Tuesday, July 31, 2001


I want to move to England sometimes. Well, alright.. take an extended visit.. for a year perhaps. Just to get the flavour, accent and some additional traveling. When you're that close to the Continent, you have to take a sidetrip.

I hate P.M.S. But it's not pre- any more.. what would be the acronym for "during" be? Hm? D.M.S.? That almost sounds like one of those "new-fangled" metal/rap bands (aka knock-offs of Korn). I woke up at 4am this morning with horrible cramps. Fortunately I had some medicine available for just this kind of situation. All I can tell ya' is being a woman really does suck sometimes. If there is such a thing as reincarnation.. I think next time I should come back as a guy. Just a thought for any possible beings listening that have any upper hand in that decision, ok? Cool.

Off to a freakin' long day of work. Cheerio!

Monday, July 30, 2001

"And you're listening to Mega-Rock!"

Matt and I took a drive down to Pennsylvania yesterday. I noticed that Jenny and her boyfriend Aaron also took a drive there too.. but for different reasons. We just needed to get out of town for a few hours. I'm not all that familiar with PA. I've been to Philadelphia, Lancaster, Erie, Warren, Bradford and parts of Amish country before, but most of it was so long ago that I really don't remember much. I do remember endless rows of "Amish" stuff that was ultra-commercialized around the Lancaster area. Blar.

Anywho, we drove into Warren and got a map of PA since I handily left my AAA map at home. Matt has been around a good chunk of Western PA after living in Corry for a little bit, so we decided to head directly south. We went by this brick house that I initially thought was cool but couldn't figure out what the guy in army fatigues hanging out on the front porch was all about. Add several American flags to the picture too. Matt took a look and said, "Oh, skinheads." That reminded me that Warren did have a Ku Klux Klan branch at one time (Note: that link takes you to an Anti-Klan page.. I'm not one to propagate hate.) Soon after going by this house we ended up on Route 666. I'm not kidding! Matt took a picture of the sign, so maybe one day when he finishes that roll of film and develops it we can scan it into my computer and upload it here. Then again.. maybe not.

The drive was really cool since Route 666 takes you through the Allegheny National Forest (lots of green hills/mountains!). We stopped at this little shop area. I think it was called Tall Oaks. I bought a Christmas ornament and some apple chips. Matt bought a 2002 Wolf Calendar. It was a really cute area. The shops were divided into themes (Christmas, Woodlands, Spirit of the Woods, Sweethouse, and a store with mostly candles in it) and connected by trails in this wooded area. Really calm and beautiful.

As we drove on, we saw an advertisement on the side of a barn that I should have taken a picture of: "Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco! The Best!" What a piece of Americana! It's amazing how the countryside really does look like old paintings sometimes. The approach to one town was perfect. A rolling pasture of cows before a large farmhouse and barn, a hill that had a huge old Catholic Church/School/Cemetery at the top. A bit spooky looking actually. The end of the line was Brooksville, PA. This is apparently the County Seat for Jefferson County. We ate at Gilbert's Restaurant. This is some sort of family diner place that was a step up from the usual greasy spoon. The cool thing was that I was able to get Cream Soda there. That's hard to find even in the grocery stores! Now, I must say that Brooksville is quite the happenin' place. It has several gas stations, restaurants and motels. I suppose it helps that it's right by I-80. Yeah, that's how far south we were from Jamestown (78 miles). But that was the end of the trip. We drove back, listening to Mega-Rock 105.5 FM, and collapsed at home.

It's amazing how big Jamestown seems after driving through cow country for awhile. I can't say it's due to the wide open spaces in Pennsylvania since the landscape is broken up by so many hills and forests, but that's what it is essentially.

Sunday, July 29, 2001

My calves hurt. Urg. But they hurt for a good cause. I spent most of yesterday standing in sandels that don't really give good support. So it's my own fault. But it was for good reason!! I could have worn heels instead, but I was smarter than that.

