She's On Phi-Er

I'm waiting for Brett to pick me up from work, and I didn't bring my knitting so don't really have much to do...I don't feel like I really have time to reply to emails, plus my hotmail's been acting up today, so I'm not really interested in going back in, I tried to eat this zone bar thingy I brought to eat for my snack but it's hurting my throat so I stopped, so now I'm writing this. It's been almost a week since I first got sick, and this is my first day back at work. It's as lame as work usually is, but not too much lamer, which is good. I'm not to that stage of the flu yet where you have that worthless dry cough that chokes you and makes your eyes tear but doesn't get anything up, and I'm past the stage where I have no voice and am little more than a dripping pile of germs, so it's been alright. Just some sniffles, throat clearing, lots of the healthy expectorating coughs...if you can use expectorating as a verb...or an adverb or however I used it, and dizziness, aching sinuses, and watery eyes. It's all good. But my throat burning got the one line of that country song stuck in my head...the only line I know...and THAT sucks. "She's on fire." Only in my head it's with an increasingly twangy accent, as I mentally mock the countryness (which I KNOW isn't a word) and try to make having it stuck in there slightly more entertaining than it would otherwise be. Right. So I don't like this post, but I'll submit it, because Brett is probably about to be here, and I get to go back home! Woo!!! :)

Ugh.

I feel terrible.



I asked for yesterday off from work so I could meet Mike's new baby, and we got some baby stuff and a book for Mike and everything, and then Wednesday night I started to feel sick, and just kept feeling worse and worse until I realized I must have the flu. Needless to say, I had to bow out on the trip, and I still haven't met my new nephew. Now it's day three, and I don't feel better AT ALL, and we're thinking it's The Actual Flu, rather than just a cold that we refer to as "the flu." I stayed home sick today and felt like shit the whole time. I've been lying in front of the tv all day switching back and forth between E! and Comedy Central, because anything more substantial makes me feel nauseated. Words cannot express how bad I feel. I did take some time out to finish up the kitty slideshow though, so that's one semi-productive thing I did today. Oh, and this post...that's a good thing too. And Brett and I are about to go to Blockbuster to see if they have The Hebrew Hammer because I'm tired of watching all the crap that's on tv right now but I don't have the energy to do much else.

Happy Turducken Day!

Turducken is a disgusting product that someone, probably someone fat, invented. It's turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken. Three, three, three carcasses in one! Or I guess, one in the other in the other. But anyway. I'm just posting really quickly before we leave for Portland this afternoon to show everyone just how much EACH VOTE COUNTS. Because this is the clearest example I've ever seen in my life. If you haven't been following the Washington gubernatorial race you might be shocked, but even if you have, it's still shocking. The recount is currently at 1,372,484 votes for Rossi, 1,372,442 votes for Gregoire; a difference of 42 votes. It's insane. So if you didn't vote this year, especially if you're a democrat, I hope you feel really lame. Because you are. And if you didn't vote and whoever you wanted to win loses the race, you have no right to complain whatsoever, because it's your fault. So right, I have to go, but here's the full article from The Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002100693_recount25m.html

And...Another One.

I finished my Halloween slideshow this morning. I think our party was pretty cool this year, and I'm proud that every single person who showed up had at least made some sort of effort to be in costume. I missed getting pictures of a few people because I didn't take out my camera until later on, but well...I'm sure I'll get pictures of you at another party sometime down the line.

Also, I looked back at the history of search words people have found my site with for the last 12 months, and compiled a list consisting of the words that I thought were the most interesting. I'm now going to list them and also talk about them. I WAS just going to list them, but I left my knitting stuff in the car last night and Brett took the car to work, so I have nothing else to do right now.

cat (# of requests: 1,453) and jackson (1,161)
I'm surprised that these are so far ahead of all the other terms. Even surpassing words like "of" and "a" (which I wish didn't even get counted anyway). I guess maybe it's because if someone is actually going to follow the link to my site, they're probably looking for me. I'm sure there were plenty of people who only searched for "cat" or "jackson", but there's not that big of a difference between the number of hits each of them has lead to, which makes me think that more often than not people are searching for both at once.

test (596)
Maybe they're looking for tests to take? This theory is only made stronger by the fact that people also pull me up with gay (166), purity (154), iq (138), personality (92), and insanity (10).

body (138) and modification (138)
Often when I see search words that have exactly the same number of hits associated with them, I say to myself, "self, people were searching for those words *together*. So 138 people were probably really disappointed when they came across my site, because I've posted nothing what so ever about scarification, PA's, butterflying, lobe stretchers, or any of the rest of the stuff they were probably hoping to see. (ha, now my site is going to come up when someone searches for *those* words.)

pronunciation (121)
So you're looking for pronunciations. Looking at the other search words, I'm guessing you want to know how to say either L'Occitane (76) (lah-sit-ann), or Bvlgari (55) (bul-gah-ree), so there you go.

bitch (90)
Why would anyone search only for the word "bitch"? I'm sure they were looking for it in combination with other words, but I hope those other words weren't "cat" and "jackson" or else...well...I just won't like them very much.

tickle (69)
These people were probably looking for other people's quiz results from tests on Tickle. Mine are posted in my "online quiz scores" section.

Brett (60)
Brett is the coolest ever. I'm frankly shocked that people haven't pulled me up by his name more often. Or maybe it's just that they usually go to his Brogg instead.

goth (56)
I'm a little "pink goth," but mostly I'm just pink. So if you're looking for a Circe Nightshade, you've followed the wrong rabbit.

sexual (55)
perv.

robertsmithofthecure (55)
weird...I hope this "word" is unrelated to the people who searched for "sexual". I think it's funny how many people search for this as one word, just as i typed it. it's fun to always say his name like that..."robertsmithofthecure"...rather than just "Robert Smith" or "Robert Smith, you know...of The Cure." Ah, girlhood crushes...how I love to make fun of you now that I'm grown....

pee (52) and smell (52)
Ew...why? Yuck...

fear (48) and water (48) and dark (48)
It's nice to see that so many other people have the sense to be afraid of dark water. It's also nice to see that people might have problems with celery (17) making their tongue (17) numb (17) and might have a vomit (6) phobia (6).

wwu (42) and porn (42)
Hmmm...to see what someone might pull up with those two words used together, I did a quick google and was shocked to see 3,310 search results come up. None of which (on the first page at least) appeared to have anything to do with porn.

pootie (31) and tang (31)
Kappa chow, my damies. Kappa chow.

me10 (23)
Now. I can understand how I had one hit for dogcowtattoo because really, every once in a while someone searches for something really off the wall (I still don't know how that pulled up my site though). But *23* hits for "me10"? Who's searching for this? Is it the name of a band or something?

