Caterwauling

Another busy week in progress, so here’s the soundtrack to my life at the moment. Right-click/save-as — you know the drill. And don’t forget the song from the previous entry if you missed it.

This was in the CD player when I moved out of Pittsburgh. Although it is equally appropriate for D.C. And the sound of this man’s voice usually precipitates the need for a change of scandalous underwear for me.
Bon Jovi, “Two-Story Town”

This always, ALWAYS pops up on my random shuffle on my ROKR phone as I am walking into work. Three times in the past five days. And it’s excellent driving music.
Sara Evans, “A Real Fine Place to Start”

I like Seal’s version better, but it’s not loaded into iTunes and this one is. Because Seal? Is sexy as hell. 😉
Alanis Morrissette, “Crazy”

Speaking of sexy, I love this song. It’s from “How Stella Got her Groove Back.” I hated the movie, but the soundtrack was fantastic. It’s a rare song that I won’t even sing in the car — I just mellow out and listen to it.
Me’Shell Ndegeocello, “Let Me Have You”

I cry every fucking time I hear this song. I heard it as I was driving to work the other day, and I had to put on sunglasses to skulk through the building to hide in my office. As soon as she gets to “something in blue,” I’m gone.
Lorrie Morgan, “Something in Red”

It’s a classic. No explanations of greatness needed. I rediscovered it after hearing it at a Christmas party last month.
Stevie Wonder, “Love’s in Need of Love Today”

I gave you one of her songs yesterday. As I’ve already tired of playing “Scratch” on a continuous loop, I’ve moved on to this one. There are dozens more that are as good or better, but this sums me up on a day like today.
Kendall Payne, “I’d Rather Be in Love”

And finally, in honor of my boy being in town on Thursday (and me missing him. *sniffle*), my current favorite song of his.
Bon Jovi, “Love Me Back to Life”

I am in the throes of orgasm watching “Grey’s Anatomy,” as I am apt to do every Sunday at 10 p.m. EST, and holy crap. I predicted where Izzie’s storyline was going because, gee, it’s nearly identical to the book I wrote in November for National Novel Writing Month.

Glad to know my idea didn’t totally suck. And that, well, I had it first. 😉

UPDATE

OK, were my glasses the only ones that fogged up from crying? Jesus H, I heard three bars of Kendall Payne (“Scratch”), and I was long gone. Right-click to download and enjoy.

And tunage buried within, too!

Reader Poll Monday:

1. What is the last movie you saw in a theater?
I’d wanted to see “Rent” this weekend, but I had so many friggin’ errands, it wasn’t possible. I last saw “Prime” but I’d never recommend it.

I keep meaning to check out the Arlington Cinema ‘n Drafthouse — ingenious concept.

2. What is your all-time favorite book?
Pat Conroy, “The Prince of Tides.” Love the movie eqally.

3. Do you own any sex toys?
BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA.

Um, yeah.

I was in the “toy business” for awhile, which — if this isn’t irony for you — ended abruptly when I was kicked out due to “inactivity.” LOL

So yeah, got me a suitcase full. But I have my favorite, and he is dying from abuse.

4. Gambling: bad habit or entertainment?
I gamble every day that I drive on the highways with insane D.C. drivers. But you mean like the casino/chips/slots? For me, I’d say bad habit — I’d MUCH rather go into a mall and “gamble” with that money — at least I’d be sure to take something home!

Said she who’s Vegas-bound later this month with only $20 in her pocket.

5. What is your favorite Christmas song?
The Pretenders, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

6. Christmas tree: real, artificial or none at all?
This year, none — I’m away too much and I have kittehs who like to chew on shit and rip shit down. I have an artificial tree — a spiral one — in the basement. But nothing beats the scent of blue spruce — well, only if you’re in the mood to vacuum every day. Which I’m so totally NOT.

7. When is the last time you went on a date?
November.

8. Have you ever stolen anything from a hotel?
I usually bring all my own products to a hotel — never know what you’re going to count on needing that they don’t provide. But I stayed at a Hyatt not too long ago that offered shoe-polishing cloths. Those are exactly what I use to clean my sterling silver jewelry, so consider that thing pocketed!

9. How many hours do you typically spend in front of a computer each day?
14ish

10. Ask me something.
When’s payday?

In which it’s another Tuesday edition (on my part) of Reader Poll Monday.

