:: Mindrella's Life ::

:: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 ::

TEN ON TUESDAY

I posted this on Christine's Ten on Tuesday blog since mine is so horribly outdated but I then I thought I would post on here as well. I have way too many favorites so it was hard to narrow it down but here's what's either in my walkman or in my car right now:

10 Favorite Singers/Groups:

1. The Rakes
2. Louis XIV
3. Elton John
4. The Bravery
5. Panic! At the Disco
6. P.O.D.
7. Gwen Stefani/No Doubt
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Bloc Party
10. Nine Black Alps

Honorable Mentions: INXS (original lineup with Michael Hutchence), The Boomtown Rats, The Ramones, The Clash, Dogs

:: Melinda 1:29 PM [+]

Check It Out!

Everyone needs to check out Damaris Sarria's blog. Damaris lives on Merritt Island in Florida and is working on fullfilling her dream of becoming an astronaut. Having been one of those who wanted to become an astronaut but, unfortunately, didn't have the necessary brains/SAT scores to go to a good enough school (not to mention I was such a lazy ass at that time) I'm totally excited for her and wish her all the best in pursuing her dreams.

Anyway, she's got some really incredible pictures of the Discovery launch and it's return home. I encourage everyone to visit her site.

:: Melinda 1:42 PM [+]

Thought for the Day . . .

Although I don't really post "inspirational" messages/quotes on my blog, this one came at a good time for me. While my life is not especially stressed right now, my plate is still full and I've felt at times like I was a "chicken with my head cut-off" running around trying to keep everyone happy and then wondering why I don't have any energy at the end of the day to get everything done. It made me pause and rethink stuff. Things are going okay for me (no pity parties being thrown anyway), I think I'm just caught up in the "envy" cycle and I just need to stop and breath for a bit. I've been so caught up on posting negative things on my blog lately that I think I've scared away all of my 2.87 readers. So here's something postive. I hope it reassures you as much as it has reassured me.

Woman to Woman Encouragement

Someone will always be smarter. Their house will be bigger. They will drive a better car. Their children will do better in school. And their partners will fix more things around the house. So let it go and love you and your circumstances.

Think about it. The prettiest woman in the world can have hell in her heart. And the most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children. The richest woman you know - she's got the car, the house, the clothes - might be heartbreakingly lonely.

So, love you. Love who you are right now. Tell yourself, "I am too blessed to be stressed." Be blessed ladies and pass this on to encourage another woman.

"To the world you might be one person, but to one person you just might be the world."

:: Melinda 11:35 AM [+]

Ten on Tuesday!

It's been a while but here's my latest Ten on Tuesday in no particular order.

Ten Great Commercials:

1. 24 Hour Fitness with Lance Armstrong.
2. Wells Fargo commercial with the Christmas Tree on the stagecoach - it always makes me teary eyed.
3. The "In the Jungle The Might Jungle" Advantage Flea commercial with the cat in the garden and the singing dog/pidgeons.
4. The GE commercial with the elephant dancing to "Singing in the Rain".
5. Any of the Citi consumer fraud commercials - especially the one with the man in the trailer home with valley girl voice talking about the leather bustier that lifts and separates.
6. The Stay in School commercial where the old guy is asking girls to the prom. Hysterical!
7. Any of the old Morris/Nine Lives commercials.
8. The Mountain Dew commercial with the guy and the big horn sheep.
9. Any of the old commercials with Rodney Allen Ripey (yes, I am dating myself)
10. A Japanese commercial for soap (I think) but it was a line of school boys sitting in a public bath and one of them farts. I just remember laughing so hard I snorted the first time I saw it.

Runners Up:

Where's the Beef!?
The flea commercial with the singing puppy at camp ("Hello Mudder - Hello Father")
Pepsi commercial with the goose and the the guy free falling
The Mountain Dew commercial where the guy chases the cheetah and then pulls the can of Mountain Dew out of its mouth.

Of course there's probably a million others but of course you can never think of them when you need to.

:: Melinda 9:00 PM [+]

I did it!

I fixed my comments all by myself. Okay so it may not seem like that big a deal to all my 2.87 readers but they're all computer whizzes and I'm not so I'm going to brag a little.

On another note, I'm home nursing a sore back. Oh the trials of trying to get back into shape.

So since it's been forever and a day since I've updated this thing and since my last post was pretty much a cry of vengence with a machete in my hand - this is what's been happening in my life.

The Tour:

I've pretty much been glued to the television in July watching Lance win his 7th and final Tour de France although with all that has happened and all the history in the making the thing that sticks out in my mind the most from this particular Tour?

Dave Zabriskie sleeps in the buff.

I know - you can't take me anywhere.

Roommate Update, Chapter 3336 (okay not really but it sure as hell feels like it):

We're at an amicable standoff or, if you like, a sort of armed neutrality. I've gone above and beyond what a normal roommate should go through (more on that later) so now it basically boils down to this - she's there until (1) I can't handle living with her anymore or (2) I find another roommate - a situation she is fully aware of. So I've decided for the moment not to spill her dirty laundry (pun intended) but that could change - it all depends on her. Hence the armed neutrality. And to answer the burning question in everyone's mind -- yes I am a difficult person to live with although in this case, for once, I have every reason to gripe.