After seeing best (1) in (1) show (1) busybee (1), and think (64) I (178) have (64) a (93) chance (64) with (64) this (64) guy (65), I decided to see if Awstats, the new web stats program my server has listed keeps track of search phrases, because I'm tired of this single word stuff. It looks like it's only been recording data on my site for about a month now, but here are the phrases it's caught so far:

brainteaser test tickle 30 out of 30 Two people in the last month have pulled me up with this, so I feel I have to address it. If you got 29 out of 30, and you KNOW you got EVERYTHING right, you did. I took this quiz and freaked out, because I wasn't guessing; I knew I'd gotten everything right, and they gave me 29/30. So I figured THEY must've done something wrong, so I went back, and by process of elimination, figured out which answer those morons at Tickle got wrong. Question 29, which asks "Which picture completes the analogy?" and then shows X:IX (with the IX turned clockwise, 90 degrees) and then Y:? expects the correct anser to be "it's impossible to know." This is incorrect however, because if you measure the...white space? v shapes? I don't know what they're called. Anyway, if you measure the spaces at the top and bottom of the X's (which you can totally do without the aid of a ruler...it's really f'ing obvious), your answer will be IY turned clockwise 90 degrees, because duh, that's the RIGHT answer. So that's how I got 30/30; I figured out what they did wrong.

the spark gay test If you're unsure of your gayness, you're probably not all the way gay. But also not all the way straight. Your sexuality is "complicated."

jell-o the cat who lived in a mcdonalds parking lot This sounds like it could make for such a sad story...

intuitive interpreter iq
thinking style intuitive interpreter These two seem to go together...I'm an "intuitive interpreter" and I guess I have a pretty decent IQ. Don't worry though, there's still plenty of room in this world for you to be a raging idiot, even if your "thinking style" is similar to my own.

what does smoking do to the smoker s finger s skin and nails I think it makes them yellow. Oh, and they smell like ashtray.

cat blisters on stomach Ew...poor kitties...

tickle sex Tickle sex?

song lyrics i think i have a chance with this guy What's-Her-Face rocks my socks off.

windermere blog Who would blog about a real estate company? Even if it is the greatest real estate company on Earth.

cinema product reviews makeupalley all Yay! Makeupalley! I've never hear of a beauty product called cinema though...

spark gay test Aw...poor confused anonovisitor. See the response for "the spark gay test."

match cat zodiac Um...yeah. I have no idea.

tickle super iq test score My score is 141 and I'm, as I stated before, an "Intuitive Interpreter."

7-up up yours Ha...I still wear this shirt. You're just as outdated as me!

cat in shower picture I'm assuming this person was looking for an actual feline in the shower, which is good, because there's a picture of Sasha in my shower somewhere in the archives from last spring I think.

i think i have a chance with this guy lyrics And again...What's-Her-Face, and everyone else at Homestar Runner, rocks my freaking socks off.

toms of maine abortion Ugh...I hope they're not pro-birth...let's take a look through google...okay, according to their FAQs their company is taking a neutral stand on this issue, which also means do not donate to any organizations that are either pro-choice, or pro-birth. I still don't like their toothpaste though.

Okay, so that's everything for this hideously long post...have a good night, I'm going to eat dinner.

Finally!

Yay, it's me again! I haven't posted in forever, but now I'm going to start catching up. The strangest thing is that I've actually got a list of things to post about...Alison's wedding, a kitty update (with pictures, because I'm a nerd), a post where I address the most popular searches that people use to pull up my site, a post about our Halloween party, and the inevitable Political Rant. These posts will come in the order I've listed them I hope, with the rant hopefully being less venomous and condemning than it would be if I were to write it right now. I've been pretty busy lately, and also a little stressed out, which has lead to the hideous neglect I've subjected my blog to. Anyhow, I'll just start with the first topic now...
Alison's Wedding!
It was fun and good and Alison Jerkson is now Alison Argentine. It's been so long since it happened (almost two months!) that I can't really think of anything else to say, except that Ali and Corey seem like a pretty good couple, and they have a cute new kitten named Mew Kitten Jr or something like that, and she's a feisty calico. And they're still working on the thank you notes for their wedding presents, but I think that's just fine, and that anyone who really cares enough to actually well...care...should find something better to be frustrated with. Like whether or not they're going to be burned at the stake by our new Fundamentalist Regime. Yes, I am bitter. Anyway, back to the wedding. So here's the slideshow, and even though I didn't say much about the wedding in this post, I wrote a bunch of stuff on the slideshow captions last night, so that'll give you some more stuff to read.

Dirty Hippy Banned from Entering US

So apparently Cat Stevens is going to kill us all. He's therefore not allowed entry into the US, and rightly so. Donations he's made to Muslim organizations have apparently been linked to funds used by terrorists at some point, somehow, which means he himself poses enough of a threat to be on "a government terrorism watch list." Now I'm sure I don't have even a fraction of the information the homeland security people have (though I'm sure a lot of them don't have a fraction of the intelligence *I* have, muahaha) but seriously. The man is a dirty f*ing hippy. REAL hippies aren't terrorists. They're against that. He's all about peace and rainbows and lately, Allah. But despite the fact that Allah and Mohammad are themselves horrible terrorists (at least from what I've interpreted from the news), I doubt very seriously that CAT STEVENS would be all like, "hey, I know I gave half of the proceeds of my last album to victims of 9/11, but you, terrorists, how about you have the other half, and just go on killing innocent people and accomplishing nothing productive at all. I'm all for people who kill." Besides, um, if we're going after people who've funded and even say...TRAINED people who are now a terrorist threat, shouldn't we go after ourselves as well? The whole thing just makes me want to go home and bite my pillow. (that last bit was for you Shannon)