1. What’s your current favorite song?
Omg, I fucking love love LOVE this song:

Jem, “24”

2. Any interesting elections in your neck of the woods tomorrow?
Oh Jesus H. Virginia governor’s race between an asshat and an asstwit. Seriously. I know exactly what hellacious things each candidate is capable of doing, thanks to mudslinging. But what DO these guys stand for? No fucking idea. Talk about the battle of who could care less. I couldn’t be bothered to vote this time around.

3. Would you rather lose the thumb on your dominant hand or lose your peripheral vision in your dominant eye?
Opposable thumbs are so very useful. And necessary.

No further commentary required. 😉

4. How many active e-mail accounts do you have?
A bajillion.

A Yahoo!, two Gmail, a Comcast, two work and about 5 domain-based accounts. All of which are laden with spam and I cannot for the life of me get the things to a more manageable level of chaos.

5. What is your favorite thing about the city/town in which you live?
All the things there are to do, I guess. Free stuff, especially. I’ve been getting myself cultured lately, which is awesome, because that was what I loved about Pittsburgh when I lived there. I’ve had many a good adventure at a Smithsonian-type establishment and/or just hanging out in some sort of national park, writing in a journal or otherwise staring at the sky and dreaming.

6. Have you ever been in a long-distance relationship? Would you do it again?
Ugh. Yes. Hated it. Got real tired of being expected to participate phone sex every freaking time I picked up the phone (he had stamina, too — my long-distance bills were atrocious). Realized that there wasn’t exactly anything else *to* the relationship. I got bored and ended it.

7. Where do you get most of your news (paper, TV, Internet, etc.)?
Heh. I watch Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show.” That’s an adequate dosage.

8. Do you regularly check your horoscope?
Every freaking day. Always Yahoo! Astrology and its various subsects (i.e., daily work, daily flirt, daily extended, career, etc.). I also get daily/weekly e-mails from Astrocenter.

9. If you could, what’s one thing you would change about me?
I’d give you your dream job.

10. Ask me something.
I’m being selfish — how do you get rid of a sore throat? I have a virtual pharmacy on my coffee table and seem to be getting worse.

Hidden tunage at the end, loves. Enjoy!

I just picked up the soundtrack to my favorite TV show, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and I just want to profess my love of this series.

Seriously, I actually cry every freaking week as it’s ending — and it’s a comedy! I think it’s because I identify with every single female character. I mean, when Meredith looked at Dr. McDreamy this week and implored, “Pick *me.* Choose *me.* Love *me.*” — I was a weeping pile of Kleenex, nail polish and chai tea.

Mostly, though, I think I’m most like Cristina (and my life has followed quite a similar course) — although I was thrilled and shocked all at the same time when the renowned Ellis Gray herself, just before she sundowned, revealed that she’d had a torrid affair with Richard back in her glory day. Eep!

One of my greatest (irrational, I know) fears is that I will be climbing the walls of some nursing home, hemorrhaging the secrets I’ve so closely guarded for so long. Or, worse, everyone will discover that I wasn’t altogether that interesting in the first place. 😉

In any event, the soundtrack is missing some of the wonderful songs I’ve heard throughout the first two seasons, but it’s a great compilation overall. I mean, how can you help but groove (and maybe even flash back to the “Garden State” soundtrack) when you hear the show’s theme song?

I was just in the shower, thinking how marvelously quickly the week has gone, when I realized it’s only Wednesday morning.

*thunk*

It’s kind of like when you wake up screaming but realize you’ve been awake the whole time.

Anyway, here’s some tunage for today. It’s my way of wishing y’all a happy hump day.

On another note, I was thinking how when we have wonderful weekends (as I’ve been experiencing lately), that makes the weeks seem kind of crappy because all the errands that normally get run are sitting around, staring you in the face (laundry, post office, cleaning, etc.) until another weekend rolls around.

But then again, great weekends give you the strength to get through a week in hopes that the next weekend will be even better than the last.

But first, because I’d promised Erica an MP3, here’s an upbeat little ditty to kick off your Friday. Enjoy!