To explain: my boss had his fundraiser last night that featured our glorious U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. I've seen her several times (pre-First Lady, as First Lady (twice), and as U.S. Senate candidate twice) and have interviewed her twice (still have the recordings of that). So I guess you could say I was excited to see her but it wasn't falling out of my shoes excitement. The evening involved running around a lot, setting up/striking the set, making sure people were where they were supposed to be, getting more film for my boyfriend-boy wonder so he could take pictures of Mrs. Clinton with various donators, dealing with the media and schmoozing when I had a chance. Tons of fun. Unfortunately, I was so concerned with making sure things were going well that when I had my chance to have my picture taken with Mrs. Clinton, I'm afraid I may be smiling, but in a nobody's home way. Oh well.. the proof will be in the developing.

My "Mysterious Poster Bunny" mug arrived yesterday. It's sitting next to my monitor at the moment.. gazing blankly at me. I'm not sure if I'll use it or just let it sit mysteriously on my desk at work. The latest issue of Smithsonian magazine also arrived. I LOVE that magazine. It's my favourite with National Geographic as a close second. Does this make me a geek? I call it the effects being the child of my parents. Those two magazines were almost ever present in our household starting in the late 1980s early 1990s. I don't remember. But my parents were ever vigilent in taking me to historic places, touring historic houses/villages, going to countless museums (history, art, natural history, and others), places of natural wonder and countless cities. My mom took me weekly to the town library and a couple times a year to hear the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra or to see the ballet. I had a cultured up-bringing you could say. Something I'm tremendously thankful for.

*looks out window* Well, Matt and I were going to venture up to the Chautauqua County Fair today, but it looks like rain down here and the Weather Channel showed showers in Dunkirk. Well, sometimes it's worth the risk *grins*

Friday, July 27, 2001


Does anybody else find it bizarre that we can have blistering hot days one part of the week and then really cool-must-wear-a-jacket weather the other half? Oh wait *smacks self upside head* I live in Western New York.. what was I thinking??

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is fairly normal. I can remember going to camp (Girl Scout or music) and having it get real cool about mid-way through the week and scrambling to find any particle of clothing that might keep me warm. It's the mornings that'll kill ya'. *heh* Although I do like being able to sleep well at night.

It's Friday, It's Friday, It's Friday *sings* That doesn't really mean anything since I do have work to do this weekend, but it's the principle that I won't have to drive to Mayville tomorrow morning or Sunday. If I lived in Rochester still I wouldn't bitch about a 30 minute commute, but something about having to do it out here bugs me. At least it's pretty!!

'K.. gotta go to work. Say, if you read me and you have a blog.. let me know (email in the left columns). I'll go read you and link you *grins* Aw gee, aren't I nice? *laughs* K.

Thursday, July 26, 2001

"And you're just so busy.. busybusy.. busybusy... ewwww.. oohhh.."

I'm on this song-quoting/reminicing kick lately. I sat this evening and started going through my entire Morrissey collection, not including The Smiths years. There's something fun about singing along with "The Moz" when no one else is around. He's sorta funny with all his "yodeling" that he does. Well, some people would call it moans of pain.. or something *grins* Plus, the memories I have now are more recent and not of high school.

I'm addicted to blogs. I now have *counts on fingers* at least 5 blogs I check daily (some more than once). I'll have to list all of them to the left soon so you can share the obsession.

My S.O. is bugging me to finish this entry so he can check his email and log onto one of his RPG. He won't say that out loud but I know that's what he's going to do! I thought having two phone lines in the house would help, but we really need both phone lines and a cable modem. Too bad Roadrunner hasn't been introduced by Time Warner in this area yet. Blar. Until later...


Wednesday, July 25, 2001

"Tooooodddddddd... why you punish me????"