Gumbo + Kashi = Big Thumbs Down

I have digestive troubles. My system, like fine china, requires that its meals be eaten with care. Friday night and Saturday morning I sloshed my way eagerly through a *huge* amount of homemade gumbo, complete with andouille sausage (which usually makes my insides nice and fiery). Saturday afternoon I chased that mess with a Kashi malted chocolate protein bar. Big mistake. I wanted it because it was healthier and more filling than a candy bar, but still pretty much tasted like a candy bar. Brett made a crack about Kashi and its magical ability to produce unnecessary amounts of poop. I ignored him. Later that evening, I suddenly doubled over in pain. Waddled to the bathroom, still doubled over. Sat on the toilet doubled over. Stayed there for a good long while. Then fell asleep in an uncomfortable ball with a heating pad on my tummy. I've learned something from this...apparently if gumbo turns my insides into a ball of liquid fire, and kashi enables me to produce higher than normal amounts of poop, the two together produce a higher than normal amount of liquid fire poop. I'm still recovering, but my insides somehow feel a little cleaner and more fit. I ate another Kashi bar yesterday, and one today, so we'll see how that goes. Maybe old people are on to something with this whole extra fiber thing...

A Quick Post Before I Go...

While present I take how many with work, Shannon' "I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I?" Thing is known; Post. There is my result here:

NetHack Monster:

/!%/++
+.@%)]/
/%)+/)

If I were a NetHack monster, I would be a mimic. I can be whatever I think you need me to be - it might look like I'm here to help you, but really you're here to help me.

Which NetHack Monster Are You?

I'm a Philosopher/Scientist!



Which Enemy of the Christian Church Are You?

Take More of Robert & Tim's Quizzes
Watch Robert & Tim's Cartoons


I am an Intellectual



Which America Hating Minority Are You?

Take More Robert & Tim Quizzes
Watch Robert & Tim Cartoons


Also, if you're looking for a way to make really messed up ESL-ish sentences to bore and confuse your friends (and possibly yourself), a fun tool to use is AltaVista's Babel Fish.

I gave it this...

While at work today I took a couple of the quizzes from Shannon's "I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I?" post. Here are my results:

Asked it to translate to Japanese, then took the Japanese and asked it to translate to English (theoretically producing the same two sentences over again, with perhaps slight alterations), and it gave me the useless crap you see at the top of this post. It's fun for the whole family...

Eww...

My bagel has an expiration date printed on it.


In other news...WE HAVE TWO NEW BABIES IN THE HOUSE!!! :D


Their names are Star:


and Mordechai:


They're a bonded pair of 9 mo. old kitties who've been at N.O.A.H. for the past three months or so. They're still a little stressed out and sick from the change of moving in with us I think, but they're very cute and sweet. They're brother and sister and seem to really look out for each other which probably helps, though Star is still much more anxious around us than Mordechai. We got them on Saturday after we got back from my mom's house (click here for house photos). We took a week-long vacation there (and on the coast a little) that was pretty sweet (click here for vacation photos). Sci Fi is running a marathon of this show called Night Stalker right now that powerfully sucks. I'm on my third hour-long episode and I really feel I should change the channel.

ATTENTION GODLESS SODOMITES: Don't forget to vote!

Democrats can get their registration forms here. Republicans can go here. In case you didn't know, most of you have to register in advance. In order to vote in the next election, your registration must be postmarked by the...

32nd day before election: Georgia
30th day before election: Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
29th day before election: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey
28th day before election: New Mexico
4th Wednesday before the election: Missouri
4th Saturday before the election: Vermont
3rd Friday before the election: Nebraska
25th day before election: Idaho, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma
21st day before election: Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon
20th day before election: Maine, Massachusetts, Utah
15th day before the election: California, Kansas
13th day before election: Wisconsin
10th day before election: Alabama, New Hampshire, Iowa
5th day before election: Connecticut
Register at the polls on election day: North Dakota, Wyoming

And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on.

I avoid things that make me uncomfortable. So, for two weeks to the day, I've avoided writing about Sasha. She was getting on in years I suppose...hell, she was practically ancient...but she still felt like my little baby. She took ill rapidly and severely, and was gone before it even truly sunk in that she wasn't going to make it through the summer. It's okay...she had lived out her life and seemed really to tired to keep on truckin' any longer. Her last day was very sad because I'd always imagined for some reason that our goodbye would be one of two lucid souls communicating silent, perfect love and devotion. Something that would give me both solid closure and a last minute confirmation of our eternal spiritual connection. She was the perfect cat for me, and I just couldn't get enough of us staring into each other's eyes and smiling (she was quite the smiler). She purred when I sang, purred when I woke her up, purred when I walked into the room. I videotaped her sleeping, videotaped her exploring the backyard, and videotaped her walking up the stairs. She nuzzled my face when I cried; I checked her box for healthy poops. We took care of each other. Her last day felt like an eternity. She was already halfway gone as I cradled her in my arms; her exhausted body sitting heavy and limp against mine. Her eyes were glazed and staring; my idealistic goodbye wasn't meant to be. That aside, it wasn't bad, as deaths go. Well, second-party deaths at least; I can't really speak for HER experience I guess. I spent the day alternating between snuggling her, giving her water, and going upstairs to sob where she couldn't hear me, when my sadness over her weakening purr would get the better of me. Then Brett came home and the three of us left the house together for the last time. Our friend Kim happened to be working when we got to the clinic, which was an unexpected blessing, and she was able serve as a great link between the clinical and the emotional aspects of the process. Brett and I then spent a few minutes alone with Sasha; clinging to each other and to her, cherishing the trinity of our little family, and then it was time. Afterward, Brett lost it in the exam room, I lost it in the parking lot, and we both lost it at home. It was not good times. There was an odd sense of relief that came with it though. I guess that often comes when someone old and frail passes. There's also a strange yet reassuring sense of her presence that seems to continue on in our house, which is nice. She really is the perfect cat for me.

So...the mullet.

