STP and Norman Bound!

Stone Temple Pilots absolutely blew my socks off Tuesday night. They played everything. Andy kept listing off song after song, and they played em all. I have fond memories of driving around in NP with my friends and jamming out to Core. This has been such an amazing year of concerts for me. This will be a tough act of shows to follow next year.






The first video is from the show in Lincoln on Tuesday. The second is a clip from the show at Red Rocks this past summer.

I have a ton of errands to run today. Ted, Josh, and I are heading to Norman for the game this weekend. We are sitting in the northeast end zone above where the Sooners come out onto the field. Watch for us, part of my day includes making a sign for the game. It is another nationally televised game, so lets pray that we don't get blown clear out of the water. The odds of an upset are slim but as a Husker fan I have to believe that we have a chance on any day.

We also have Shuffleboard tonight so if anyone wants to join in the festivities we will be at Harold's most of the night.

Have a great weekend gang!

Nebraska Safe Haven Law

Thank you Gov. Heineman for FINALLY calling a special session of the state legislature to fix this horrible bill. For those of you living outside of the fine state of Nebraska, we have a safe Haven Law that allows parents to drop off their kids at local hospitals and not face prosecution for child abandonment. The law was intended to protect new born infants. In a stroke of genius our state legislature failed to put an age limit on the children being left.

So far we have had 23 children left at area hospitals. One mother drove all the way from Detroit to leave her son at CU Medical Center. The 23rd child was a 17 y/o left at Bryan LGH in Lincoln. Our legislature is not scheduled to meet until next year and the Governor has cited the high cost of calling a special session as his reason for waiting to amend the law until next year. How much money are we having to spend in social services to handle all these kids? Think of all the therapy involved with a 12 y/o whose mother wanted to relinquish her rights as a parent? The law was intended to help protect children, specifically infants. How letting this go on for months has been in the best interest of any child is beyond me. Won't it be a great story to tell down the road to their own kids someday. "Yeah I remember the time mom drove us all the way to Omaha to leave me. You kids are lucky that I want you"

And we have now made National news with this as there is now a link on CNN.

Toadies Concert

I am still grinning ear to ear about that show. I was front row dead center, right in front of the lead singer. Got a copy of the set list AND the entire band autographed it for me. The have a new album out that I'm also digging. Personal favorite song is Song I Hate. They actually have the newest disc available to purchase on vinyl. I may have to purchase it and get it framed with my set list. Anyone who has a chance to see the Toadies should definitley go! And the opening band People in Planes, wow. Go check em out! I'm still mulling around the idea of having a separate blog just for music info. With all the shows I go to it wouldn't be a bad idea. Then again it would be one more thing I have to update.....

Next up is Stone Temple Pilots on Tuesday and then Jack's Mannequin!

Ooooh and it is official. I'm on Vaca! Whoot!

Later gators!

New Lost Promo!

Holy Hell this promo is amazing! Is it wrong to be more excited about the upcoming season of Lost than I am about the holidays?




There are also some great screen caps to check out on DarkUFO as well. Some initial thoughts, it looks as though the island has moved back in time. Is that the Swan hatch Juliet is uncovering? Is Daniel meeting Desmond ( his constant) coming out of the hatch? What sort of vacation do you take a kid on with a gun Kate? Although with Kate that really shouldn't surprise anyone. Is that Yemmi's (Ecko's brother) plane? If the island did indeed move back in time, it supports parallel time lines. Those left behind would be in the wrong time line. The plane wouldn't have even crashed yet if that were the case. Ugh. So many questions!

February can not get here fast enough!

The state of the economy

Good Lord, could we get some stability on Wall Street please!?!?! I don't know why I bother checking my accounts anymore. I've lost over seven thousand dollars in four days. I can't even stomach to type what I've lost since the start of September. Oh, and did I mention that my financial advisor isn't returning my emails? I hope he didn't have a mental break. This disaster triggered by craptastic lending practices has now gone global. I don't know if we need a better example of how much we are impacted by other parts of the world.

I feel so bad for people who are close to retirement right now. I'm just flat out pissed and frustrated about things, but it isn't like I need the money tomorrow. I'm young and in this for the long haul so I need to sit tight and ride this out. There should be some great investment opportunities once this thing finally bottoms out. I'm just scared that many analysts are saying we haven't hit the bottom yet. We're under 8,000 on the DOW, I'm afraid to ask where the basement on this thing is going to end up being. How many jobs are lost before we stabilize? How many more people lose their homes before the bail out fully takes affect?

At the end of the day I count my blessings and I'm thankful for what I have.

Big boy Hank!

I need to talk about something light and humorous after the week I've had.

Little Hank-y lifted his leg while taking care of business the other day. And he will probably never do it again after all my cheers of joy. I know he's my dog, but it was so damn cute. He was squatting and all of a sudden he started to lift his right leg up ever so slowly. You could almost follow the thought process going on in his little mind. "Hmm, I don't know why I'm lifting my leg up, but it feels like I should be doing it" Then he cranked his head around to give me the "Duh I know I'm a good boy" look.