That would be Heidi and my version of "Time" by Hootie & The Blowfish. It's what we interpreted the song as soon after I found out this guy I was dating was apparently dating 4 other girls and lied to me about it. It wasn't a serious relationship but I was still irritated by the fact he lied to me. So this Hootie song comes on the radio (probably the former WMAX) and Heidi and I both have that realization that the words can be twisted slightly. *heh* I heard this song as I pulled out of the Wal-Mart parking lot tonight. What a splash from the past. It actually made me smile.

I have a cool job. Really. Tonight I got to go to the annual American Red Cross dinner for the local chapter. I don't cook, so it was nice to have someone else cook for me and I didn't have to pay a cent (other than my time and attention). This weekend I have to help set up for a fundraiser for my boss. Senator Hillary Clinton is coming to town for this one. It will be the first time I see her since I stopped being a reporter.

I had a nice visit with my parents today. They stopped for lunch. It was strange seeing them at my workplace. Mostly because not many of my friends or family has come down to Chautauqua to visit. Mostly for convenience reasons, but I still pout about it. My mom brought me two pillows she made me for our couch. They're really cool! My mom rocks! She also brought me back cinnamon pastries from Dick's Bakery in Berea, OH. I love Dicks! *heh* That comes from a girl (Linda) that was at B-W with me. Apparently she was raving about Dick's bakery goods in the Conservatory one morning and loudly announced "I love Dick's!" as a professor walked by. Out of context it just sounds wrong. Well, they do have good pastries. I fondly remember going there in between classes to get hot cocoa or coffee and one of their fattening, sweet pastries.\

But the visit was great. I don't know when I'll get to see mom and dad next, so I'm glad they made a detour in their trip.

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Damnit.. missed the radar for my local forecast on the Weather Channel again!
You Let Me Change Lanes...

I song I had totally forgot about has reared its head in a Mercedes-Benz commercial. Geggy Tah's "Whoever You Are" was one of my favourite songs my sophomore year in college. I even saw them in concert at the War Memorial in Rochester (before it became the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Arena). They opened for Rusted Root. That was one of the best concerts I've ever been too. Mostly because I had just come off a very bad break up and really needed to just have fun and break loose. A couple weeks later I met the guy I thought I was going to marry. We're just great friends now *grins* It's funny how life takes different turns.

The heat is still with us here in Chautauqua County. We're supposed to get some thunderstorms tonight, which will make things a lot better. I just was not prepared for the heat. On another happy note, my parents will be swinging by Mayville tomorrow afternoon to have lunch with me on their way back from Cleveland. It's the first time they've been in Cleveland since I transferred from B-W to Buffalo State. I think I'm going to take them to this family-owned diner in Dewittville. It's one of those places that has a husband and wife name (like "George and Marsha's Diner"). Cute, eh?

Incidentally, I got the blog address for the woman who had her blog mentioned in USA Weekend (and is friends with one of my friends). Go check it out at l+j+c=funny girl. I actually ordered one of the "Mysterious Bunny Poster" mugs. It was too cute for words, plus it has a Rochester connection, AND the proceeds go to a good cause. I plan to use this mug as often as possible at work. Just to make people wonder.

Monday, July 23, 2001

Simply put.. it's hot.. too damn hot.

The weather forecast actually said it was going to be "sultry" tonight. That's not counting today. Which is supposed to get near 90-degrees. Figure in the humidity and that's one awful heat index. Naturally, today I spend most of the day outside tending to press conferences and sitting in the County Government tent for the County Fair. I pray I don't melt, although I could stand to lose a few *winks*

I need to be off to the first press event at the airport. I have an arm's length list of things to go over with my boss who has been gone seemingly forever. And a stop up to Mayville on the way to Dunkirk (I can't believe I forgot to make copies of the press release for the umpteenth press conference today!!) Gr. Ok, all is good.

Check ya' later

Saturday, July 21, 2001


Rising Steam of Hope...

Kaldi's Coffeehouse is now open on Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm until 1am. I'm still trying to figure out this wonderous gift that has graced my life! Ok, that may be exagerating it a bit, but I can't tell you what a bit of heaven it was to be able to sit at a table out on the sidewalk with a cup of coffee in the middle of Jamestown at 10pm at night. That's almost unheard of unless there's a festival going on (like Lucy Fest.