It's not as big of a deal as I originally thought it was I guess (at right is me with my brown mullet), but here goes. I hadn't cut my hair in months, it's summer, Brett was also in need of a haircut, we were having a good day, and we decided to go to Fantastic Sam's because he'd gone there once before and they'd done alright. So. The woman I get is older, kind of trashy looking, but whatever...you never know who's gonna give you a good haircut. I tell her I want about half an inch to an inch trimmed off - just to get rid of the crap at the ends - and that I maybe want some layers too, so it feels a little lighter for summer. She tells me I need an inch and a half cut off to be healthy. I say okay, if I have to. From there, she bitches about her husband's skin cancer, her skin cancer, her psoriasis, her ovarian cancer, her breast cancer, etc. Then brags about how well she tans and how she'll be "as brown as a baked bean" or something like that, by the end of the summer. THEN she sticks her finger in her ear...like waaaay deep down, and sort of squats a little and tilts her head as she scratches inside her ear and grumbles in her smokery southern accent about how the psoriasis has made its way into her ear. Then she runs the finger through my hair again. Periodically throughout her rant she'd snip off seemingly arbitrary chunks of my hair. When I noticed a five-inch piece fall in my lap, and then saw her pick up the section she'd snipped it from and cut off another inch or so, I knew it was going to be bad. In the end, she'd cut off what looks to be about three inches or so from the back, and almost seven from the front. When she was finished I met up with Brett, whose similarly skilled stylist had left him looking like he'd just joined the marines. We went to the grocery store afterward and I tried to hide it by shoving it into a bun, but the front pieces were too short, and kept falling out. After we finished shopping, I started to cry before we even got to our car. Then we got home and I cried some more. (To the left is a lovely picture of me crying on the floor) Anyway, after I moped and whined for awhile like a spoiled, vain GIRL (which I am), I bucked up, sized up my butchered locks, and tried to figure out what I could do to improve them. The answer: dye them ash brown. I know you can't tell much from the picture, but it' a lot less red (you can see it more in the new "row of me" image at the top of the page). My hair has a lot of red in it naturally, and for some reason it's really hard to get rid of, but I think I look better with this ashy brown hair, since my skin and eyes are naturally cool toned. So it does something to make it look better, but I also know it does nothing for the cut. However, I can't bare to chop off more than she already has, so I guess things are staying this way until my next haircut. Which, when I mangage to get up the courage to do it, I will not be getting from Fantastic Sam's.

The Longest Post EVER, Part 2

Okay, so apparently my post was SO long that blogger can't actually accept it as one post. So here's the second survey...

SURVEY No. 2

1. Your Name (just so that we're sure): Cat Jackson

2. Do you like your name? What would it be if you could change it? I wouldn't change it; it's perfect.

3. Your Sex: Girl.

4. Your Gender on a scale of 1(Feminine) to 10 (Masculine): 3

5. Your Sexual Orientation on a scale of 1(Straight) to 10 (Gay): 3

6. How do you like my Over Use of Capitalization? I think it's interesting, yet irritating. I'm a little sad that I still do it, yet I can't imagine stopping.

7. Have you ever felt like you were just pretending to be as good as people thought you were, and like at any time people might wake up and realize what a loser you really are? Less now than I did when I was more stressed out.

8. Have you ever padded your little socked feet into the bathroom on a lazy weekend of tv watching, internet surfing, and junkfood eating, spotted a zit on your greasy, unwashed face and thought, "damn I'm skanky."? Absosmurfly. How did you KNOW? Oh yeah...because you're me.

9. Have you ever felt really, really proud of yourself? What are you the most proud of right now? Yes. Right now I'm proudest of the fact that I'm not interested in answering this enough to actually think of the answer.

10. Do you think God exists? Do you *wish* God existed, or that you had some proof God existed, if you're unsure? Yes, I think probably. Wish? I don't really care. I'm happy enough with the way things are, so if there really is no God, why would it disturb me?

11. Are you afraid of dying? More afraid of OTHER people dying.

12. On a scale of 1(not very) to 10(extremely), how comfortable are you with the way you look? 7

13. When you're in a room full of people you find really physically attractive, what are you most self-conscious of? My weight.

14. Do you think abortion should be legal? Yes. If someone thought that having a baby was such a bad idea that they felt they needed to KILL the baby, or they just disliked it enough to kill it, why would I want to FORCE them to have it? I believe it's a life, but I can't imagine that unborn baby souls go anywhere bad if they're not brought into this world. The fewer babies we have that are born to crack whores and teenagers, the better.

15. Are you afraid that when your friends send you back this survey, you might be surprised and/or offended by their answers to questions like numbers 10 and 14 (and probably some of the ones I haven't thought of at this point)? Well, I might be surprised and/or offended by someone's reaction, but I'm not actually emailing this out right now, so I don't know if anyone is even going to react at all.

16. Would you rather know who your friends really are, regardless of whether or not you might agree with them, or would you prefer to not touch on topics where you might have strong and differing opinions? If someone's opinions bothered me that much I'd just find ways to hang out with them less.

17. Would it offend you if one of your friends thought they might not like the real you, but just never brought it up? I wouldn't be offended I think, but I'd like them less, because I don't like people who don't like me.

18. Do you believe in Right to Die? Yes. There are too many people in this world already; why force someone to be here if they wish they weren't?

19. Do you think it's morally acceptable to eat meat? Yes, but I don't think it's morally acceptable to be so ungrateful for the life that was taken to not even be able to acknowledge where it came from. Like how some people eat much more than a healthy amount of meat but refuse to think about where it came from, or how the animal may have been raised. Meat is a natural thing for humans to eat; thinking of it only as food and not as the body of another creature is selfish and disrespectful.

20. Could you kill an animal for food? For food? Yes. For sport? No.

21. Would you be happy if Osama bin Laudin was assassinated? This is a dated question. And no, I wouldn't gain satisfaction from that.

22. If he was dying in front of you and begging you to help him, and you knew you could easily save his life, would you let him die? Not if he was asking for help. GW on the other hand...I'm not so sure I could bring myself to help him.

23. How many people do you think someone could sleep with before you thought of them as a little slutty? Who knows...if they were like, 50 years old and had always been single: probably like 30 people. If they were my age and not yet married, I think my previous answer still stands: about 7.

24. Are you a little slutty, according to that number? Not even.

25. Do you think marajuana should be legal? Yes. Yes I think it's addictive, yes I think it's carcinogenic, and yes I think it should be legal. Just like alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sugar, spray paint, etc.

26. Do you like the Simpsons? Hell. Yes.

27. If the person closest to you were going to give you a gift tonight, what would you want? Enough money so that we could spend as much time together as we wanted, and we'd never have to work a job we didn't like again.

