it. When I'm not plugging away at my own fiction work, I write in my online journal, participate in fanfiction groups, role-play in a round-robin style online rpg [well, taking a break to creat my own], and play host to a writer's group through the local Barnes & Noble. So, I have lots of practice in that area. ;) Did I say RPG? Role-play as in playing in a game as someone else? Hmmm. I did. Teehee.
I'm just waiting for the quiz now. I've taken care of all my online business for the night, and I'm just damn tired. I would go take a nap, but last time I laid down for a quick nap at this hour, I woke up the following day having missed everything. I do have Unbreakable in DVD though, so I may just go watch that. Or X-men. Rawr. Hugh 'My-name-is-perfect-for-porn' Jackman. He's just so damn pretty.
Posted by Shea @ 03:03 PM PST [Link]
Afternoon all.
I would've posted sooner today, but the person pulling my strings waited a while but I was busy. Just got a new DSL line in and I'm marveling in the wonders of internet at high speeds (sorry to rub that in Meghan).
Today was a slow one thus far...think all the wildlife migrated south because they knew this test was comin' in tonight. It's been raining Cats and Dogs (not to be confused with the ass-worthy movie Cats and Dogs). The end of last night was spent watching the incredibly ridiculous "Final Destination" and the masterpiece American Psycho. The more I watch American Psycho the more I laugh. Christian Bale was perfect for his part and I have to admit his body was impecible in that film. (sorry guys...still straight)
Philo - Ya know, I'd really have to say that I disagree with you about hitting on us PM's in real life. I actually would hit on Rachael in real life. No, not that stalker, hit on you at a bar, what's your sign kinda thing...but let's just say I'd definitely start drinkin' coffee for her. *sigh*
Nancy - thanx for clearin' that up....I don't know who or what LePuppetMaster...and haven't seen him/her yet. Wonder if they'll ever reveal themselves.
Eva - call me crazy...but i'm starting to lose the feeling that you're a real person. At first I doubted you were real because of the picture...but then I let that go. Now...something's not right...can't place a finger on it...but, something's just not right. I mean no offense of course, it's the same as me saying Nancy is a robot......even though she is = )
Bob - YOU'RE BACK!....wow. Welcome back to the land of the livin'.....thought the men in black suits came to get'cha. Or maybe an evil doctor tried to shoot your balls off with a laser.
Peter - What have you done with Bertie you bastard!?
Hope you're all having a great day at work....time for me to clean up and get on with my day off. Wait a minute...everyday is a day off...I freelance.
= )
Posted by Pete @ 02:19 PM PST [Link]
I played my brother's gameboy until really late(early?) this morning. I never thought I would remember all the tricks in Super Mario Bros. but after playing it thousands of times everything must have been engraved in my mind. Dav Matthew;s Band is playing on WinAmp now. I know a lot of people don't like thier new sound, but I think it is a wonderful change.
Peter- more clarification: PIC= Person In Charge and I work at Fredmeyer's, which is similar to a WalMart Superstore (for all you people not living in the NW) but quite a bit nicer.
I have gotten booted three times trying to write this post. I hate having one phone line and dial up. I'm going to stop now because I really should be, you guessed it, getting ready for work.
Posted by Meghan @ 01:47 PM PST [Link]
"Love people are there/ The smell of love is everywhere/ You think it's always sensitive and good/ You think that I want to be understood/ I've got a match/ Your embrace and my collapse"
Thanks to Philo for caring. Fact of the matter, I was technically single when I last posted. Single as in, I hadn't made any commitment to anyone. Then there was yesterday and today. I guess I'm not single now. Although, in response to David, I wasn't really having a life yesterday, I just chose to play Diablo 2 (with the fun new Expansion Set!)all afternoon rather than get on the internet. I live in an archaic sort of place where I don't have unlimited access to the net. Not that it ever really stops me, but I can always use it as an excuse. As for the rest of the time, I was drinking or sleeping. Back to my former singleness: It's gone. I have succumbed. It's not a bad thing and I'm pretty sure I saw it coming but the past day or two really cemented it. It's nice but bound to be short-lived. There is a major drawback to my globetrotting lifestyle and it is that the people I'm around are never settled enough to become permanent in my life. The last relationship I had ended when she had to move to Bangkok. Talk about a long-distance nightmare. This one will last a month or two until she has to move back to the States (remind me to tell you guys why she has to move back later, it's sorta entertaining). This all leads me to paying great heed to Camus and what he talks about in "The Myth of Sisyphus". What if you were forced to live the current moment over and over for the rest of eternity? Would it be bearable? Would it be pleasant? Whenever I can I try to keep that question in mind and enjoy things for what they are. This ties in to what Ted was saying about 'Carpe Diem' and all although I'm not so worried about missing experiences but rather the joyous moments. Aw, shit, you can tell I'm in deep when I start talking like this...