Speaking of... there was actually a festival going on today. Just for the day though. Our annual Celebration of Culture. It was pretty cool. I started having flashbacks or nice remembrances of the Folk Festival that used to throw down at the Rochester Science Center & Planetarium. My mom danced in it with the Middle Eastern Dance group she belonged to (and taught). Yup, my mom.. the 100% Polish lady did belly dancing up on this huge stage for all of Rochester to see. It was quite fun! And the funny thing is this.. belly dancing (or Middle Eastern Dance as I prefer to call it) has made a resurgence in Rochester. Go figure. Too bad I live in Jamestown where life is about 10 years behind the present.

*grins* Do you notice that I alternate between liking living here and bashing it? It's not totally intentional but it does reflect my mixed emotions about living here. I like a lot of things but miss home. Who doesn't? Well, I'll try to remain positive, but doing that would make me disintegrate into a drivel of bullshit. And that wouldn't be very pleasant.

I must make one final comment on the Celebration of Culture. Where else in this state or Western New York at least can you find a cow milking contest in an urban setting (and Jamestown is slightly urban)? Hm??? For the record, Mayor Sam Teresi was beat out by County Sheriff Captain David Krieg by quite a bit. But Captain Krieg got his due when his cow decided it was time for a piss break just after he finished his end of the milking contest. So cheers to life in the Southern Tier!

Friday, July 20, 2001

The week is about over.

I've already worked a full week this week. It's something I'm kind of proud of, but at the same time it had me feeling drained and acting bitchy up until yesterday. That's life.

I'm not at work yet. The secretaries don't really expect me this morning. I do have to get in before noon (I feel) since I have a media advisory to fax out, talking points to write for my boss for Monday's press event, a letter to write to the 8 counties in Western New York for NYSAC, and I have to finish re-organizing my boss' office. It's the organizing that has drove me absolutely batty. I mean, seriously, how many people that read this honestly like organizing someone else's shit? I do admit that there's some satisfaction in seeing that I can make a desk appear from under the mysterious piles of paper. Now I just worry that I need to have more things filed. Well, that's for later today.

Oh, check this out. I got my letter in the mail from President Bush yesterday informing me that I'm one of the lucky recipients of money as part of the $1 trillion tax cut. If that link doesn't work.. would it surprise you? *heh* Matt also got his letter (same amount). We think we're going to put it toward a washer and dryer. That may be optimistic. I also thought I could put it toward my student loans. Fun, wow. It must be a curse that you get responsible with age. Well, I still have a couple more weeks to dream of how I'm going to blow it all on cds and books (check won't arrive until my friend, Matt B's, birthday.. September 3rd).

My cuppa tea is gone and so am I.

Wednesday, July 18, 2001

Argh.

I was so faithful to writing on this. Damn, Damn, Damn!

I was afraid this would happen come political season. Well, that has nothing to do with it actually. Just a basketfull of work to put it nicely.

The trip to Rochester was nice. I didn't get to see a chunk of friends I was hoping to see, but everything was fine otherwise. It was Cornhill Arts Festival weekend.. and a record year for crowds I guess. My parents, Matt and I took in the sites. I saw too many high-priced pieces of furniture I would LOVE to have. Of course I have no place to put anything, so why cry about it?

I was actually excited about seeing the construction on the new Stutson Street bridge. Ok, ok.. so it won't be called the Stutson St. bridge.. it will be the O'Rorke Bridge. I have hopes that this will be a smashing replacement based on all the animated stuff depicting what it will look like. I'm still disappointed that they had to tear down the old Marina Dodge.. which as a car lot isn't exciting, but as an old art deco piece of architecture was.