28. What position do you sleep in? Mostly on one side or the other, with one leg drawn up and my arms by my head.

29. Do you bite your nails? Nope. I used to, but then one day (around when we moved to the BURBS), I just stopped.

30. If you had to go really bad, would you crap in a public bathroom? Only if I had, as my brother Jacob puts it, "a turtle head pokin' out."

31. Have you ever had really bad gas but had to hold it in because you were hanging out with someone you really liked and they couldn't, just COULDN'T know how bad you could really make things smell? Meh...sometimes, but less often now than when I was younger and more insecure.

32. Doesn't it SUCK to sit there all sweaty and crampy, trying to look cute? Yes.

33. Have you ever had a crush on a teacher or professor? I've thought some were cute, but I've never really fixated on one.

34. How old were you when you got your first real kiss? 16

35. If you've done "it," how old were you the first time? 16

36. Do you think people should be in a serious relationship before they have sex? It helps things to be less crazy, unless you're the kind of person who's so comfortable with things that you can just get nekkid and fool around with whoever, without needing to feel like it's that important of a thing. If you're that comfortable, fool around with whoever; I don't care.

37. If your best friend told you that they'd cheated on their significant other, would you think less of them? No, but inside I'd roll my eyes and think "here comes The Drama" because The Drama always rolls around eventually when things like that happen. No more so than when when somebody breaks up with somebody else that the group liked, or when somebody brings in somebody new, or when a couple fights in front of everyone, etc. It's mostly just couple crap, so it doesn't mean much to me in regard to their friendship with me, but it deserves at least an internal eye-rolling.

38. Do you give money to homeless people begging in the street? No.

39. Would you give them food if they were asking for that instead? Yes.

40. If you had to vomit, what would you prefer to have in your stomach? Water. It's the least unpleasant thing I've barfed.

41. Would you ever pierce your naughty bits? Nope. I like them how they is.

42. Do you think people with pierced naughty bits are more or less sexually attractive? Less, I think. I can't imagine being comfortable with something metal being involved with that kind of tissue, thus I have no interest in it being involved with mine.

43. Would you kiss a smoker? Only if I had to, because if you really like someone you're not going to just STOP liking them because they start smoking. So Brett, don't ever smoke, because I wouldn't like it but I'd still want to kiss you.

44. Which do you think is more personal of a thing, spirituality or sexuality? Spirituality.

45. If you answered spirituality, do you ever wonder why there aren't big churches for gettin' it on? Oh Cat...what the fuck...NO. I'm glad I answered no to this the first time around too...I wonder what even made me think of the question...

46. If you answered sexuality, do questions like 45 offend you? I didn't answer sexuality...

47. Which is grosser, bacon or JELL-O? I've started to eat bacon some times, but still hate JELL-O. So JELL-O is grosser.

48. If you said neither, would you ever eat bacon JELL-O? What about Brett's bacon bread? Hell no. And also No.

49. How long do you usually shower? About 10 minutes.

50. What's your shower routine? Wet hair, shampoo, rinse, condition, shave, rinse, wash face, wash body.

51. Bar soap or shower gel? Neither. I make both (and I make them sls free for the most part, so they're much better for sensitive skin), but I went for so many years without using them (before I knew that it was primarily the sls that was making my skin so irritated) that I still very rarely use them.

52. Is it okay for girls to not shave? Yes, but my rule is that it's only okay if you look cute fuzzy. Megan looks cute fuzzy. If you look like ugly and manish, you'd probably be better off shaving. It's like short hair; it can look really cute and girly, but only on certain people.

53. Is it okay for guys to have long hair? Yes, but most of them look better with short hair. Like that guy from Queer Eye...what is he THINKING? Much better with short hair.

54. Long finger nails or short? Whether long or short, they'd better be REAL. Fake nails are ultra trashy. Long is only okay if they're not like, tissue-boxes-on-your-feet long, and short is only okay if they're not dirty, bloody stubs.

55. Do you feel comfortable when people greet you with a kiss on the cheek? Do you wish people did this more? Yes and yes. I like affection. But I have sensitive skin, so please no spit cooties.

56. Do you like animals? (creationist feel free to lecture after the next question...) Do you realize that people ARE animals? Yes and yes. Sometimes I wonder if we're even really the smartest animals, or just the most desperate to create.

57. Do you like Star Trek? YES!

58. Would you be apprehensive about befriending an alien? No, as long as I knew they wouldn't hurt me...

59. What about a Canadian? I'm fine with Canadians.

60. Do you think people are just RE-TARDED and annoying with all their Canada bashing? Yes.

61. Are you offended when people call things retarded? No, but sometimes I cringe on the inside when I say it too much.

62. Do you really believe kids with things like ADHD and Dyslexia are not "dis"abled, but "differently" abled? No, that's a crock of shit. We CAN learn how to live a normal life and do the things we want to do for the most part, but we have to learn how to work with and around our DISABILITY. We have a "dis"advantage in the real world that causes us to have to work a little bit harder at some things, not a "differently"advantage.

63. Do you believe in making special accommodations for the "differently" abled? It depends. I don't think the NBA should be forced to make the hoop lower so that short but talented basketball players can play, and I don't think that companies or schools should have to lower their standards of admission or testing so that someone who is smart yet unfocused can get a degree. However if the accommodations are ones that may make no difference in the person's capability to perform their intended tasks (like left-handed baseball mitts for left-handed players, or ASL translators for deaf painting students) then sure, why not.

64. Do you like your belly? Yeah, though sometimes I wish it weren't so big and pale.

65. Does that old navy commercial with the singing belly buttons creep you the fuck out? Wow...that commercial went away a long time ago. But yes, it creeped me out, though I don't think it was actually an Old Navy commercial.

66. Does Old Navy creep you out? Yes.

67. Do you still buy clothes there so that you can take advantage of their low low prices and way cool gear? Yes.

68. Do you like fried food? Yes.

69. If someone batter fried dog, and it was in little pieces so it didn't LOOK like dog, and it smelled really good, would you eat it? Just a piece, because I'd have to at least try it. Unless it was really good and then I'd probably eat more than just a piece.