So while digging through one of my cd cases to find the exact lyrics to TMBG's "I've Got A Match" (off of their finest album Lincoln by the way), I noticed something to regale to the "oldies" of the group (hehe): I, though being born in 1975, own 22 cds by the band Yes. I can name virtually every one of the band's members from their founding in 1969 through 1984 (the heighth of their popular, though not artistic by any means, success with "Owner of a Lonely Heart", for you youngins'). After that of course, they began to suck and do until this very day though you wouldn't be able to tell by the number of albums they've put out recently. Ugh.
Peter in the Commentary section (I's is not nearly cool enough to be able to link to that and if you ever find my real blog in it's state of "fresh off of notepad" you'll understand why) is smart but has too much time on his hands. Thanks to Nancy for caring as I write this.
My little brother says this whole Puppetmaster thing reminds him of the anime Ghost In The Shell. I don't really understand that because I seem to remember watching it in the theater (how often does one get to watch anime in a theater anyway?) and not having a fucking clue as to what was going on other than there were some big guns and explosions. Needless to say I'm not a big anime fan. I've watched Akira enough to understand and love it but most of the other stuff leaves me cold.
Damn, it's time to go to bed again. Get up in the morning and face the bane of my existence. Of all the dreams I have, I want one thing more than anything: the power over life and death. A recoilless rifle mounted on the roof of my car would work just as well. No matter where you live, the drivers you have to deal with are not as bad as the ones here. Oy va voy!!
Posted by Bob @ 01:45 PM PST [Link]
I'll definitely host a post-PM weblog if I get thrown out first.
Thank you, Peter, for kissing my ass. All is forgiven, Benjy.
Peter, James, not Pete, was the other person who heard from LaPuppetMaster. (LaPuppetMaster is the mystery guy's AIM screenname if you'd like to personally f*ck with him.) Yes, my cohabitation will take place in Haunted Slantyhouse. The ghostie hasn't been around since I started this relationship, so I may just be in Slantyhouse. He's usually only here when things are dead quiet, pun intended.
The pics people are posting don't work because Geocities doesn't let you link from outside sites to inside pages on a Geocities site. Put your pics on the index.html file and link to that. I found that out when I tried to start a weblog on the inside of a GC site I had.
Philo, we have tons in common. Wow. I "used to drink," to put it mildly, and when I did was the only time I had sex with men. I was raped by a woman when I was little, and I'm not sure it affected my sexual orientation but it certainly affected how late I came out to myself. I wanted no part of an attraction to women, because I thought maybe it had something to do with the assault.
I don't know. I've heard people say, "Oh, you're gay cuz you were raped by someone of the same sex" as well as "Oh, you're gay because you were raped by someone of the opposite sex." Who knows? I don't really care why I'm a dyke. I think women are just ... amazing, miraculous ...
I don't remember Disney being among the last of the big companies to get DP benefits. That honor probably goes to Fox, at least among media. When I was working with a coalitions of GLBT employee associations, Disney was VERY good to us. They gave us lots of support, free teleconferencing ... Levi Strauss was also incredibly supportive.
That Gay Day stuff was ages ago. Disney has tried to let non-GLBT guests know what's going on without offending anyone, and there really probably is no way to do that. They did it very ham-handedly at first. Now they just quietly give you a free T-shirt if you're homo-uncomfortable and you happened to wear red on Gay Day.
The cat/dog evening went very well. Thanks for the good wishes, Eva. There were two yelps, one hiss and a lot of sniffing. We plan a rematch on the dog's turf soon.
Shea, way to be a web celeb!!!! Woo!
Meghan ... Are you about the tilt the Irish/Gay demographic scorecard in favor of the GLBT side? I don't know any straight women who hang out in strip bars and know the dancers (who are very often dykes lesbians).
And yeah, where is Bob?
Posted by Nancy @ 01:17 PM PST [Link]
Went to bed at 3 am this morning, got a call from my friend Jeremy at 5am, then went back to bed at 6 only to wake up at 11. Jeremy is falling into this nasty habit of calling me when he comes home from the club. Its becoming very annoying because he's always drunk when he does so, or upset because he saw so and so there. I had a huge crush on him when we first met up, but hanging out with him eventually killed that for me. We argue a lot. Not those angry arguments but the fact that we simply cannot agree on anything fuels most of it. We listen to totally different styles of music. He is a total tripped out Dolly fan, and I, well frankly am not. He's a librarian with funky dyed red hair, and well I'm bald. Those are just two of my lamer examples.
