Busy Busy Election Elf

I won't have much time to blog over the next week as I will be housesitting starting tomorrow. I have decided to take most of those days off of work because I hate commuting from the suburbs--it is pure torture! Even with the time off work, I will still be working as a dogsitter, catsitter, housesitter, fishsitter and next Monday night I am going to be a self-proclaimed "election elf."

Starting at 11:30 pm next Monday night until noon on election day I will be at the county board of elections scanning absentee ballots. That's right, I am going to be a part of the process! I had training last night and it is interesting to be behind the scenes to see how a bi-partisan America actually works. In this sense, a Democrat (that's me by the way) is teamed up with a Republican to scan ballots together. I will be sitting across from somebody I have completely conflicting views with for 12 hours trying to make small talk. Essentially it is the opposite of speed dating.

My Favorite Television Clip Of All Time

When I found this clip, I was ecstatic. My sister got me hooked on Laverne and Shirley when we used to own this clip on video cassette. I took it to college where I lost it, assuming it was never to be found again. Now I can own it forever thanks to YouTube.

Halloween Blog

It's odd that the more pressure you put on a holiday, the more stressful it is in the end. Take for example every New Years Eve I have ever had. However when you put no pressure on a holiday, it always turns out to be so much fun. Take for example Halloween this past weekend. A last minute costume with last minute plans turned out to be fabulous.

On Friday we stayed in and watched scary movies with Tim where laughter and funny quotes were rampant. On Saturday we found costumes at the last minute (that were quite cheap as well) and then accessorized as Lou and Lucy Lucipher (see photo). We traveled around and went to a fun party near Kamm's Corners and then made our way back to the near west side for Liz's party before heading off to the Garage Bar to hang out with good friends I hadn't seen in months. Daylight Savings Time kicked in and we stayed out later than expected that night. Though that isn't saying much considering we were actually thinking about staying in. See? No pressure=more fun.

Birthday Blog

This was one of the best birthdays ever. I have included some pics from my birthday weekend, which included: a crazy memory-filled Friday night with my parents and their friends at Pickwick and Frolic followed by after-dinner drinks at the Marriott; Staying up until the wee hours of the morning with my brother and Liz after seeing Joan Jett which was an incredible show; Partying with Mindy on Sunday with incredible seats at the Indigo Girls concert followed by drinks at the Old Angle. My friends and family are so incredible and I had such a blast over the past couple days. Pictured below: me with my cake first thing Sunday morning, Mindy and I Sunday before the show, Liz and I Saturday after the show, Joan Jett rocking out and sharing a birthday drink with my parents' friend at Pickwick and Frolic.

Ten Years In The Making

Tomorrow I will celebrate ten years of legally drinking, or as some people might call it: my 31st birthday. While it is not quite as exciting as turning 21, I am still looking forward to turning a year older and spending this weekend with friends, who have been more than generous with the birthday activities. Tonight I will be celebrating with Maria, who also happens to be sending me to beer school at The Great Lakes Brewing Company; Saturday I am going to see Joan Jett courtesy of Liz and on Sunday Mindy is treating me to the Indigo Girls concert. I am sure I will be putting the experience I have gained over the past ten years to good use this weekend.

These People Really Exist

This is Scary: Click on video in middle to view


To be freaked out even more, continue down to read the previous post.

Just In Time To Gross You Out For Halloween

Do you remember when John Mark Karr admitted to killing JonBenet Ramsey last month, but you knew he really didn't and wondered why the press bought into it? I am experiencing deja vu right now. Today the priest that former representative Mark Foley said molested him came forward just one day later to admit to all the charges. The gentleman in question, Anthony Merceica, is a 72-year old retired priest living in Malta. I hate to say I don't believe him, but I really don't. I think this is an out for Foley. I think the priest was made to come forward because somehow if Foley was molested then it would make everything a little better for his current situation, and of course for the Republican party. With the election looming, it seems like this is the only thing that matters right now. Forget the boys that Foley harassed. All of that is excused once Foley goes through the protocol of going to rehab, admitting he is gay and having the priest come forward that molested him. TRIFECTA! Each one of these steps gets him off the hook a little more. Actually the gay thing still makes him look like a sick monster (to the people that matter) and the only way to nullify that is to bring in somebody even sicker. These people are good, really good. No wonder they have won the last two presidential elections by a negative margin.