Matt and I drank lots of fluids. That doesn't sound right, but I don't think we consumed a lot of caffiene. We did meet up with our friends Matt B., Diane and Sean at Moonbeans. This is a pretty cool place, although they seemed to have run out of everything I wanted to order (Italian Soda, fruit smoothies, flavored iced teas..). It was that evening that I found out about a blog out of Rochester that has gotten nationwide attention.. in an in-direct way. I don't have the link, otherwise I would supply it. Blame Matt B *grins* There was also some bizarre appearance of bunnies around Rochester. If anyone knows more about this, please email me links/pictures/stories etc. Thanks.

The other part of that evening involved me reliving my coffee past and going to Java's (this blog's namesake). I sat and looked around at the paintings and people for a bit, listening to Tom Petty on the soundsystem.. trying to remember if Tom Petty was EVER played in there before. I don't think so.. at least not in my prescence (does that sound pretentious? I hope not).

Oh geez. I didn't mention going out with our friends Mike and Londa and the Summerville Grille, a little restaurant/bar, Friday night. That was nice too. Cheap but good drinks. If you're ever in the neighborhood.. I believe a tall Gin and Tonic only cost me $1.25. You can't beat that!

Sunday, we spent time with my Mom at Parkleigh where I bought these travel-like things of hair care. They also have them for bath, body, nails and whatnot. Nice pampering things that are easy to take on trips. After that we went to JoAnn Etc to pick out material for two new pillows for our apartment. My mom is such a fabulous sewer! I can't believe that half her talents haven't rubbed off on me. Oh well.

So the trip was awfully nice. I was happy to see my parents and few friends that were around. The only problem is that now I'm TIRED.

I must mention that I went to a little "talk" at the Center for Spirituality and Creativity here in Jamestown last night. WBFO's Jennifer Gold was the speaker and instigator of ideas so to say. We talked about Jamestown and what we could do as women and citizens to make it a nicer place and whatnot. A lot of onus was placed on me to get back on the air doing commentaries about how wonderful our area is or commentaries in general. Naturally, I balked a little at that. Not that it isn't a great idea since I already have the training and skill for it. It's more of all the stuff I'm doing I suppose. I barely have time for my S.O., not to mention writing commentaries and recording them for airspace. I think I will keep my opinions to this blog thank-you very much.

Time to get back at the grind!

Sunday, July 08, 2001

How does time get away??

Last week turned into a unbelievably busy mess that looks to continue through the rest of this month. I'm still boggled by that. Fortunatly, a trip to Rochester is in the works for this coming weekend. I'm beginning to think I need a vacation with all this looking forward to weekends and whatnot!

Went to a nice party Friday night. Our friend Chuck had it at his parent's house (where he's staying until November). It was a bit cool outside, but comfortable. Probably the nicest thing was sitting on the patio/porch in the backyard. Drinking red wine. Eating shishkabobs, homemade salsa and hummus. Oh yeah, and Matt will tell you I was flirting with a guy from Toronto, but since he was talking to him just as much it kind of makes you wonder, eh? Kidding. It was terribly relaxing. So much so that I had to go home fairly early because I couldn't keep my eyes open. Unfortunatly, I missed being proclaimed a semi-celebrity by a semi-lucid partier. Never thought my two years doing radio news in the area would lead to this. *laughs* It's hard to go anywhere without seeing someone you know though.

But this trip to Rochester has me buzzing about. It's the weekend of the Cornhill Arts Festival. I've tried to make it there just about every summer since high school (I believe). I'm also hoping to see one of my friends from high school. We were in homeroom every year since 7th grade and before that we were partners in 5th grade science. It's funny the things that stick. But we recently re-found each other and have been chatting on-line and emailing. Isn't it funny that 7 or 8 years ago I wouldn't have even thought of the Internet as a way to re-connect with old friends. Hm.

Tuesday, July 03, 2001

*shakes off depressing mood*

I took a short road trip this past Sunday with Matt. I was in a mood to get out of the house and told him I was taking off. He said "Where you going?" I replied "East."