I'm somewhat nervous about the quizz coming up tonight. I don't know what to expect from it nor do I have any solid ideas about the puppet or puppetmaster. I like Philo very much. Not because he is the other gay guy here, but because his stories are entertaining and interesting, to say the least. Shea's run in with the crazed fan was funny. I doubt that around here anybody would be reading Puppetmaster so I figure I'm pretty safe on the home front. I indentify with Ashley, but I guess thats understandable. Same age, similar jobs, blah blah. I don't have a boyfriend or even any resemblence of one.
I also don't seem to be a social butterfly, although in reality its quite the opposite. The problem here is age laws. If you're under 21 then there are no clubs for you. None. Sometimes once you're 18 a local band will throw a special little concert at a bar and you'll get your hand marked on with highlighter and you'll be able to go in and enjoy. My two best friends have jobs. Both are waitresses, one at Applebees and the other at her family's restaurant, The Lucky Palace. So my time going out is few and far inbetween, considering I have a job also. But most times I'm content to sit at home, I've grown used to the notion.
Well I'm off for now. I actually have things to do, mostly errands but it involves getting in my car and driving so its all good. Good luck on the test guys, I'll possibly need it more than the rest. I seem to be the least interesting one around here and most likely the first to perish. Oh yeah, and Peter.. I'll be your first ;)
Posted by James @ 12:04 PM PST [Link]
O-kay. The Sunday crossword is done (very important), the laundry and dishwasher are both running, and King Oliver is on the CD player. There's four trash bags less of crap lying around the place, and I feel more like a human being than some sort of burrowing pack rodent.
Bob? Bob?!? Hey, anybody seen Bob? Either somebody's having trouble keeping up the pretense of two personalities full time (which could be a problem this early in the game) or somebody actually has a life on the weekends. Not that I can imagine ANYthing a person could do on the sunny Mediterranean coast that'd be more fun than hanging out virtually with the finest people (and pseudo-person) on the Internet!
Rachael, the e-mail is an excellent idea. I've set up an address too Send me hate mail, everyone!
Okay, so what the hell is actually gonna be ON this quiz thing? What can Ernie ask us that'll be more than a wild guess? I think this first elimination is probably gonna be fairly close to random, which sucks because while I hate to see ANY of you go, I'd rather that whoever does get booted is booted for a reason.
So what's Eva's cast of characters up to now? We have flatmates 1 and 2, flatmate 2's boyfriend, four backpacking Swedes, a nice Canadian and her nightmare landlady, an ex-girlfriend someone else, a few random drunks in pubs and kitchens, and Madonna. Scorecard anyone?
Peter, it's true I'm not saying a whole lot about myself right now. Bits and pieces will slip out though, if you're trying to build a picture of me. For the moment I'm having more fun bouncing off other people's posts than revealing my own inner core.
All right, that's enough for now. Gonna go get me some sushi.
Posted by David @ 11:53 AM PST [Link]
Hey everybody, I just got home! I ended up not going to that 80’s party, but went to this brit pop/soul club instead to get my groove on. And they played some of my favorite songs tonight! 3 Jackson Five songs (including "the love you save"), some James Brown, and 1 Suede song. But they didn’t play any Pulp, Blur, or Travis, so I was a bit disappointed. And whenever I did my twirl spin dance move, I would bump into this guy, which was quite embarrassing. Afterwards, we went to this all night restaurant where I saw David Spade. And he was like, "Hey, you’re that Ted guy from Puppetmaster"!!! and I said, "yup, want my autograph"? and he said, "yeah, can you sigh my ass"? ok, not really, but I really did see David Spade (which really wasn’t a big trill for me). But damn it Shea, that is one really random meeting.
To the surprise of the company that I was with tonight, I go to clubs, parties and the like at least once or twice every weekend. My record was 4 consecutive parties during one week. This really didn't seem weird to me until I realized that I've been doing this for a long time now. I just can not stay home on a weekend night or even most weekdays. I don’t know if I’m over doing it or not, but I feel like I’m wasting my life away whenever I stay at home for too long. It might be due to the fact that I’m a super extrovert and love talking to people, especially during meals, which might be why I take so long to eat. I’m wondering how much longer I can keep this up until I finally think I’m too old for it or when my body gives out on me. One of my greatest fears in life is that when I’m old, I’ll have this long list of things that I wish I did or changed. And although regrets are impossible to avoid, I just want to shorten that list as much as possible. I guess I just want to be content in life. Whats that phase, something about "better to burn out like a nova then to just fade away". something like that. You know what started it all? That damn movie Dead Poets Society… FUCK ROBIN WILLIAMS AND HIS CARPE DIEM CRAP! If it wasn’t for him, I could be saving so much money and avoiding blisters on me feet.
