♪ "Weather the Weather" ♪

Not only am I fan of The Postmarks song "Weather the Weather," I also am a fan of the weather.

So much so that I've actually considered "going back to school" to become a meteorologist.

This week at BGSU's annual Learning Fair hosted by the Study Skills Center, I was beyond ecstatic to meet the one & only "Blizzard" Bill Spencer, Toledo's fabulous local meteorologist.

Blizzard Bill talked with first-year students about his job experiences and shared with them the benefits of "not giving up, no matter what." I was kinda jealous of the way the students were memorized by him. If only I had that kind of magic in the classroom...However, my spouse has been been sucked up into a tornado and I've been the only person in a tv station during a tornado.

As you can see, tornadoes played a big part in his presentation.

Here are some other highlights I jotted down:

On moving from ABC from NBC: "They're into theme parks, not strip malls."

Why Toledo: "Because Toledo is where the weather action is."

On his first wife: "A tornado sucked my first wife into its funnel. After that our relationship was never the same."

On chasing tornadoes: "Being on scene 30 seconds after a tornado is the one memory that stays with me. Seeing people's lives spread all around the neighborhood and them crying, devastated by their losses, motivates me to be the best weatherman I can be."

His talk was the highlight of my week, especially because the weather has been so boring here: sunny and 70s every day.

I could use a good storm.

Some local weather drama would be nice.

So Close

My pick to win since the Top 24 was David A.

So close.

David Cook earned it. Seriously, every week he just got better and better. And I really like his music style. I just hope that in winning he can put out an album he wants to do, not some over-produced crap that doesn't showcase his talent.

Sometimes it's better to lose.

Sometimes.

~

It occurred to me today that I've been blogging over a year now. May 1st was the official anniversary.

At this point the only birthday I absolutely remember is my own and the only anniversary I remember is our wedding. That sounds greedy...

Anyways, with its ups and downs, I've realized blogging has actually kept me sane and introduced to an overall supportive community of "writers." Good times.

~

One last thing: After our meal at Revolver Restaurant in Findlay, OH this past weekend all other food just tastes OK.

Ugh.

So FD & I have agreed to dine out even less and save up for a trip to Revolver every month.

Seriously, if we can control ourselves from lushing it up there, it's not that expensive--no more than a couple of pizzas, mexican meals, take-out burritos, and a "nice" meal out combined--and it's WAY MORE worthwhile. Plus, having a goal like eating at Revolver every month will help me see the food we have and use it more creatively. I get lazy sometimes and don't "feel" like eating what's in the fridge. Revolver will only make me hold out longer and see that eating eggs twice in one day is very OK.

Obsessed Yet Again

If you're on Twitter, you might have seen this RAD contest.

But if you're not, let me explain.

Patrick Sullivan Jr. won a VanHalen towel from a Twitter Zappos contest, and with the towel the very kind Tony included an a surprise, a $100 Zappos gift card.

Well, now the very kind Patrick Sullivan Jr. is paying it forward. He's giving the $100 Zappos gift card to the lucky Twitterer who tweet the best 6 word story.

Upon logging into Twitter this morning, my first thought was: "$100 in Zappos! Campers, darlings, here I come."

But now the contest has been become muchmuch more; it's become an obsession.

As some of you may know, I've been writing one to two line poems for quite some time. As it is, poetry is compressed language, and I'm in search of even-more compressed language that tells a story. The thing is I forgot about this quest over the past nine months b/c of, well, honestly, my job. But now that I'm home for summer I have all the time in the world, as they say.

And I have a sweet-ass Twitter contest to motivate me. Or now to help me realize my goal once again.

Though I want to win so I can get a new pair of Campers (or Vans...) b/c shoes mean the world to me (cliche yet again), I'm thinking I might not. My tweets are little out there.

But why don't you decide for yourself? Hell, which would you pick to win? We'll make our own contest...Well, that doesn't make sense, but I'll send some Hello Kitty stickers to the best (that's subjective) comments regarding this blog post.

My 6 word stories:

She outgrew her wood baby coffin.