We drove, listening to Beck's "Mutations" and stopped in Salamanca at an overlook in the Allegany State Park. Mist clouds were hovering around the hills. The weather had turned sharply colder that afternoon from the morning. I don't think it was even 70-degrees (had been in the high 80's the day before). We drove on to Olean in search of food. It's so sad to see how these cities in Western New York just seem to be closing down. We continued up a hill past some remote towns. Stopped at another overlook for a Kodak moment and drove on. We ended up eating at a Perkins in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The place is almost a literal ghost town minus the huge Super K-Mart and Food Barn. It made me feel lonely.

We drove back, listening to Counting Crows' "This Desert Life," and watching the sun begin to break out from behind autumn-like clouds. The sky was unbearably blue underneath. I felt like I was in a Sunday in the middle of September, already missing the hot days of summer. It doesn't look like it's going to warm up much this week. We joke that if you don't like the weather in WNY to wait 15 minutes and it'll change. Well, we're stuck right now in the same grey pattern that seemed to haunt us all winter long.

Matt laughed and said the only reason we took that road trip was to give me something to write about in this blog. *grins* Ok, so it was somewhat true, but at the same time.. I really needed to be out amongst the ever-flowing hills of Cattaraugus County. They're just so much bigger and greener there.
There are moments at work where I get these ideas the opposite of dellusional granduer. I call them the insecure granduers. I doubt there's such a thing. I just needed to make up a phrase for convenience sake.

See. This is how it goes. I come into work early to get a leg-up on a list of projects that fell into my lap the day before. I earnestly begin working away. Filing, typing, deciphering etc. Then co-workers begin trickling in at their appointed times. All is still well. I feel I'm making modest progress. Then the main co-worker shows up. Annoyingly picks apart an advisory I've written because he thinks the font needs to be much larger. Contradicts facts I know to be true. Questions some things I've done and then snarls off to his office. To get a feel for him.. he treats everything I say with a large degree of impatience, as if I'm moving too slowly and has no interest in what I have to say.. only what he wants to order me to do. I thought it was just me, but other people in the building have expressed amusement with his ways. So I'm not buggy.

Then my boss comes in. I generally get the feeling I'm on the right track, but sometimes I'm just lost with how I'm really doing. Being new at a job will do that. Naturally, the person before me did an awesome job. He's a friend actually and is back in town to help out with things. I must admit a feeling of being in the way. What questions are stupid? What should I instinctively know? It's a difficult scene to lay out. But all in all I just feel plain insecure about what I'm doing. Like I'm not living up to the dreams and hopes of everyone.

So sorry to lay out my troubles like this. I'd rather write casual, light-hearted pieces like the ones before but, damnit, sometimes you just have to be a miserable bastard *grins*

Sunday, July 01, 2001

I'm trying to listen to WBER on-line, but the link doesn't seem to be working. That happens sometimes. I haven't figured out if it's just due to everyone listening to it and taking up all the "spots" or if the link is just screwed. This is what Sunday mornings are for, aimless thinking.

The thunderstorms I mentioned yesterday have moved on. It was so dark in my "dining room"/computer/tv room that I almost had to turn on the lights. But why waste energy if you don't have to?

Amazing! The sun is shining!

Well, on my list of stuff to do or like to do this weekend. The only thing that's on its way to being completed is reading one of my library books. I'm more than half-way through it.. My Little Blue Dress by Bruno Maddox.

It's nice to be in July. I'm still at the "youngish" state where I feel like I can really shake off the shackles of being in school. Of course it's only been six years since high school and two years since college. July is just that time of freedom. I must admit that most of my "summer romances" seemed to take shape during this month. And naturally, most of them fell off in August or by mid-September. You would think I'd learn right? Guess I wouldn't be human if I did!

Email me.

Cutting to the Scene with the Pixie

Ten years ago, I decided to do one of the most drastic things I had ever done to my hair. I went from a long style (below collarbone) to a p...