David, yes Disney does offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners, but they were actually one of the LAST fortune 500 companies to do so. I’m pretty sure of this because I had to do a stupid 15 page paper on them. And yes, one of their most evil tactics is to fuck up precious myths and stories to their own benefits to generations of children who believe what they are watching is real.
Philo, that was a huge disclosure on your part, and I give you major props for doing so. And I agree with Peter in that I think you’re one of the more interesting players in this game.
Rachael, oh my god, I love Puffy! They’re super cute and I love their music. They’re very Beatles sounding while at the same time very diverse. Have you heard of their disco song yet? A puffy classic that you must hear.
Ashley, I’m really sorry happy to hear that you’ve made up with your boyfriend. I hope you guys break up soon so that I can hit on you more things go well with you two.
I’m starting to get really sad and worried about the quiz, because I must say that all of you are starting to grow on me big time. It will be really depressing tomorrow when one of us has to leave. Alright kiddies, its getting late even for me. See you all tomorrow.
Posted by Ted @ 06:28 AM PST [Link]
In about half an hour I'm going to start helping the nice Canadian to move her stuff. Today is Flatmate 1's birthday, but he didn't come home last night and we expect he has passed out in a gutter somewhere. I think a couple of his friends are supposed to get here in ten minutes, so that'll be interesting. Flatmate 2 and I haven't got him anything yet. Hope the gift shops nearby are open.
Oh, and Peter, sweetheart, I currently only live with two other people. But fair enough, I guess; we do have a large cast of characters. On the other hand, I really don't think I've mentioned that many people since PM started. Except for the four Scandinavian backpackers. (By the way, I'm thrilled that I even managed that post. I remember being so drunk it took me about a decade to type it.) Anyway, I'm glad you like my geosite name. Oh, and you will ogle me.
(I'm not sure why I'm saying that like it's a good thing. We'll see.)
Rachael, I'm with you on the Meghan thing ... how random. But on the other hand, you've given me reason to suspect that you too aren't all you seem. I don't know; I suppose I just don't want to be the first one out. Hurry up and send me that quiz, Ernie, I want to get it out of the way!
Ashley, how old's your brother? Blue washes out faster than any other colour.
This whole woman-scratching-Bob's-back controversy ... why does everyone think there is some discrepancy between this and him being single? Oh well ... maybe I've just been around too much quite a bit.
Music ... I know Puffy Amiyumi, or rather I know of them just as Puffy which is their name in Japan. I've got a song on a mix tape somewhere. It does my head in though. Personally I prefer the likes of Pizzicato Five, and the Sushi 3003/4004 compilations. Right now though I'm listening to Caroline Nin, a very sexy and enchanting French cabaret singer I've seen a couple of times.
Philo, I was having a weird time with the pix as well, so somebody a bit more techie could maybe explain why that is, but I just went and visited their locations and then everything was fine.
Shea, no-one ever recognises me from the Internet. You make me feel like PM is the biggest thing in America, which I kind of doubt. (How many people are reading this thing really? I mean, I know we're linked from Blogger and all ... nice.) I'd be surprised if anyone in my city was reading it, that I hadn't actually told about it myself. Hmmm.
Posted by Eva @ 06:24 AM PST [Link]
Hi puppet friends! I'm home again and Nicole is over here. She's bombed so I didn't let her drive. It's not that far but I don't care. In high school this friend of mine was driving drunk and she hit a guard rail and then bounced over into oncoming traffic and was killed instantly. Needless to say I have a right to be a paranoid. Nicole has an announcement. She wants everybody to know that I'm the puppet and she's the puppetmaster. Whatever Nicole.
I want everybody to know that Nicole needs a boyfriend or at least an overnight distraction. You know what really sucks? Going out with a friend and they spend the whole night telling you who they think is cute and never do one thing about any of it. She even tried to get me to tell this one guy that she thought he was a hottie. I told her high school is over. You know what's bugging me? If anyone out there was interested in meeting Nicole how would we know? Maybe I'll open another email for puppetmaster because the one I use has the name of my site in it. That wouldn't be too smart now would it.
Hey - I did it! If anyone wants to email me you can send mail to me here and if you're interested in Nicole tell me why I should tell her about you. You can write to me just to write to me too if you want. Uhm, excuse me. How did Meghan go from being an old lady at 19 to being the best friend of strippers everywhere overnight? You're confusing me Meghan and I'll have to see tomorrow if it's because I've had a couple drinks or if you've lost all sense of being convincing. I'm going to go put Nicole to bed. Tonight was fun and now it's time to get some sleep.
Posted by Rachael @ 03:32 AM PST [Link]
