Finally, the Net has come back to cyberspace!!!!

Hey, it's good to be back home again
Sometimes, this ol' keyboard feels like a long lost friend....

Yes, the long days of exile are over. Naturally, customer service STILL doesn't have my order for an upgrade quite right but it beats ZERO mb/sec.

Work is still work. I'm still pulling some long hours, and about to pull my hair out if some of our customers don't get on the stick.

Other stuff is good. Life is good. Things are better now.

There's no place like home.... there's no place like home.... there's no place like home!

Tired but rejuvenated too.

Well. I am pooped but strangely rejuvenated as well.

I went to Atlanta yesterday for a weekend with some of mah homegirls, the North Jawja Queens. We met for lunch at Chili's and got to see the 6-week-old son of one of our girls -- and he's going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up! We laughed and laughed! Then "PS" and I went shopping, and back to her place (and a shout-out to her main man, "Harlin") for a quick nap before the evening festivities. "GTA" joined us and off we went.

We got to our evening place of repast and entertainment -- and believe me, it was most definitely entertaining!!! We laughed our butts off all evening long! Okay, we Queenly gals have a tendency to do that anyway, but when you toss the general public into the mix..... you just never know.

First there was the "performance artiste" who got on the dance floor shortly after we exited to cool off our tootsies. She was voguing and posing all over the place. And during a quick spin on the floor .... well, you know the 5th song on the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack? Or the story of Holly in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"? Let's just say Miss Vida Boheme was in da house. And later got 3 more of her friends to show.

Then Ted Nugent appeared as well. Or at least a guy who was a cross between the Motor City Madman, and Madman Charles Manson. He and Vida Boheme spent a lot of time talking.....

We all did the Time Warp and had our pictures made on the dance floor (group shot) as well.

Oh God, there was so much stuff I don't know where to begin. But let's just say a very good time was had by most! And I can't wait for next month's gathering!

What, pray tell....

is America THINKING when Ace Young -- who did a fairly decent job last night -- is in the bottom 3 and Chicken Little is safe????????

No surprise that Melissa is gone, but I was doubly floored when they put Lisa Tucker in the bottom 3. Her song last night was pretty decent as well.

Next week, Chicken Little. In the words of "Bad Dog": "Tick Tock, Motherf-----r!"

STOP: Idol Time!

My vote-off this week: Chicken Little..... er, Kevin Corvais. Sorry, dude.

Technodiva!!!

Okay, I'm not as much of a technodiva as some other gals I know (especially Raven and KIA), but I can hold my own. The last month, I have finally taken my technology forward -- okay, as far forward as I can actually afford!

I had to get a new cell phone. My old one was 3 years old and a damn good bare-bones phone to boot. But alas, it was so drained and so dead to charging, that even the folks at the cellular store couldn't get it up and running long enough to do a data transfer. (Luckily, I could..... doofi!) The new one is great -- camera, Bluetooth, mobile web, all the good stuff. Except..... they don't have my old ringtone. My old one was "Layla" by Derek & The Dominoes. No one else I knew had it, and I loved it. Right now, I've made do with "Margaritaville" -- but as much as I love Buffett, I want "Layla" back. Someday soon.....

Today, as part of my new fitness plan, I bought an MP3 player. No, it's not an iPod or any sort of Apple brand. My home technology doesn't support it (and to the shame of this technodiva, I'm still running Win98) -- but I did get an MP3 player with Sports module (including heartbeat/pulse monitor, stopwatch, etc.), and it's good enough to get me through a walk or a workout. And quite honestly, that's all I need it for.

Next technoplan: a much needed upgrade to my beloved desktop (or a replacement), a laptop of some sort, and wireless networking in the house. Of course, this will happen when I hit a big prize in the lottery......

And to all the TRUE technodivas: Y'ALL ROCK!!!

Funny silliness -- and Mercury retrograde.

Now to some, that may sound like some silly junk. But it never fails that when Mercury is retrograde, weird crap happens. This past week has just been one freaky thing after another. The toner stuff, a medical issue, and probably a few other things heading my way. But it's also not going to stop me from living my life just as I normally do -- which brings us to the funny silliness!

Yesterday, I met Stacey and Princess Reeb for a mani/pedi day (okay, I just did a manicure, because surprisingly enough, my feet were in decent shape). The salon I go to with them usually has a "greatest hits" kind of music playing, all not done by the original artists. Rather inoffensive to most listeners, and even I can overlook it a bit.

I was sitting there waiting on my manicurist to come over -- and suddenly, "Una Paloma Blanca" comes on. I swear, all I could think of was Eddie Murphy's Buh-Weet singing, "Oona Panoona Banca" (from Buh-Weet Sings). It was all I could do not to guffaw out loud -- and I was good and held it in check. But we surely did comment on it later!

Later on, I was talking with Princess Reeb about Lent -- she commented that she had given up fighting with her brother for Lent. Last year, when it was time for her first confession, she came out of the confessional and after saying her penance, went back to the car with her family. The Boy (as we call him) came over to her side of the car, and like most younger brothers, immediately began to find a way to needle her into something. She turned to him and said, "You will have to go to the other side of the car to get in. I have to go and sin no more..." So I asked her how she was doing with going and sinning no more.... "I'm tryyyyyying!" she says. Gotta admit, it's hard enough to do, whether you're 9, 36, or 90! And of course, "I'm tryyyyyying!" brought just as much laughter as "I have to go and sin no more" did!

You just have to love days when silliness reigns supreme!

Ash Wednesday's random thoughts...

The last post with my horoscope is proving to be all too needed. This has not been my week! Let's just say that toner is not a friend of mine. I refuse to touch the office machinery anymore. Mercury is retrograde... this explains SO much!!

***

Went to Ash Wednesday Mass this morning. Fr. C got us all but GOOD -- each of us walked out not merely dabbed with ashes, but practically drenched in 'em.

The funny part was that later in the day, my coworker wondered whether I had toner on my forehead..... given what has happened this week with me and toner, it wouldn't have been a bad guess!!!