70. Does the idea of eating dog gross you out? More so than the idea of eating other animals? Why? No, but I've never had it so I'd be nervous that I might not like it. If an animal is your pet, I think it'd be wrong to eat it. If it's not, then why would it be different than any other animal? Dog, cow, pig, chicken, horse, buffalo, cat, turtle, shark, dolphin, lamb, goat, duck, rabbit, snake, whatever...unless there's a health risk or a personal attachment involved, they're all living creatures, and they're all made of edible meat. Why value the life of one over another?

71. After you finish this, will you scroll back up to the beginning and read it over before you send it on? No, this is way too long.

72. What's your favorite color of car? I don't care.

73. What's your least favorite color to wear? Anything neon. Those colors are just NOT flattering on white people.

74. Would you ever get (another?) tattoo? Do you like tattoos? I sometimes wish I didn't have the one I have now, and I usually don't like them when they're in really visable places, or they're really generic things (like flowers, butterflies, cartoon characters, celestial crap, hearts, celtic knots, skulls, fairies, crosses, etc) but at the same time, I wouldn't object to getting another one as long as it's in a more discrete location and is something that is meaningful to me.

75. Do you have anything rotting in your fridge right now? I'm sure there's something in there rotting, probably toward the back.

76. Do you always flush the toilet after you go, or do you sometimes "let it mellow?" I've been known to let it mellow, but only in my house, and only if nobody's going to be around to see my shame.

77. Have you ever had to give a urine sample? Was it easy? Did you pee on your hand? Yes and yes, but yes, I peed on my hand once.

78. Do you love your parents? Yes

79. Do you *like* your parents...who they are? Do you get along with them? Yes and yes. Though sometimes we disagree on things.

80. If you were going to cry, would you rather be by yourself or with someone close to you? With someone close to me, even though I feel dumb when I cry.

81. Are you frustrated with the amount of people who drive gas guzzling vehicles when they don't need to be using them? Yes.

82. Do you recycle? Yes, but sometimes when I'm cleaning the house I just shove everything in the garbage and only feel a little bad.

83. If you knew there was dolphin in your food, but it looked really tasty, would you eat it anyway? Yes. This question is a little redundant, Cat.

84. Do you dye your hair? Not really on a regular basis, but yes.

85. What color of hair do you find most attractive? Brown. But other colors can be nice too, on the right people.

86. If you dye your hair, what color do you dye it? Brown.

87. Have you ever drempt that you went out with out clothes on? Probably, but it's never been a nightmare or anything...I don't know why people always talk about that...

88. What's your favorite flavor category; spicy, sweet, sour, salty or bitter? I like a nice variety.

89. Do you want to live to an old age? Yes...as long as I can...

90. Do you live healthy? Keep in shape? Go to the doctor? Yes, sort of, and yes, if you count all the at-home healthcare I get from Brett.

91. Do you believe it's okay for people to alter their bodies with plastic surgery?
Yes, it's their choice, but I think it's a weird thing to want if there's nothing really abnormal about you. And though I can certainly understand it if you look abnormal, that doesn't mean that I think it's ever necessary.

92. Do you believe it's okay for people to alter their minds with drugs? Well, again it's their choice, but I don't like them. I guess if there's something wrong with you, and you find something that helps you with that problem, and you're happy with who you are while taking it then it's okay. I think it's always best to try and deal with any problem drug free however, because then you're really bettering yourself, instead of taking something that temporarily changes things for you.

93. Should you really be doing something else right now? If so, what is it? Yes, I should be taking a shower and folding my laundry.

94. What are you wearing? A tank top and PJ pants.

95. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat right now? Not really, but I'm thinking about what I want to make for dinner later, and I think it'll be um...well...I'm still not sure. I kind of want something from the grill, but also I want something creamy or cheesy. Maybe fajitas with cheese...

96. Where do you see yourself this time next year? In my house, still working, but maybe getting ready to start working on a bay-beeee.

97. Is money really that important? Yes.

98. Do you wish you had more of it? Yes.

99. Say one nice thing about each person you're sending this to:
OH! This means I'm almost done. Since the only place I'm really sending this is to my server I'll say nice things about it: It's roomy, the rent's cheap, and it's seldom ever down. Except today apparently, because Brett said my site was down.

100. Are you happy? Yes. :)

The Longest Post EVER, Part 1

Shannon recently posted some survey answers that Brett had given, and a lot of the answers were from a survey I'd written a long time ago, in response to all the other surveys out there that all asked the same questions. So of course after reading her post I remembered how brilliant my survey had been and that I should fill it out again and post it on my blog. First though, I had to find it. I no longer had it in my hotmail account, and neither did Brett, so I asked Shannon to send it to me, but she hasn't (oh my God I just spilled cold Pepsi in my lap...cold cold cold...) so anyway, she hasn't yet, so I searched my femputer and found it there in old archives of saved mail. when I searched for it I found ANOTHER survey too though, so I'm going to fill out both. I originally filled out the first one on Nov. 14th of 2001, and for retro-Cat amusement, I've decided to leave those answers and write my responses next to them. The second survey is the one *I* wrote, filled out with new answers only. So here goes...

SURVEY No. 1

1. What time is it? 9:27am weird...it's 9:52am now...

2. Name as it appears on your birth certificate: Catherine Lynn Cates yep...hasn't changed...

3. Nickname: Cat, Catmo, Catema, Catbones, Catfish, Cats, Kitty, etc. I don't really get Catmo or Catema anymore, but I do get Cat Wifeh...that's newer...

4.Parents Names: Joan Tate Allen, Brian Allen, Marc Laurence Cates, Dana Reed Cates, Arthur [something] Jackson, Roberta [something] Jackson Crap...I still don't know their middle names...

5. Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday cake: 23 26. ugh.

6.Date that you regularly blow them out? My birthday is on May 24th, but I haven't blown out candles in a long time I don't think...did we do that at my last party? Once in Edens my boyfriend made this massive cake with a cubic assload of candles, and some of them were trick candles, and each person who walked in to surprise me had a sparkler, but the fire alarm still didn't go off...I thought it was funny and cool back then, but now I think maybe the smoke detector wasn't working right and that's really lame. God I talk too much. Same birthday date, still no recent candles.

7. Pets: Sasha the Cute Sasha is still around...she'll be 19 in people years next month. I think that makes her like 135 or something in cat years. We call her The Little Girl almost as much as we call her Sasha now though. Or TLG for short.