He saw only the television reflection.

Loss, a you-never-know away.

Her desire is the snow's reflection.

I welcomed a fistful of mums.

This world full of opened scissors.

She left before the paint dried.

Poolside her toes shattered the water.

Her heavy hand frozen in reach.

My house: it's only one story.

Elated she frosted the chocolate cake.

The dog snores as I vacillate.

Fragile dishes clink in the sink.

The crack in the china is unrepairable.

Body: a shelf lined with bowls.

My dreams are hollow button holes.

Click of keyboard, but no words.

Her voice was garbled with longing.

The boy transferred to another school.

I know this story too well.

Don't make yourself sick over fish.

My palm around the bath’s knob—

My voice lost in a vacuum.

The beauty of it isn't mine.

~

Told you I was obsessed. That's 20 so far...

Most of the "stories" are from some of my poems. Others were on the spot.

I'm still thinking of some and probably will add a few to my list here...I have until midnight. How am I going to sleep tonight?!

OMG, 8:20 and I'm babbling about 6 word stories. American Idol is on. WTF?!

I am obsessed.

Emotional Rollercoaster

I've been experiencing this weird inner-debate regarding blogs.

I think sometimes I'm too honest, too raw, too revealing and I think, "Maybe it's time to just write about tv shows or current events or about poetics."

Then I think, "God, that sounds boring and useless..."

With having a public blog, one MUST realize that assholes read one's life events and make fun of them. But I know these assholes do this probably b/c they don't have the guts or creativity to honestly write about their true human experience.

I'm just telling it like it is...

And yesterday held yet another embarrassing experience I feel compelled to blog about. Because I honestly don't care about said assholes and why should I write about boring useless crap anyone can find anywhere else on the web?!

Yesterday I bawled in front of our dog trainer after class.

It was the first time I felt like one of my students, totally. I felt like one of the students who's fabulous but f'ed one little thing on the Works Cited page or didn't develop one small idea more fully and came to office hours to figure out how to do better but ended up crying for no explainable reason and then who got mad at herself for crying and acting "stupid."

Yep, that was me yesterday.

Yesterday, I first almost lost it at the vet. BooBoo is yet again on meds for his crazy-sensitive tummy. He can't have any motivator food besides his dog food, Nutro and Paul Newman's treats, carrots, and green beans. Knowing we had puppy class that night I sunk; with steak and cheese and BooBoo will do anything with no fear and focus on me totally. It was the first day of obstacle course puppy class. F*#$!

I pulled it together to collect the best-112-class-ever's portfolios and give them tons of hugs.

But on the way home, I teared up, thinking about how badly I'm going to miss that class. I heart them dearly.

But I pulled it together again to chop up carrots and beans for BooBoo, get him in the car, drive him to Holland, and get his excited big butt into the puppy class building. I felt calm and assertive UNTIL he started pulling me everywhere. He needed to say "Hi!" to his fellow classmates and their owners. He needed to say "Hi!" to our trainer's new assistant. He needed to say "Hi!" to the toys. That crazy BooBoo.

But then when it was time to start working, he wouldn't do it. Well, he would when he wanted to. The whole time it was me trying to get him to focus on me, him trying to interrupt the other pups' training to play, me trying to again to get him to focus on me, him focusing for a second then leaping towards the toys. And it was back and forth like that for an hour. He did play REALLY well with the other dogs this time, but I just couldn't take him not responding to me. At home, he's by my side all the time; he's my little buddy. But at school, he's too cool for me.

All this reminded me of the HELL I put my parents through in high school. Oy! [eye roll]

After class, I was overcome by memories of being a teen, BooBoo's crazy behavior, BooBoo being sick again, and whatever else, and I just lost it.

The best is, though, this is what I said to our trainer when I started to sob: "I'm so frustrated! He's not like this at home. At all. Or when we go visit places. I don't get it. Being a teen is so hard nowadays. How do they do it? This week has been so hard. Today is so hard. end of the semester is here and I've been grading like mad. Do you understand source synthesis and MLA? Sometimes I feel like I don't either! I miss my students already. And what if Brooke leaves Idol tonight? Oh, and my allergies."

