Ok, so my roommates and I have decided that this summer we are going to make our lives as closely resemble a sitcom as we can. You may think it's an easy task, but my feeling is, it will be a bit of a challenge. The following is a list of the essential ingredients we have planned to make a successful sitcom:

-A Non-traditional Pet
We were thinking a pig or an elephant or maybe an alligator. We may just dress Zanmi up, if need be.

-A move
...where something goes terribly wrong at the last second and we can't get the place we want so maybe we have to temporarily live in some strange location. (wait...I think James and I already did this one). Oh...and some piece of furniture needs to get stuck in the stairwell.

-A cooky neighbor
Hmmm...We'll have to keep that in mind when looking for a new apt.

-An easily accessible window
For our above mentioned neighbor to climb in...because, of course, he/she will have issues with using the front door.

-A favorite hang out
You know...some place where everybody knows your name...or at least has coffee

-Speech lessons
To sharpen our fast-talking skills so we can pack in as many witty comments as possible...and, of course, cultural references too.

-Summer Boyfriends
I think James has decided to opt out of this one, in light of his straightness and all (whatever...debbie downer). Sara and I, however, have a definite plan in place....We have to date someone all summer even if we don't like him (in fact that will prob. make it all the funnier). I really would like someone with an "S" name...like Sam or Steve, so I can call him a name like "Summer Sam". I'm a fan of the alliteration. Ohh..maybe we could date the same guy. That certainly would create a hairy situation.

-Crazy Boss/Co-worker
I think I lost my chance with that. James and Sara will have to pick up the slack there. I think James will get that one.

-At least one vague job
So when people ask any one of us what the other(s) do for a living...we'll have to stammer and make up something. I think James and I can check that one off our list.

-A Special Vacation Episode
Done! We're going to Philly in June! I envision a montage here...maybe with the Liberty Bell and the "Rocky" stairs....and a moment at a Philly Cheese-steak cart where Sara spills on herself and James and I do the "oh well" chuckle.

-Adorable Twins...with lisps
I call "not in charge" of that one!

-An unexpected touching moment
Probably involving drug or alchohol abuse...or Chronic Halatosis.

-A Visiting Relative
Who is a little too crazy for the rest of the roomies. I'm banking on my family for this one.

-Cameo Appearance
Sara would like it to be Fergie. Me...I'm hoping for Mr. T or Joey Lawrence.

-A laugh track and applause sign
Do I really need to elaborate??? C'mon!

-A Theme Song and a name
We're stumped on these...Ideas anyone?

It seems like everyone around me is having kids lately. And one thing I've noticed, with all these ridiculously fertile friends of mine, is that the same topics always seem to come up. You know the ones?...what will the sex of the baby be?...who will the baby look like?...will the baby be healthy?...will the baby cry a lot?...Will the baby love me? yada, yada, yada...All valid questions, of course, but...in my opinion, not the most important one. No...I think one of the most important questions is...what are you going to name the baby? This... scares me. I mean talk about a huge responsibility! A name says a lot. I guess it's not so much coming up with a name that scares me, it's sticking with that name...for the rest of the kid's life...that just makes me uneasy. I'm the kind of person who gets bored of things easily. If I listen to the same song too much or eat the same food all the time or even wear the same shoes long enough....I get really burned out on it. So, what's to say the same thing won't happen with my kids' names? When I was little, I wanted to have 3 kids: 2 boys and a girl and I wanted to name them Snow, Moe, and Bill. The logic being that when they were outside playing and I wanted to call them in for supper, I would just yell, "Snowmobile" and they would all come running in, nudging each other and chuckling at how hilarious their mother was (yea...I'm not convinced my mom didn't drink while pregnant with me). But anyway...the point is...can you imagine if I'd had kids at the age of say...10?! I mean besides the fact that it would have been, well...just plain weird and pretty much impossible, it would also have been a great source of embarrassment later on down the road. And maybe even pain...or death...you know, if my kids decided to revolt against me or something. I guess what it comes down to is that I'm just not ready to have kids yet. I've decided to wait until it's the norm to change your kids name with with every birthday. That...I can live with.

So...This is probably terrible blogging etiquette (if such a thing exists) but...whatever. Not only did I steal this idea from Amy's blog, but I pretty much just copied and pasted my response to her blog of the same name and posted it as my own. Technically I did write it. I guess I'm just not certain what is and is not ethical in the blogging world. I am pretty green to this, you know. So...for those of you who read Amy's blog. Sorry...nothing new here. But, for those of you who don't read Amy's blog...You should be. It's hilarious!