One word, priceless. Trust me.

Things you shouldn't do at the pharmacy...

I should dedicate a whole new blog to this topic. I understand that people tell their hair stylist A LOT of things. However, I think things people do in a pharmacy though are a little known gems for totally inappropriate behavior and comments.

At the top of my list this week is someone buying Sudafed while shouting to someone I assume is his girlfriend, "don't forget the Drano" If he'd had more teeth I might have thought he was joking.

A close second would be the gentleman who was all but having phone sex while I was ringing him out at the register. "Oh no you don't. Girl, girl. Damn girl. You naughty girl. Oooh what I'm gonna do? What's that? Girl your ass gonna get spanked" I mean really? WTF? And to answer every one's dying question, no he was not picking up a script for Viagra. Who talks like that in public? And really how awkward for me to have to ask him if he has any questions about his script?

I may have to add a section to this blog for all the random things I see and hear during the course of my work day.

Have a great Friday gang!

The experiment is over.....

I mean really over. Dead, done, not to be revisited for another six months. Hank had been doing so well with his potty/house training. I decided to start letting him stay out in the house with Ellie for small periods of time. Each time he did better and better so I started increasing the time. Well, three hours and 30 minutes was the breaking point. He peed twice in my bathroom. Naturally, he can't go on the wood or linoleum floors b/c that would be far too easy for me to clean up.


I figured what the hell I would try one more time. Crucial mistake on my part. Next time the pee was on my bed, soaked all the way through to the mattress. I spent midnight to almost 3am last night trying to clean it up. Needless to say we have re established who the pack leader is in this house and she is not named Hank or Ellie. I also slept by myself, minus the two dogs last night for the first time in weeks. I would love to tell you I slept like a baby but I was too busy trying not to roll over onto one side of the bed while laying on a beach towel.






Oh and the Chiefs suck. I mean really, without a doubt suck. Sucking the soul right out of me trying to watch/listen to them play. Thank god I was at work today and didn't have the visual. Taking out Brady may be the only thing they do this season, and that wasn't done on purpose.

Have a good Monday gang!

Where does the time go?

Hello again gang! I'm didn't fall off the face of the earth. Close, but still here. This post is going to be all over the place so bear with me.

Things have been hectic as usual. I did manage to squeeze in some fun time at the lake the last few weeks. Work has been both frustrating and incredibly rewarding (more on that in another post). It is a bleak and rainy day here in the big O and both my puppies are sleeping by my feet. Hank is growing like a weed and by mid month I think he will be bigger than Ellie. Scary stuff, he's not even six months yet.

I've also been to some great concerts and have more coming up. The Mile High Music Festival, WOW! I can't accurately describe what it was like to be watching a concert with 50,000 other people. The plan is to go again. Insane stuff! I had GREAT seats for DMB here in Omaha and I saw them perform with Tim Reynolds twice in one week. I consider myself blessed. Flogging Molly, the Faint, and Gaelic Storm rounded out the summer concert series. I absolutely adore the guys in Gaelic Storm. Coming up this fall, Tina Turner, The Toadies, Stone Temple Pilots, Jack's Mannequin and Madonna. I know, I have really random taste in music. I'm all over the place. I'm going to continue keeping track on my blog. It's kinda cool to look back on the year and remember all the great shows.

On a random note I had my eyes dilated this morning. I hate when I have to go through that process. The drops sting as well. Not to mention the fact that it feels somewhat like what I imagine an alien probe to the back of your brain would feel like.

More random, I joined Netflix. I'm diggin it. I have some disorder that prevents me from ever returning a movie on time. No I don't have to and I don't need to leave the house either. Plus, I can get a ton of blue ray selections without paying $30 a pop for them. And I do love my new set up. I'm feeling lazy today, must be the weather. I think I may stay in tonight and watch some movies and get up early and enjoy all that is College Game Day morning. Until Andy moves to his new place I have two big screens set up downstairs, so anyone who wants to overload on football tomorrow give me a call.

I love this time of year. Fall is in the air, baseball and football are in full swing. I can take the dogs for a walk at any time of the day and not worry about them passing out from the heat. Good times.

I leave you with a video from the Flogging Molly Show. I need to point out a few things. First, I was waaaaaaaay to close to the pit for my own liking. In fact for a brief time I was in the pit. I took an elbow to the stomach and the boob. However, not to be walked over I threw my own elbow and moved the hell out of the way. I just don't get moshing. Second, Angie, Josh and I were NOT the oldest people at the show. The 80 y/o man with his 60 something son in a kilt won that award. "This is my dad, he's fucking 80" and "This is my dads fifth show, he's fucking 80" Sorry for the language but it loses something if I say "bleeping" Because literally that is how we were introduced to his dad. Who I might add was also in kilt and a bitchin hat. Just a wild guess but I think alcohol played a part.

Four inches and more

In all the drama over my work suckage I forgot to mention I cut my hair. I also had a bit of a miscue with the hair cut as well. My hair had been down past the middle of my back. I think my mom was worrying about the Crystal Gail effect. I have only been "trimming" the ends for the past four years. I thought, you know it would be good to take about four inches off. With as long as it was it would be hard to tell to average person. Well, my dear Gina took off more than eight. I blame it on the hormonal swing of just having a baby. It went down something like this....

