http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wffwg7pA0t8

star wars + trumpet + leotard = GREAT CONFUSION

PBS dramatizations of ancient societies are awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoXgRtDysLY

Props to my brother-in-law for the tip off about this new threat to Homeland Security.

Today was 50% off EVERYTHING Labor Day sale at the Village Discount. I bought so much clothing that I had to literally rearrange my furniture to accommodate it. AWESOME.

Today I was also cruelly tricked into eating mayonnaise, or as I refer to it, "Vomit of Satan." ANTITHESIS of awesome.

Last night my friendsies and I watched Xanadu. AWESOME/NOT awesome. Existential paradox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GpZpoaZaSE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Flj%2Dtoys%2Ecom%2F%3Fjournalid%3D1987882%26moduleid%3D3%26auth%5Ftoken%3Dsessionless%3A1185843600%3Aembedcontent%3A1987882%2526

This will blow your mind. BLOW. YOUR. MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My four dreams for being settled in a location for a while:

Central Heat & Air [check]
Record Player [check, $15]
File Cabinet [check, $4]
Big Ass Porch [marked down for future]

3 out of 4, not bad!

Also, I FINALLY sort of cleaned my room, such that it isn't filled with scattered rubbermaid bins anymore. Tomorrow I'll probably hang some pictures, and hopefully soon get around to painting over all the scuff marks on the walls/window sills that have accumulated from a) lazy painters, b) moving in, and c) smashing things into said wall through clumsiness. Eventually my place will be suitable for inviting people over!

1. YOUR SPY NAME: (middle name, current street name)
Marie Sacramento

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy)
Arlene York

3. YOUR RAP NAME: (first initial of first name, first three or four letters of your last name)
E-Far

4. YOUR GAMER TAG: (a favorite color, a favorite animal)
Green Otter

6. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Marie Auburn

7. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Farbecsqu

8. PORN STAR NAME: (first pet's name, the street you grew up on)
Kitty Bon-Bon 13

9. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile your mom drives)
The Green Stationwagon

10. YOUR ACTION HERO NAME:(first name of a main character in the last movie you watched, last food you ate)
Bunny Bubble Tea

Five or six years ago, I was sorting through records for a senior citizen center, and was introduced to the wonder and majesty that is the exquisitely crafted easy listening Hammond organ stylings of this guy...



http://www.spaceagepop.com/dee.htm

...not to be confused with THIS guy...



http://www.myspace.com/lennydee

...who nevertheless may be my new hero, if in fact he derived his name from the original. I somehow doubt it, but one can hope.

I have forever regretted not expending the dollar to purchase the album which introduced me to this genius of carnivalesque elevator pop, which features Lenny surrounded by nubile young women in a convertible... and yet, today I gained something even more breathtaking. As of 7:20 PM tonight, Friday July 27th, I am the proud owner of the "Best of Lenny Dee" two-album set, inscribed in the master's own hand: "To my good friend Judd Taylor, Best Wishes Always, Lenny Dee 1968."

Who is the man behind the keys? According to the "Best of" liner notes, "Lenny Dee's natural talent and artistry are a unique combination that pleases, not only the organ buff, but music lovers of all ages."

Of course, but what about the back story? What about Lenny's breathtaking climb to supper club stardom? Well, "It all began when Lenny Dee was discharged from the Navy in World War II. He studied organ at Midwestern Conservatory under the G.I. Bill. And, the 'Leprechaun of the organ' (as he is known to thousands) has been 'turning the trick' ever since."

Well put, anonymous hack writer, well put.

Sadly, the Chicago native passed on to the great martini lounge in the sky in February 2006, but we'll always have the music. Let us raise our plastic coconut glasses in memoriam to the man who put the turning in the trick, the Leprechaun of the organ himself, Mr. Lenny Dee. May he rest in peace.

Work life has been stressful lately... luckily home life is NOT (yay roommate compatibility!). :)

In sum, I need to get good and crunk this weekend. I also need to get awesome Tim Burton-inspired lace-up vaudevillian hooker boots which are both flattering and comfortable enough to walk around in for many hours, as I shall need them for my *LOLLAPALOOZA COSTUME*!!! Thanks to Kit for hooking me up with AWESOME PAID EMPLOYMENT SUPERSOAKING PEOPLE IN A FABULOUS COSTUME AND GETTING TO SEE FREE SHOWS AT NIGHT!!! Going to be hella fun!

This summer has been mad busy. Although I am feeling a bit surprise robbed of my summer, it will be nice when things calm down in the fall. I'm going to take GUIT-AR classes at the Old Town School, and thanks to volunteer points, it will be FREE! Free rocks my world. Also Harry Potter. Also David Tennant, or I should say my fantasy world. ;)

Looks like my polite letter may have done the trick--the developer is going to weather strip my entire back door, add a fully weather stripped storm door, and send the contractor to look at my floor. While this is not a guarantee that they will *FIX* the floor, I think this is at least a good sign. We shall see.

In the meantime, we had our first association meeting yesterday, and I'm totally on the board. All owners can express their opinions, but only board members get to vote, so I definitely wanted to make sure I was on it. Luckily only five of us were interested, so no political conflict. ;) At the next meeting, we decide who will be officers (President, Secretary, Treasurer). The other two are just "at large," which is what I hope to do, as it's mostly just voting and a bit of this and that as needed. I think the other people want positions more than I do, so it should work out fine. They don't get any more sway, just more pro bono work, so that's fine by me!

In sum, we will soon have an officially designated bike room. :)

So I talked to the insurance company today, and as anticipated, my regular insurance doesn't cover it. Technically it qualified as a flood, for which I do not have insurance; however, flood insurance, which is offered only by the government, cannot be purchased for garden level properties anyway. Also, since backup insurance only covers the INTERIOR of a unit, not backup outside the unit, I wouldn't have been covered even if I HAD already gotten backup insurance. However, given the multitudinous tales I've heard regarding overflowing fountains of sewage throughout the city, you can bet your ass I called to get THAT shit (i.e. insurance against) added to my policy.