Anyway...these are my top 9 (I'm a fan of odd numbers) things that freak me out...

1) As most people who know me will confirm...vomit. And it's not just a dislike. oh no! The sight, smell, sound, etc. of it literally produces panic-attack-like results.

2) Greenhouses (ya know, the kind with plants--not to be confused with houses, which are green. They don't scare me).

3) Walking down escalators that are NOT turned on. Seriously, it's like having vertigo...probably...I've never actually had vertigo...but one can imagine.

4) Riding escalators that ARE turned on. They are quite possibly the most angst-causing devices . Anyone who says differently...well, I just don't buy it.

5) Sort of like Amy's name thing, mine is "telling my most embarrassing moment" Not so much because my most embarrassing moment is sooo embarrassing...but because I can't ever think of my most embarrassing moment on the spot. And that in itself is embarrassing. I ussually answer that question by saying, "A tie between right now, and every other time I've had to answer this question!"

6) Large birds...out of their cages. I once had one chase me around and try to climb up on my shoulder. I thought I might have a heart attack.

7) Small birds...out of their cages. Mainly Pigeons. Those beadie red eyes are unbelievably creepy. I used to have this balcony attached to my room and all these pigeons would land on it and wake me up in the morning, so I started bringing pennies to bed with me to throw at them. It seemed to work.

8) Amusement (if you can really call it that) Park rides, or any other rides that make your stomach drop. **See no.1 for explanation.

9) Under-pressure math. I can't add one plus one when the heat is on. It's like my brain completely reverts back to infancy. It's so embarrassing. Anyone who's ever worked as a cashier and after they ring someone up, the person changes their mind and gives you extra change, knows exactly what I'm talking about.

What are yours? (I even stole this part from Amy...but I'm not sure why since she's probably one of the only people who reads these and I already know hers.)

Right now my hands are all scratched up and scabbed up from my cat attacking me. Actually, it's really pretty bad. I realize it looks totally "unprofessional" and probably won't do a thing to get me a date, but well...I just can't help it. I know...I know... I've heard it all before. I shouldn't let her bite. I should tell her "NO", spray her with some water, give her a smack, probably rub her nose in...something. All those things you do to train your pet. I grew up around animals, I know how it is. But seriously, the way she looks just before she is about to attack is quite possibly the most adorable thing ever. All she has to do is stare up at me with those big eyes and her tiny paws and shake her little butt (I'm a sucker for the butt shake) and all rational behavior goes out the window and I just let her have her way. There's blood and flesh flying everywhere and it hurts...oh, it hurts like hell! but boy is it cute.
Here are some sample pictures...




I don't know...somehow it comes across as much more adorable in person.

So...my friend Amy has motivated, nay...inspired me to start this "blog" thing. Probably because I'm old as dirt...I don't know too much about this new-fangled "blogging". Truth be told, I'm a tad bit slow in the technology arena in general. I just started "texting" as the kids are calling it these days and well...I suck at it. It takes me like 2 hours to send a message, not to mention the fact that I run into something about every 2 feet while walking (this may explain why it takes so long). Then there's IM. Not that I have too many people IMing me, but I swear that if I ever have to IM more than... say 2 people at one time, well...I'm certain something indescribable will happen. Also, I feel like I haven't quite grasped how to translate some of the lingo. For example...hahaha --I guess this means what I said was amusing, and maybe it's just the way I'm reading it, but it sure seems like mockery to me. lol--that's another one. I used to really like this one, because who doesn't love to know someone was laughing "out loud" at their joke? But then one day, I was IMing someone in the same room (I'll get to that next) and they wrote "lol"...only they didn't really laugh out loud. And maybe I just couldn't hear it, but I mean, c'mon...when one of the words is "loud", I'd better be able to hear it! Yea, so...IMing in the same room as someone...is so bizzarre to me. I'm getting used to it. We do it at work. And I guess I can undertsand it there. I guess yelling across the room at my co-worker isn't exactly condusive to a peaceful work environment. But, I had this one person who I worked with who seriously sat like 3 feet away from me, and she would IM me. It was so weird! And they would be messages like, "so, how was your weekend?". I mean, seriously? Are you kidding me?" I'm right here. Then it got to where I would IM her and then turn around to see if the little orange lite was still lit up or if she was actually responding to me. Most of the time I would just read her response on her computer screen as she was writing it.
Anyway...all that to say I don't know how I feel about this whole "blogging" thing. I don't know if I'm ready. I do promise to never write as ridiculously much as I just did.