Me: I can't believe I'm taking four inches off. I haven't done that in years.
Gina: Umm, I took more than four. (While holding up a section of my now detached hair that was around eight inches.

The longest section of my hair is now almost to my shoulders. I'm having a slight identity crisis over the whole thing. Now, it doesn't look bad. In fact, it looks pretty good. I just wasn't ready to part with my hair. I feel a bit like I didn't mentally get ready to part with it. On the plus side, blow drying my hair is no longer an upper body workout. If anyone is curious they can check out a couple pictures I uploaded to Facebook.

Have a great Hump day.

It's 3am and I can't sleep

So, today (yesterday technically) is my new all time low for my career. I should know by now that when things look like they are going well, it means the whole thing will blow up in my face. I enjoyed exactly one week of solely being a pharmacy supervisor again. Not that I haven't been doing that all along these past few years. I've also been wearing numerous other hats a well. Yes, I'll be a staff pharmacist, pharmacy manager, payroll person, hiring person, firing person, flu shot giver, bitch at me because I do the scheduling person. You get my drift.

So today someone gives their notice and I am once again back to being the jack of all pharmacy trades. And I cried. I never cry. I am not one to be short sighted. I see the big picture, not just today, but what I want to be doing five years from now. The only major problem, my picture seems to be getting farther and farther away. I'm disgusted, mad, pissed, depressed, and I feel totally adrift. The sad thing is I actually understand the reasoning behind having to go to this store. I'm the best person for the job. That almost makes it more difficult. I'm always the team player, even at my own expense. I made no effort to hide my disappointment to my boss. But you know what real life is a bitch and we can't all have it our way.

I had plans for going back to school in the spring. I know, that is a totally separate post. Seven years wasn't enough, I'm looking for more punishment. I've been wanting to go back for some time to work on finishing my undergraduate degree in Spanish and work towards integrating this into my job. So put that on hold, again.

I feel like I'm becoming one of those jaded individuals who never gets excited about anything anymore because I'll always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. I let my guard down and actually let myself get excited about learning something new with my job. Maybe even having some time to myself while I was at it. If I seem withdrawn or cranky this week, just know that I need to mope and deal with this. I'll have to have the best of the best A game to get this store rolling and I need to get this out of my system. And did I mention I need to do all this by Monday?

To finish up my rant. If you tell an employer during an interview that they won't regret hiring you........you're full of shit. And if anyone ever hears that during an interview and they look to good to be true, run the other way. Twenty years in the business and I'm a hundred times better person let alone pharmacist than she is. Maybe I should write my own book? Tenatively titled, "Guess what, you're full of shit and 101 other reasons why you can't hack it as an independent retail pharmacist" Really, I think I could be on to something here. It would save so many people valuable time.

Sorry for the negativiy that is dripping from this post. I needed to talk this thing out. I think I can sleep now.

Stormy Summer

The Midwest has just been getting slammed this summer. Already, we have had a tornado in Millard, another tornado that took out a boy scouts camp not far outside Omaha, and a storm that brought "straight line winds" with hurricane force. I was really lucky I did not sustain any damage worse than a few downed tree limbs. Others in my neighborhood were not as lucky. I was without power for a little over a day. Nothing to complain about considering some people were without power for a week.

We headed to Bambino's to drink and converse with others without power. It was hilarious. Flashlights and candles and a flash light was a must for anyone using the restrooms. Anyone reading this familiar with Shawn of the Dead? Well, Bambino's was our Winchester. As one man said, "Look, more survivors" LOL!

The Olympic swim trials were in town this past week. Wow! I was blown away by the Qwest center crowd. I saw Phelps and Hoff each break the World record in their event. I have never heard the Qwest center so loud. I also saw Bob Costas. He was literally 15 feet from me. On the live coverage we were sitting just off screen. Kind of cool. I think I might be taller than him too!

The puppies are doing great! Hank is now joining Ellie at Doggie Day Care. Its worth every penny when they crash and sleep hard at night. Speaking of Hank, he will be getting "fixed" on Friday. Poor guy, he has no idea what is coming. I hate that I have to leave him there over night. I'll keep everyone updated on his recovery.

The fourth rocked. We headed out to the lake and had a very relaxing day on the water. Nothing better than floating on the water and having a few cold ones. The dogs survived the fireworks, but not without the help of valium. I'm a firm believer in drugging the dogs for the fourth now.

The Roger Clyne show is tomorrow night. I'm way excited. I had the opportunity to meet Roger after the last show. The guy is a class act. I'm also just a little over a week away from my trip to Colorado. Whoo Hoo!

Well, I should stop blogging and get back to writing the August schedule. Have I mentioned that I loathe doing the scheduling? Primarily because it always seems to take forever. Second, no one is every pleased. I had been working on it for two hours when I took this break. After two hours I only have two stores and three vacation requests complete. ugh. Here come the other three.

Happy Hump Day gang!