AND WHAT IF BROOKE LEAVES IDOL TONIGHT? WTF?

If I was our trainer, as a person, I would definitely think I was having a nervous breakdown.

But then again, as a teacher, I saw myself as one stressed-out kid who needs a break. A LONG summer break.

When we got home FD was worried b/c I was 45 minutes late, BooBoo acted as a freakshow host butt-tucking all around the house, and I was a crying mess. Still.

And I cried well through Brooke being safe on Idol. Clear up until I cried myself to sleep.

Really what jackass wants to admit this nutso-ness on the internet? No one in their right mind!

Or maybe, just maybe, someone who isn't afraid to share the true human experience.

In my case, maybe a little of both...

~

An after-thought posted on April 25:

I dearly love the blogs I do read and link to on my posts and props column. Said assholes are random peeps I'm paranoid about...I've pissed off many people in my 30 years...

American Idol: A Facebook Convo Between Me & Theresa Williams--Maybe Idol's Two Biggest Fans*

My Facebook status: Amanda McRz fears that Brooke from Idol is going home, and that makes me really sad...



Theresa: "Yes, I think Brooke is probably going home. It was a good show tonight though, wasn't it? I wasn't sure how it would work out with the show tunes, but they all did all right. I didn't think any of them had their "best" night, unless it was Syesha's best night. She quite surprised me. I thought Jason did better than Simon said he did, but it wasn't the best song he could have chosen. Yet there were moments in the song that were quite tender and lovely, nearly heartbreaking. I thought David Cook's performance a bit odd. Very soft until the end when he let his wonderfully gravelly voice take over. It was kind of pretty, but overall it didn't quite work for me."

Me: "I agree on all counts of Idol. I'm thinking that even though Syesha had her best performance, she still might go home in the next few weeks. She proved theater is her thing; America wants a pop star...I thought Jason did much better too than Simon said. I wish he would have put a Jack Johnson spin on this song, though, like David A did. I think then he would have totally kicked David A's ass! David A. put his pop ballad spin in it, and as sick I am of it, he's still my pick to win. America loves his bashfulness and strong voice. America needs more power pop ballads by males, apparently. David C...how I adore his rock stuff, but last night's performance was too much like a pedophile singing; it creeped me out. Totally. He's safe, though. Then there's my poor Brooke. She's been my personal fav since auditions. The one I've wanted to win. I love her voice and the style of her singing, but a do-over isn't cool, esp live. It'll be Brooke or Jason. But my pick is Brooke."

* Sorry my post isn't my usual rant, but the only ranting I have in me deals with grading...

I See the Light. Finally.

In about one week, all of you will be able to enjoy the wonderful blogging of yours truly BECAUSE I WILL BE ON SUMMER BREAK!

Right now, I'm grading my little heart out.

So much so these words don't really look like words any more...And the numbers that are grades just aren't adding up. For reals. I totally jacked up one of my classes and gave them all the wrong grades. Then I had to take back those grades and give them their real grades. How do you like that for Just Kidding?...

I'm a Class A Moron, just like my boy Jackie D...

Until next week, relish in this thought:

Kristy Lee Cook is GONE from American Idol and all is right with the world of reality tv again.

[sigh]

The Frustrated With & The Thankful For

I really like to appear happy-to-lucky on my blog. Which is why I haven't posted anything lately.

Then I realized it's stupid to only post "good things," as Martha says. And posting my frustrations helped me see what I am thankful for and to rethink my priorities. That's always a "good thing."

So here's me at one of my more honest internet moments. And believe me the internet could use more of those moments. (That's a whole other blog post about the internet as PR, etc. etc. More soon on that.)

Frustrated with:

1.) Students who obviously don't give a shit about their education. Why waste the money? Drop out of school if it's so f***ing easy or f***ing hard.