**While child molestation is the most heinous crime in the world and should never be blown off, it seems like that is exactly what this situation is trying to do: take the guilt off Foley and put it on someone else. It was extremely hard to write about not believing someone's claims regarding molestation, but in this situation, it just seems too easy to let Foley off the hook if the priest came forward. Not to mention, when in the history of all these Catholic church scandals has a priest come forward so willingly? Even if you think I am a big jerk for writing this, you should at least take a second to think about why this guy would come forward so quickly.

Why We Call It The Annex

According to Wikipedia, Annex is defined as: a building that is in addition to another building. When I was in college, the word was also used to define the smaller fraternity house, which housed all the people who couldn’t fit into the main house. As you know, my brother, who has the other apartment in my house, and I also call our house “The Annex.” Part of this definition comes from the fact that it is a building that is in addition to another building-that’s Camp Lieberth-but part of it comes from the fact that it does indeed seem like a fraternity house at times. Take this weekend for example.

I walked (stumbled) in on Friday night/Saturday morning and called my brother’s name out when I walked into the door, as we usually do when one of us is walking in that late. He was still up, and even though he said he was getting ready for bed, I got him to go back out and get more beer. After all it was only 2 am. Soon I was making homemade beef chow mein (I like to cook late at night) and we played Monopoly until 4am as we talked about sports, work, girls and other unrecognizable conversation pieces all while making up some weird dance. Are you starting to see the frat house correlation yet? It was such a blast that we spent most of the day Sunday drinking beers, watching football and talking about many of the same topics as I made a big Italian feast. I think we should re-name our house: Kappa Lambda Alpha for Kamp Lieberth Annex.

The best part about this fraternity is that we go on field trips: free hot dogs tonight at the Old Angle for Monday Night Football. I certainly can’t cook every night, or people might start to think I am the house mom.

In 1492 Some Jackass Sailed The Ocean Blue, And Did Very Bad Things, But At Least I Got A Day Off

This weekend went from a two-day weekend to a four-day weekend in the blink of an eye. I took Friday off from work with a sinus infection and Monday was a complete surprise. It wasn’t until I was watching SportsCenter on Sunday night when they mentioned Columbus Day that I realized I had Monday off as well. All the important things in life I have learned from watching ESPN.

The weekend was rather subdued. I didn’t go out once and cooked almost every night. I also rented out my services to family members. On Saturday I did all of Mark’s laundry (for a small fee) and on Sunday I helped my sister paint her house (no charge). Yesterday, after I called my job to verify we did indeed have the day off, I watched a movie, prepped my house for the winter, went for a walk around Ohio City, stopped at the market to buy ribs and spent the evening drinking good beer and cooking ribs. It was a great Columbus Day. Thank God for Manifest Destiny!

OC Doesn’t Stand For Ohio City 44113

Currently Sherrod Brown, the man who will hopefully unseat Mike DeWine in the upcoming senatorial election, is traveling around to visit Ohio campuses. I was excited when I heard about his college tour, but then I saw who was in his entourage. If you happen to make it to one of his stops (The Cleveland State/CWRU stop is October 7 at 5:30 outside the SEIU building on Payne and East 23rd), you will be greeted by Brown, his wife and Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz, Luke Perry and Adam Brody. Perry starred in Beverly Hills 90210 and Brody is from the popular teeny-bopper show The OC. While I think it is great to have big names on your tour, these two confuse me. What is the connection between these two actors and Ohio politics? Both of their shows were set in California with a demographic of teenage girls. My advice to Brown would be to drop these two for Michael Stanly and Drew Carey. It may increase your numbers in Cleveland instead of Southern California.

Will You Marry Me=asdkfl;i adfoisut;dkfa?

You may not know much about my sister and her girlfriend from reading my blog but they are some of the coolest people I have ever met. They are also my most loyal readers, so I definitely have to send a shout out to the newly engaged couple. This weekend, after nine years together, my sister finally popped the question. It has really renewed my faith in people to see them now after everything they have been through together and I am so happy for them! On Saturday night/Sunday morning I was attempting to put the card my sister gave Julie on here, but it was a little hard to reprint after Julie's birthday party which lasted until 3 am. I did attempt to start typing that night but when I went back to look at the draft, it didn't really do justice to the card. You just have to take my word on how beautiful the engagement was because if I had copied my draft from that morning, it would have looked like this to you (Funny how you lose site of the home keys after a little beer and whiskey):

Mydasdflkd, dasfkasdfit
adlkfdasi nvko dsaioie al;die woeruth
aodfiuasdfdsghoieqr;l adsofiuta;weoriuqwperi. jdaopsi! asdfodpupoa;.

I know that is beautiful in itself but I didn't want to take away from the actual card. Congratulations to Kathy Ann and Julie!