Erica had asked me a question, and rather than depleting her bandwidth, I’m answering it here: Read the rest of this entry »

… blowing through my life again …

Trapped in traffic last night, I stopped at a mall to waste some time. I was wandering around, yapping on the cell phone, when I saw someone who looked exactly like someone I knew, once upon a time.

I don’t like to hold on to the past. Thus, I hate it even worse when it creeps up on me. Because I am not that person anymore. Not to say that the “old” Dawn wasn’t a good person who was fun and lighthearted and introspective — the “new” Dawn is all of that with a heaping side of neuroses yet minus the dumb, impulsive shenanigans.

But it’s like how when you become a nonsmoker — you simply cannot be around smokers … not for a long while, anyway. The first year, the temptation to pick up a cigarette is downright overpowering. Thus, you stay out of bars and, sadly, perhaps find excuses not to hang out with your smoking friends in social environments. Then after a year has passed, it’s a “filthy, disgusting habit” that you can’t imagine that you used to partake of.

That said, I wrote an imaginary letter to this vision from the past:

Dear M—,

I can’t count the years that have passed since I’ve seen your face — I can’t even remember what you look like anymore, save for the one photo of you that I ever possessed, which I lost a few years ago. That, I had memorized. That is the image that comes to my mind when I think about you.

And so, I swore I saw you last night. Read the rest of this entry »

I hate September. My head is so full of sinus drippings that I cannot seem to find room to fit or form a thought amid the snarfalicious chaos and pressure. I feel like a cartoon character with a blank balloon above my head.

Not to mention my inability to wear makeup because my eyes are a-waterin’ something fierce. It’s like Halloween came early for me — sca-RY!

And you know what happens when I have nary a whisper of a proper blog entry — tunage!

And it’s groovy kinda shit, too. Like, be happy or at least lapse into a trance, right? 😉

Love in Traffic (John Creamer mix) — Satoshi Tomiie
“Chocolate (Club Silenciore mix)” — Kylie Minogue
“Don’t Make Me Want You” — Dublex Inc. f/Alice Russel
“One Word (Chris Cox club mix) — Kelly Osbourne

Speeding ticket, kids, NOT lottery ticket.

I had JUST merged onto the highway and cut left across four lanes in one fell swoop. And I figured I’d go into the HOV lane because it was totally empty so that I could pass the herd in front of me. But as it’s difficult to pass people who are going 75 mph, I HAD to punch down the gas harder than they were, right?

Well, now that’s the fun part. I was just about to pass four cars when — oh, now this is priceless — a Maryland state trooper WALKED INTO MY LANE AND WAVED ME OVER TO THE LEFT SHOULDER. Yes, walked out in front of me. On the interstate. Where I was clocked at 86 mph.

Well, 86 AFTER I slammed on the brake.

*sigh*

This was at the beginning of a 250-mile round-trip rendezvous to see my family for lunch.

I’m hardly mad about it — I’ve had this coming for YEARS. When folks at work bid goodnight and say, “Drive carefully — stay away from the crazies,” I have to remind them, “I AM one of those crazies.”

But it sucks now that I have to watch my speed and live with assholes tailgating me because I’m now only going 10 miles above the speed limit and not, well, 36. On a good day.

I admit, I was lost in thought, as I am apt to do behind the wheel. I was chilling to Portishead (right-click, save as. You know the drill) and just kind of dreaming out the window when I saw the state trooper staring me down and waving me to the shoulder.

Going from 86 (plus) to zero within 10 feet was quite an accomplishment — even though my brakes are only a year old, they sound tragic … hence why I don’t use them altogether that often. 😉

But here’s the catch. The patrol car? Was on the OTHER SIDE of the highway. I was going north; the car was pointed south. He had to HOP THE FUCKING CONCRETE DIVIDER to come after my ass.

I handed over my license (that doesn’t have the correct address) and my registration (which doesn’t have the correct license plate) and hoped for the best. And wonderfully, even though I have been pulled over MANY times, I hadn’t actually yet gotten a ticket (till today), so no points on the license. w00t!

Better yet — and I totally thank my new black push-up bra and low-cut camisole that is miraculously the same shade of green as my eyes — he lessened my fee a bit. The only other shining highlight to the humiliation was that he wasn’t one of those jagoffs who likes to ask you if you knew how fast you were going.

Because, and the answer is obvious and say it with me:

Not. Fast. Enough!!!!