2.) Online Teaching. I love it. Don't get me wrong. But what I don't love is all this bullshit about how upcoming online classes (like the ones I created) "overuse" technology. Resistant students, teachers, dept. heads, deans and all those other people scared of new technologies because they don't understand any of them and aren't willing to use any themselves need to stop campaigning against them and get on board by taking an online class or teaching an online class. The future is next year and technology is part of it--online or f2f. Ask any 18 year old. Now go ask a 10 year old. Then a 5 year old. BOOYA!

3.) Kristy Lee Cook. Seriously, how long can her untalented ass hang by a thread? Ramielle is going home tonight. Ugh.

4.) Never having enough time.

5.) Myself. Seriously, I know I need to let go of these frustrations and control what I can by making more time, voting more for David A, David C, & Carlye so Kristy Lee goes home, holding development sessions in my program to show how new technologies work and what they are good for, and accepting the fact that some students don't care and never will so they earn the NP and become someone else's problem.

Thankful for:

1.) My husband

2.) My puppy

3.) My awesome students ( you know who you are!)

4.) My morning free to blog, go to the rec, and read something other than essays.

5.) The two HKs in my life: Hello Kitty and Hell's Kitchen. We know by now about my love for Hello Kitty. The other HK, namely Gordon Ramsey, always makes me feel better. Or least justified in being frustrated.

Props to Fox for the pic.

Quick About Things (A Sneek Peek of Sorts)

This past Friday Stokes and I went to The Beachland Ballroom and saw the ever-so-sweet Tim Easton play live.

Because I'm a wimp who was afraid to have her digital camera confiscated, I'm using a photo from imaphotog. Thanks, imaphotog @ Flickr!

Yeah, there were like 100 people there, and tons of crazies with their digital cameras standing right in front of the stage taking awesome pics. I just watched them from my seat, crying a little. We all know my pics would have been awesome. And that I could have gotten Tim Easton to take a photo with me that I could have made my profile pic on Facebook. C'est la vie...

Tim Easton was beyond great--never a let-down yet when I've seen him live, even when he's hopped up on cold meds. The audience was weird, though. There was Random Clapper, Superfan who couldn't shut up between songs (literally, he yelled 5 minute convos with Tim), and the Sleeping Housewives. Guess you had to be there...

Regardless, Stokes and I had a fab time. And I learned how to text faster on my phone. Thanks, dollface.

Saturday, FD and I got some Bangkok Kitchen in Maumee. We're addicted to their curry. It's so good I crave it every meal. (Which reminds me I need to write post on all the local restaurants I love like Bangkok Kitchen, Myles Baker Street, and El Zarape. Another time though. Idol comes on in few minutes.)
After our tasty curry meal, we came home to snuggle up with BleuBerry and watch The Darjeeling Limited--twice! Finally, an idie film worth a damn. Thank you, Wes Anderson. How I love that you love little "stuff" and create sets that I want to live in or eat because I love them so much. Seriously, in my humble opinion Wes Anderson is THE best indie director right now.

Then Spring Break began, and, of course, I've been working the whole time. Why wouldn't I? Tonight through Sunday, though, I'm taking a little break to cuddle with my BleuBoo who was neutered almost 12 hours ago. You wouldn't be able to tell by the running and jumping he's doing that he's not supposed to be doing, but he is a little more tired and whiny than usual.

I'm hoping over the next few days I'll have a few moments to blog more. I have ideas for posts. One on Second Life. Another on how Hello Kitty is a form of escapism. Yet another on Pimp My Kennel. Or the dog that's allowed to eat high-end designer "wife-beaters." And we can't forget the standard here's-who-should-lose-on-Idol-this-week? (Definitely Danny and Luke from the Boys. I'll Twitter my girl predictions tonight.)

So many topics and so little time.

The Girl Picks & My Season Winner Pick

Good-bye Kristy Lee Cook and Alexandrea.

And how much do I adore Brooke?

Top 4: David A., Ramiele, Asia'h, and Carly.

Top 2: David A. & Ramiele

Winner: David A.

The Boy Picks

Jason Y & Luke are gone Thursday.

At least I hope.

How much do I love David A.? That kid is a natural. He gives me chills.

I promise more soon on all-things-not-Idol.

Almost.