So I guess I feel ?mildly? better knowing that my insurance-getting-negligence doesn't apply to this situation, as I would've been fucked either way. And, comparatively to other people around Chi-town, I was lucky.

Besides that, if my floor had been properly installed and sealed, and/or if the door had been properly sealed, there wouldn't have been so much damage. In sum, DEVELOPER MUST PAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey friends, in case you've spoken to me yesterday or today, I apologize for the mopey-ness about !THE FLOOD! I realized this evening I was being kind of maudlin and annoying about my stupid floor getting mussied, especially as it could have been much, much worse. The world weary depression !STOPS NOW!, and I shall redirect my emotional trauma to an INFERNO OF CEASELESS RAGE at the development company, as DEM BITCHES MUST PAY, literally and figuratively. Wish me luck! I'm afraid I'll need it, although I do have a couple of lawyers and the mafia on my side, so that's good at least.

P.S.: Thanks for being so totally nice to me and stuff, despite the moping. *QUALITY FRIENDSHIP HUGS*

P.P.S.: If you HAVEN'T spoken to me yesterday or today, the drain outside my back door backed up during the monsoon yesterday, and flooded around my door into my house. It was pretty great. It wasn't sewage though, and my !AWESOME ROOMMATE! nipped it in the bud before the damage was too extensive. Hooray! But the hardwood in the living room is fucked. Damn. I doubt my regular homeowner's insurance covers it and I haven't gotten around to getting backup or flood insurance yet, although I did get quotes... sigh. The building insurance would cover it, but.... the deductible is $5000, so that's pretty much pointless. The lawyer who did my closing says I have a case for the development company being liable, so that's the angle I'm working. BITCHES MUST PAY!!! Cause I sure as fuck am not.

Can I just reiterate that I have the BESTEST ROOMIE EVER? She fixes things and cleans my house while I'm gone, and yesterday she had a smoothie ready for me when I came home from work, and today she bought me !presies!:

Morons From Outer Space
AND
Brigadoon

which are pretty much two of favorite things ever, 1) cinematic diarrhea and 2) !HOLY FUCK GENE KELLY YOU ARE SO TALENTED AND GORGEOUS!

Also, she let me leave the house wearing a wrinkled pillowcase as a skirt, and didn't even walk ten paces behind me to disassociate herself. That's quality friendship right there. :)

I'M SHITTING MY PANTS WITH JOY! SHITTING! IN! MY! PANTS!

http://www.bestworstmovie.com/

And you KNOW I will soon have a wardrobe addition...perhaps you can even guess which...

Brown paper packages tied up with strings... now increasingly prevalent as I seem to worship daily at the altar of consumerism. My new favorite places:

Linens N Things (Thanks, Chris and Amy- got some lovely things!)
Home Depot (Again, Thanks Chris & Amy, and Pam & Tom!)
Target (the ol' standby)
Bed Bath & Beyond
Ikea (and I haven't even been there yet!)

At last the chaos is beginning to subside, although when the day comes that I *DON'T* think of something I need to buy, it will seem strange and un-routine. And this from me, girl of a thousand kitchen implements! I think I may be Pavlovian conditioned to start salivating when I see houseware emporiums...

Screechingly, riotously drunk, courtesy of The Enchanter. Feeling I could have made a better first impression on newbies, but also feeling that I don't care... Also I think I frightened Kelly, but he's a pal, so no biggie.

If you think I was drunk YESTERDAY, wait until this WEEKEND at DUCKON!!!!! WWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

House finally beginning to look like such. Not scaling *quite* as many cardboard mountains these days. Now for the pesky details of setting up/transferring utils, punch list, etc. etc. etc. NE'ERtheless, housewarming will be soon!

Mine, legally and physically! Closing went really smoothly, and I was able to move a couple of decent loads of stuff over in a borrowed land rover (YES, I CAN drive...sort of). Not a moment too soon, as my window fan apparently chose today to die, but window fans are dead to me anyway, because now I have AIR CONDITIONING! And CABINETRY! And COUNTER SPACE!

Pam and Tom helped me with the last load, and then we enjoyed an inaugural new home Thai delivery feast. AND there's plenty of leftovers, which is good because I will be too disorganized to cook for a bit.

*URGH* Sleepy now. Need to lie down in my airless room and baste in my own sweat now. Or maybe watch TV shows on the internet first... possibilities are limitless.

Closing on the bachelorette pad in an hour, now trying to fill those few minutes before leaving for the title company. Walkthrough this morn went relatively smoothly, with just a few minor things to fix.

After the closing, which will last Zeus knows how long according to all sources, I have on loan a land rover for the weekend, so I can move some of the more breakable stuff tonight before the major move tomorrow. The latter will be accomplished with a little help from my *friends*, who are each so astonishingly brilliant the brightest star blushes in deference to their genius and commensurate physical attractiveness.

I am SO glad to be leaving the shit hole, which our landtroll is apparently showing now without notifying us... Can't wait to cuten up my new place, and have a fabulous adorable housewarming party! Of course, there will be the ordeal of unpacking and living in chaos for a bit, but no matter. Next weekend I shall enjoy some well-deserved partying at Duckon, with NE Indiana friendsies Jenny and Sean. Hooray!

A verbatim quote from an actual resume submitted for a sales position:

"I am ready, and available, to begin consulting for companies large, medium and small. I know how to squeeze the most juice out of the lemon, all I need to know now is who has a pile of lemon they need to convert to juice?"

WTF?