Family:

Immediate: Are a pain. Well not all. Mainly just my mom. We've never been close and the past couple of years, especially the last 8-9 months have been particularly trying and decisions had to be made and - to put in a nutshell - I'm not a very popular family member right now. Every family has a black sheep. My mom was one and so am I. To quote a popular phrase - "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Extended: Are not a pain. Maybe because I've handpicked them? Not sure. Although I almost lost my "adoptive" grandfather. He's fine now, a little slower and can't walk without his cart and/or walker but he survived and is literally a "walking miracle." All I can say is that my heart stopped when I got the call from the hospital. My oldest nephew is also starting kindergarten this fall and the youngest is celebrating his first birthday/baptism on August 5.

Skating:

They changed the Sunday practice times from 11:45 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. back to 7:00 a.m. And I've been once. I didn't survive. In gaining the extra 35-40 pounds after my surgery my feet also got bigger (makes sense) so now my skates don't fit. Which sucks! And don't even get me started on the skinsuit. Just visualize a neon blue and yellow hippo on skates stumbling across the ice and you'll get a pretty good idea of how I look in it. I don't say this to be negative. I'm just being truthful. Besides, that doesn't fit right now either. Give me another month or two.

Has anyone seen my resolve/willpower/determination out there? I've put it down somewhere and I can't remember where.

Miscellaneous BS:

Project T is coming along. A big shout out to Aquaman for all his help (and to Christine who brought us together). You are the best! I just sank roughly $500 into my car but now it runs great and should (knock on wood) last me another year. I joined Netflix so if anyone has any good, offbeat movie suggestions for me I'll gladly take them. I recently went to San Diego's Comic Con and had fun. Actually, I had a lot of fun. A post will be forthcoming. I never thought of myself as a comic geek but there was a lot there to keep me busy. I just have four words after my day there - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride! September 23rd. I can't wait! And yes, I joined the fan site too. In other news, I was a victim of fraud. Someone got a hold of my Visa debit card and charged a couple of hotel rooms on it. Someone claiming to be my boyfriend. Someone named Pete. Sigh. At least it's taken care of. I have my suspicions on how it happened but it's over and done now and it's time for me to move on. Oh and to answer Molly's question - "Slutrella" was a nickname given to me by an old boyfriend when I was in my 20's. He used it as a spin off of another nickname I had (Mindrella) that another friend had given me. So there's your answer.

Well that's about it for now.

:: Melinda 9:22 PM [+]

What to do

A lot is happening in my life right now - some good, most bad (read: lets just rip my heart out right now) and a few things indifferent. I've been internalizing everything lately which is probably not the best thing for me to do but then again I'm not the best when it comes to expressing my feelings (read: I usually come across as a royal bitch). Actually most of the time I feel like I'm ready to explode which is definitely affecting my health and if you've read any of my past few entries, you know that my health right now is anything but good. I've had to make a lot of decisions the past couple of months - some as easy as whether to buy a new car or keep fixing my old (I'm leaning toward fixing my old) to stuff that's more complex and way more emotional. Because of this I've been forced to reprioritize my life and put a lot of things on the back burner (like skating) which isn't making me happy or productive.

Anyway I'm feeling a cleansing coming on even though a lot of what's been going on is personal. But writing in my journal isn't working for me right now and all I have to show for that effort are some great angry doodles. I hope that by posting some of this on a very public forum might help me put things into perspective a little. Or it just might make me look like a raving lunatic that needs to get a life. I hear that padded cells are quite comfortable and soundproof too.

So to all 1.87 readers of this blog you have been duly warned - vents/rants/frustrations are on the horizon.

to be continued . . .

:: Melinda 4:52 PM [+]

And the World Mourns

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, more commonly known to the world as Pope John Paul II finally found his way home and, more importantly, peace.

I had meant to publish a post venting about my roommate, what I've had to put up with the past 8 months and how I keep allowing myself to be continually suckered into giving her "just one more chance," but somehow, after hearing the news this morning, that post seems insignificant and petty.

Now I'm not a Catholic so my recollection of other popes is pretty much nonexistent. I vaguely remember his becoming pope being a big deal because he wasn't Italian. The first non-Italian in 450 years. A shocking thing back then, or so I was led to believe by the very Italian grandmother of one of my closests friends. According to her the world was now going to end. I do know that during the years of his Papacy, more than just Catholics respected and admired him, myself included.

While I am continually at odds with his teachings and, quite frankly, don't believe one person should have so much sway in a person's life, I still admired the man who embraced his beliefs wholeheartedly and did not waiver, even in the face of adversity. A man who attended an underground seminary during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and who continued to spread the word of God during the communism regime that followed. His fight against this same communism after the war. A man who was not afraid to show his frailities to his public. Appearing weak and obviously in pain during Palm Sunday and Easter mass. This same man who was not afraid to let people see him in the hospital, recovering from his assassination attempt in 1981. Something no Pope had ever done, or so we were told. Organizing World Youth Day and getting the youth of the world more involved in religion. Meeting with Jewish rabbis in Jeruselum.

I'm sure he wasn't perfect. No one is. But who am I to judge. That's not my job. This is just my tribute and memories of a man and the legacy he left behind.

So the Throne of Saint Peter is once again empty.

Goodbye Pope John Paul II - may you rest in peace.

:: Melinda 4:06 PM [+]