3 out of 4 Idol Loser picks isn't too shabby.

I should have called Colton instead of Luke. I had a feeling America was as pissed as I was about Kyle not getting through...

American Idol: My Girl Picks

Top 6 Girls will be:
Carly
Alaina
Amanda
Asia'h
Ramiele
Syesha

The Two Girls Going Home Thursday:
Amy and Joanne.

My Fav Girls:
Brooke (She so pure.)
Amanda (She's totally herself.)
Carly (She's Irish.)
Ramiele (She's so cute!)

The Girls I Can't Stand:
Amy--The performance sucked so bad I'm speechless.
There's just too many blondes. They remind me of Carrie Underwood. Doesn't a girl with another image deserve to win?


Tonight I noticed more so than any other season before that the contestants are hyper-aware of their appearances and images--how they look, how they dress, their hair, their shoes, what their promotional material is like, what image they are portraying. I keep thinking this has something to do with all the self-promo we do online via Facebook, MySpace, etc. Maybe I'm over thinking Idol, but I had to share.

And do you think Britney is crazy enough to appear on Idol just to meet Kady? I DO!

Tomorrow my girl and boy picks to win.

Tonight enjoy the lunar eclipse.

American Idol: My Boy Picks

Top 6 Boys will be:
David A.
Jason C.
Michael Johns
Chikezie
David C.
Robbie

The Two Boys Going Home Thursday:
Garrett and Luke.

Yes, Simon, you were right, my husband and I had Big Question Marks above our heads during these two performances. In fact, we just Tivo-ed through them because they were so horrific.

My Fav Boys:
Jason C.
David A.
Robbie

The Boys I Can't Stand:
David Noreiga--Lose the cockiness, dude; it's too much.
Garrett--Simon's right again; you need some sun and some fresh air.
Colton--It should have been Kyle up there, not you.

Back to voting!

I Suppose...

it's best to not post when you have nothing to say.

I have nothing to say.

But I'm posting anyway.

Ha!

~

Now that's I've started writing, I thought of a few things:

1.) I'm so excited to pick up Bleu I can hardly stand it. Normally around Christmas all I can think about and dream about are the gifts I'm going to get (I told you I was greedy!), but this year I'm only dreaming about my boy Bleu.

2.) As I write, my childhood best friend (who I haven't seen in 15 years!) and I are making plans to get together next week. It was so awesomely weird to hear her voice on my cell phone. I sincerely can't wait to see her. I'm so excited. But a little nervous too...15 YEARS! C'mon, wouldn't you be a little nervous too?

3.) Who wants to watch a Robots marathon on FX all day Christmas Eve & Christmas Day! TBS has it right with A Christmas Story. Hopefully, TNT and USA will bust out some L&O marathons--that would rock.

On that note, I have nothing more to say.

Ha!

For Real Sick. Gross. But with a Sunny Disposition.

For the past three days I've been out of commission with the flu. No fun.

I missed out on some really important plans: I love you, Noodles.

I am, however, caught up on The Hills and all my previously recorded shows on Tivo. I also had time to finish one horrible book not worth mentioning and begin one that is worth mentioning but not right now.

I might be sick, but I still have my ability to create suspense.

(The hint, though, is this: FD and I might be getting a very special Christmas present this year, and NO, I'm not pregnant.)

Being that I couldn't take another day of lying around, I got up and decorated our Christmas trees in my PJs as well as strung my Hello Kitty Christmas lights around the windows in my office. I've been rocking out to some Christmas classics as well as new Christmas tunes by Aimee Mann and Sufjan Stevens. If you don't have the Christmas box set of his, it's a MUST BUY.

Decorating and singing along to "We Three Kings," I felt pretty good. But I now, as I write this, I'm feeling tired again.

Dude, I hate being sick.

Two things I've been thinking about. Real quick.

The movie The Fountain sucks. I think it's too hippy-ed out for its own good, so much so that it distracts from its overly contrived message and acid-trip cinematography (that is at times lovely). FD and I watched it last night and had a huge discussion about it right afterwards and when we were trying to go to sleep. I'm too tired to give an in-depth review of it. But I'm totally sick of these movies that end and nothing happens, nothing is resolved or the ending is so indie it's all symbolic. Seriously, what's up with that? I told FD I'd rather watch Superbad or Knocked Up any day over this horrible shit these hipster directors call movies. Someone, please recommend some quality indie movies to me that disprove my skepticism. I like I Heart Huckabees and The Royal Tenenbaums. Wristcutters: A Love Story and The Science of Sleep look good, but am I going to be disappointed again? I guess when you're as smart and skeptical as me and FD, blockbuster movies are best movies for us to watch--we know what we're going to get, and, sometimes, they're even better than expected like Transformers...I guess I just like music more than movies. I might like TV more than movies too...I'm sure I'll revisit this issue again soon.

Second, Christmas shopping has begun. This year I'm ahead of schedule, but I still have a quite a few presents to get. My goal, usually, is to get loved ones what they want from their lists. I don't like to stray too much because when I have I've been broken-hearted by the initial-frown-before-the-faux-smile expressions. However, when I do deviate from the list, I try to go homemade and/or independent. Here are some BOSS sites you might want to check out for your loved ones:

Lemon Cadet: Rockin' the Bean, Bunny, and Yeti goods for kids, ladies, and men since 2006. I can't stop thinking about this Bunny hoodie. Oh my!

One Good Bumblebee: Gnome Jack-in-the-Box!?!? How rad is that?!?!

Redbird: Stokes bought me some of these totally unique concert posters for my birthday, and now I check out this site like every day. I'm waiting the Sufjan poster!!!

Haworth Homemade: Some loved ones might really like that snazzy TV cover...

The Grey Colt: If you're not from the Cleveland/Akron area, you can always call the ladies at the Grey Colt, and they'll help you find the perfect something for your special someone. If you are from the area, head in and support this local business that is so totally rad and unique!

OK, I need another nap.

I'm thinking tonight some soup and Elf with only our Christmas trees lights on...

BEFORE I TOTALLY FORGET: Check out this Scene article about Fafarazzi. Both Stokes and me are quoted. How rad is that?!?! And it's even more rad that the journalist quoted my most foul answer rather than one of my funny ones!

Reverend Chico's: A Local Restaurant Not Worth Supporting

Auditions are being held for Kitchen Nightmares.

Even though, Reverend Chico's has been open only for a couple of months, they would, no doubt, benefit from Chef Ramsay's forceful help.

Reverend Chico's is located in the Main Street area of Bowling Green, Ohio. From the outside, it appears to be fresh, hip restaurant & bar with raised tables and classy barstools for window seating and modern tables and booths for seating in the bar and dining section. Several wall mounted plasma TVs provide decoration throughout the dining section and bar. Doesn't sound so bad, huh?

Remember, looks can be deceiving.

The bar side is sleek in a martini-bar way with its spotlight on the bottles, black granite, and candle center pieces on the high-tops, but all four of the TVs give it a sports bar atmosphere. It felt the owners didn't know what kind of bar they wanted it to be, so they senseless mashed together several kinds.

The dining area is clean, but it feels void of any personality or unique characteristic that related to the food, which is Latino. Within the first several minutes of being seated, I couldn't decide what kind of dining experience I was supposed to have at Reverend Chico's. The decor did nothing for the restaurant other than make it look brand new, even though it is part of the old hotel that takes up several blocks in downtown Bowling Green.

And I had plenty of time to be confused about the decor while my party and I waited 15 minutes just to be approached by our waitress, who proved to be consistently slow, inarticulate, and unfriendly. Without giving us a menu, she impatiently tapped her foot and demanded our drink order. After explaining to her, this was our first time at Reverend Chico's, she brought us a photocopied drink menu. Yes, photocopied; what a disaster! When we said we wanted to eat, she went back to the back of the house. Meanwhile, in her absence, to further add to the unprofessional customer service, the manager approached our table, not to ask if we had been helped, but to ask if there was "only going to be three of you tonight." When we all looked appalled, she said, "You didn't do anything wrong. Stop looking at me that way" and just walked away. Still miffed by the manager, we hardly noticed that it took our waitress 10 minutes to reemerge with an atrocious stack of paper.

The menu at Reverend Chico's is a beyond a disaster! Upon getting the stacks of paper (which, to point out, was completely wasteful and not environment-friendly!), I asked the waitress to explain the menu to us because none of us understood why on earth we each needed 6 pieces of paper that looked like bubble form tests with various meats and ingredients. Our waitress even said, "Yeah, the menu is really confusing. I don't even really get it. It's like a test."

When a waitress can't sell a menu, there's a big problem.

Basically, Reverend Chico's has one sheet of paper for each of their menu items: Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas, Paninis, and something else that got lost in the shuffle. Each item's menu serves as the order ticket. A patron checks the meats, veggies, and other ingredients he or she craves, puts his or her name on the top of the ticket, and hands it to his or her waitress. Is this because their waitresses can't be trusted to take orders beyond drink orders? I wonder...

If I wanted a dining experience like the one Reverend Chico's menu encourages, I would go to Qdoba or Chipotle. I expected a folding menu that I selected a dish from. And by dish I mean the kitchen creates the meal, not the patron. Based on the decor, I expected to see a new spin on Mexican food. Sadly, what we got was some bland chicken Quesadillas and Tacos that were soggy, salty, unoriginal, and, to boot, over-priced ($7.00 for Tacos, $11.99 for Seafood Tacos).

The only two things keeping me from walking at Reverend Chico's were my party, who were quite enjoyable, and the tasty Sangriatini and Mojito Reverend Chico's offers.

In other words, go there to drink, not eat. Or drink so much you don't care what you eat.

In order to succeed, Reverend Chico's must, first, step up their customer service. The waitresses working the bar seemed really friendly; why not have that same attitude carry over in the dining section? Also, they MUST simplify their menu. If they would like to be more of a bar than restaurant, then just offer some contemporary hor'dourves that would compliment the drinks rather than some below-average, amateur Mexican food. The TVs probably cost more than the ovens in the kitchen, which only proves how little thought goes into the food.

Until Reverend Chico's puts more effort into their food, I refuse to go there. I support local businesses with all my heart, especially those in BG, but this is one restaurant I can't endorse.

1 out of 5 Thank-God-for-Sangriatinis Hello Kittys.

(For new readers, Hello Kittys are equivalent to stars. And Hello Kittys is an intentional typo.)

Just one more reason...

...for why I love Tina Fey: she supports writers.

Granted TV writers, but still writers.

Two for Tuesday

Do you all remember?




OR

Emmitt Otter's Jug-Band Christmas?

(I guess that's 3 for Tuesday if we count the Melrose theme music...)

If...

If I didn't think it is unprofessional (for me, not others) to blog about students, I would post something. Something really good.

But I can say this:

Have you ever had a day where you've been around, like, one or two people who you can't wait to get away from?

I had one of those days. Actually more like one of those 1hr and 15 minute classes. Make that an hour class after I said, "Just leave."

Ughhhhh!

What bums me out is I have sooooooo many totally rad students who are motivated, work hard, put forth great effort, and think critically. I should be focusing on them--my angels!

But it's so hard to think positive when all I really want is to punch something.

God, for real, where is my inflatable Weebl Bop Bag from childhood? Seriously.

Or my boxing gloves.

Yes, Pops bought my bro and I boxing gloves so we could "have it out--safely."

Wait, I think I know where my boxing gloves are.

I should take up boxing.

I've always admired honesty in folks--true, bleeding heart honest--so I figure why not be honest with you, my readers.

It's not Always Sunny in Bowling Green.

If only I was Charlie in the Green Man Suit. Then it might be Sunny. And I might be Sunny.

(OK, I tried to find Charlie in the Green Man Suit on YouTube, but this will have to do:

So wrong, but so right when I need a laugh...)

Ben Winkler Cracks Me Up (aka One of the best TV ads ever [aka I can't stop wondering about my little Karen Cleo--What happened to her???])