8. Eye color: Poo Grey (for those of you who are tired of me referring to "brown" as "poo colored") Still the same weird color. I say poo less though. I think.

9. Hair color: Poo Dirty Blonde Dark brown. I dyed it last week as a desperate attempt to counteract the MULLET some Texas bitch gave me when I got it cut last week. I'll speak of this later, and include photos.

10. Piercing: Nine holes total in my ears. Still the same. Sometimes I wish for more, but sometimes I'm impressed with myself for not having more, because I'm glad I don't stand out as much as I would if I were more metal-filled.

11. Tattoos: Small Gemini sign on my right wrist. Ah...how easily we forget the OTHER tattoo...the small capital "I" on the pad of my right pointer finger. That's been there even longer than the Gemini sign, as it was my "practice" tattoo. Note to any 14 year olds out there getting ready to do some self-tattooing: there's no such thing as a "practice tattoo."

12. How much do you love your job? I don't have a job. SCHOOL IS NOT A JOB, BRETT!!! JOBS PAY MONEY, THEY DON'T TAKE IT. ;) Ha...well I work now, and so does Brett. Do I like it? Let's just say...um...I'm grateful for the money and I'd prefer to not get fired, and I'll leave it at that.

13. Best gift you've received: Not sure...I mostly like the one's that are really "me" and just say, "hey, this person not only took the effort to get you something really cool, but it's EXACTLY what you want, which means they care about you and pay attention to who you are." Yeah...I still feel pretty much the same. Except that just because people don't get you exactly what you want, that doesn't mean they don't care about you or pay attention to who you are.

14. Hometown: I guess it's Seattle... Yep...same.

15. Current Residence: Seattle...in the Ghetto...(sung like Cartman) No! Yay! I own a home now, and it's really nice! We have a full bar, lots of space, a big yard and everything. It's in Marysville, and sometimes I feel the sub-urban environment leaves something to be desired...quite a lot of somethings sometimes...but I really, really, really wanted our kids to spend the first bit of their childhoods in a nice, quiet, tree-filled setting. Also, it's cheaper, there's parking everywhere, and it's just So Much Less Stressful. And I can still get sushi-quality fish fillets from my local grocer.

16. Been in love? Of course... It just keeps getting better. :)

17. Been to Africa? No, but if I'd had my way as a kid, all those dinners I'd been forced to eat because of the starving kids in Ethiopia would have been boxed up and shipped there. Instead I had to eat them, and then got in trouble for my "smart mouth." Ha! I'm funny.

18. Been toilet papered? Yeah...at a halloween party where we played Mummy. I think I've actually been a toilet paper bride once too, but I don't remember which gay-ass middle school sleepover I did that at... Hmmm...I say "gay-ass" a lot less now.

19. Loved somebody so much it made you cry? Oh Peter Jennings...why must you deny me your love?!? (syke...yes though.) Ew. I also say "syke" like, never.

20. Been in a car accident? Yeah Several, yes.

21. Croutons or bacon bits? Croutons only sometimes, bacon bits NEVER NEVER NEVER. I eat bacon now! I just started I think...last summer? It's alright. I wouldn't put it in salad though.

22. Sprite or 7 UP? UP YOURS. Somebody at Shannon's party last weekend told me they don't make 7up anymore, but if that's true, why are there still commercials for it? I haven't had it in a long time though, because everyone up here in the burbs seems to sell Sierra Mist instead.

23. Favorite Movie: Who can really pick just one? Same answer.

24. Favorite Holiday: The ones that turn out nice. Same answer.

25. Favorite day of the week: The ones that turn out nice. Aaaand...same answer.

26. Favorite word or phrase: Not sure...you guys would probably know better than me...I tend to be oblivious to my repetitiveness until Brett turns to me and snaps, "WOULD YOU JUST STOP USING THAT WORD?!" Wow...he actually hasn't said that in a long time, so I must be getting better about not using the same words over and over again.

27. Favorite Toothpaste: Crest "Dual-Action Multi-care Whitening"... I've been trying to stay away from mint stuff lately, because I think it aggravates the old Acid Reflux, so my new favorite toothpaste has become this Toms of Maine apricot flavored business.

28. Favorite Restaurant: Turd Burgler (I don't know right now) Still couldn't tell ya. I think Brett and I make the best food in town.

29. Favorite Flower: Tiger Lilies because of Brett, other than that, I like the really fleshy ones best...orchids and birds of paradise and all that... Yep...same answer.

30. Favorite Alcohol Drink: Beer when I'm feeling butch, wine otherwise. Mostly Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade now, or whatever it is.

31. Favorite Sport to watch: Mostly the only spectator sport I participate in is watching the kids in red square from my study spot in the library. I have actually been psycho enough about it to think in exasperation, "dammit! I always forget to bring binoculars!" I still like to people watch when I'm bored and in a public place. Real spectator sports are for chumps who like to feel the vicarious success of supporting a winning team, and people who would like to think they're more manly or athletic than they actually are. And Shannon, who is not a chump. Or manly. Or athletic, that I know of...

32. Preferred type of ice cream: Squished on the asphalt at Albertsons. Ha! This is because ice cream makes me sick to my stomach; I'm not supposed to have it.

33. Favorite Sesame Street Character: The Goldfish. Translation: Who is old enough to fill this out and STILL has a favorite Sesame Street character? Take the pacifier out of your mouth, the fuzzy backpack off your shoulders, and grow up. Or at least watch Boobahs instead so people can tell you're ebombing and not just fucking retarded.

34. Disney or Warner Bros: Disney - there's something about big mega-companies like Disney, Microsoft and Proctor & Gamble that really turn me on... I'm not sure if I was being sarcastic or not, which weirds me out a little...

35. Favorite Fast Food Restaurant: see question 28. I mostly eat at McDonalds when I eat fast food. Any place that includes sugar in every single food item (even their fries) is the place for me. (now THAT was sarcastic. Though I really do eat There.)

36. When was your last hospital visit: The spring before last I think...that oncologist I saw was at a hospital... I visited Brett's mom in the hospital last year. I think that was the last time.

37. What color is your bedroom carpet? Poo Smear Brown. Now it's kind of a creamy white.

38. How many times did you fail your permit or drivers test? Written once, driving once. Yep.

39. Who is the last person you got email from before this? Peter Tomagotchi. It wasn't sent to me this time, but the last person I read an email from was Brett.

40. Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Nope. And it's still a no.

41. Which single store would you choose to max out your credit card? I don't have a credit card... Still don't have a credit card.

42. What do you do most often when you are bored? Shit like this...or sleeping or watching tv...or taking baths... Watch tv or movies. Or shit like this. Or do stuff around the house, or shop, or go in le hottub.

43. Name the person that you are friends with that lives the farthest: Not sure, because I don't like being friends with people who are far away. I guess though it'd be my dad and his family in Kentucky. Jon lives in NYC, and is the farthest away person I actually communicate with steadily. Courtney lives in Tokyo but I haven't heard from her in months. Oh, and Amy lives in NC; I bet that's farther than NY, because it's lower down and all. Now I feel bad though, because I'd still call Courtney my friend even though she's busy with her Japanalife right now. So Courtney is my friend who lives farthest away.

PAUSE at 6:53pm to go catch the bus...more tomorrow... PAUSE at 11am to eat lunch...

RESUME at 12:01pm Wednesday...back in the lab...talking to Brett on AIM... RESUME at 12:03pm (same day) now that I've pigged out...

44. Most annoying thing? Not sure...it depends on what sort of a mood I'm in...but I always find loud/stupid/whiney people annoying. and vomit. that's annoying. These things still annoy me. So do other things, GW included, but I don't really like to think about things that annoy me, so I won't.

45. Bedtime? Sometime between 11pm and 1am usually. Usually from 9-10pm since we work so early now.

46. Who will respond the quickest? No one...you guys have already done it... Who knows. People have actually been using my "say something" link though; it's been great. The drastic increase in comments is also a great example of the laziness of the people who like me.

47. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond? Brett and Shannon... That's because they'd already filled it out, not because they don't like me. They like me, I swear!

48. Favorite all-time TV show: The one where the tv is on... Yeah, pretty much the same. I have a few classic favorites: Simpsons, Buffy, etc, but mostly I just enjoy whatever's on.

49. Last person you went out to dinner with: Not sure...I went to IHOP with Brett last week if that counts...but it was lunch time... Hmmm...once again I'm not sure...Brett would've been there for sure, but I don't remember where I went the very last time and who else was there.

50. Last Movie you saw: Shallow Hal I'm watching Fellowship of the Ring as I type this very sentence. The last movie I saw in the theatre though was Fahrenheit 9/11. Please dear God go see that movie; it'll make you sick to your stomach and you won't like what you see, but you'll be better off having witnessed it.

51. Favorite Music: Good...funky or jazzy usually...something with S-O-U-L I'm such a dork. But yeah...funky/sexy beats are included in most of what I like.

52. What CD is in your player right this second: Probably Warcraft, since Brett is on my computer... In the car is Röyksopp. In the computer, let's find out...nothing right now.

53. What is your deepest fear? Loss of loved ones...the unknown... Yep...same.

54: Time when you finished: 12:07pm 12:20pm.

ahhhh....me.

The only one who mostly writes me from my website is Jon. Who gets no link because he has no site that I'm aware of. Ahhhmeee and some other peeps have said before that they don't comment because I don't have an actual comments section, but bleep a comments section...that's way too much work. I built this place from the ground up, and I'm not interested in the re-working of things and re-organization of my files that a comments section would entail. Did you know that when you have a comments section that other people can view, each post is archived as it's own separate html page? That's so many files! I guess it'd only be 29 so far for me, but whatever. If I do it that way it'd be harder to organize. I like to keep things clean and simple. Well, I like to try to keep things clean and simple. So anyway, my lazy solution was to put a link at the bottom of the posts that says "say something." All it does is link you to the same page that the "contact me" link to your left would link you to, but maybe people will feel more comfortable with it this way. It's all about making people comfortable. Or un. Comfortable that is. Depending on the mood. So right...it's down there now, and don't freak out, because you were right; it wasn't there before, even though it shows up on all my old posts now. Well, not that you can see them, because apparently I forgot to fix my links when I moved some of my folders around (good job Cat, that's what you get for not using full URLs). So I'll fix that I guess.

Song Survey

Brett wants me to fill out this survey on my blog too (he and Shannon have done it, though I think maybe Amy was the first), so that's what I'm doing...

Reminds you of an old friend: These questions are difficult, so I'm just going to pick the first things that come to my mind. For this one it's Tom Petty's American Girl. It reminds me of Ai Uchida. It also reminds me of Silence of the Lambs, but that's another story.

Makes you cry: Stina Nordenstam's Little Star. For some reason it makes me think of Steph.

Makes you laugh: I Think I Have A Chance With This Guy, by Whats Her Face. It also makes me a little sad though...

Makes you want to dance: Lots of things. For some reason Xtina's Dirrty was the first thing to come to mind though. I feel a little ashamed.

Reminds you of the one you love: I agree with Brett: Across the Universe. Particularly Fiona Apple's version. It's our song. :)

You wish you wrote: Xtina's Beautiful (which was actually written by Linda Perry, who writes a lot of good things), and pretty much every other thing out there that's a good song to have written.

You want to get married to: I'll just leave Brett's answer here: "i already got married, so if you're talking about the processional song, it was the prelude from Bach's first cello suite. but i always think of Halcyon and on and on... because that's what was playing when we left the reception, and it was a perfect moment (one of many that day)."

Makes you want to mosh/bang your head: I Wanna Be Sedated by the Ramones. Also lots of newer punkish things. I really like Goldfinger & Blink 182. Oh, and I really like the new punkish covers of old 80's songs.

Used to hate but now love: Yeah...um...I can't think of anything. There are certain songs that I've gained an appreciation of because of the story behind them or because of the complicated composition or something, but I can't think of anything that I've HATED but now LOVE.

You like to wake up to: Hmmm...Brett says that Coldplay's Clocks is playing when we wake up every morning, but I think it's mostly My Immortal by Evanescence, which I used to like until I found out it wasn't gothy but in fact christian, which I was a little taken aback by. And then disappointed by. And so now I don't like it. So I think I'd rather wake up to Orbital's Halcyon and on and On, because to me, that song is the exact musical representation of a sunrise.

You like to fall asleep to: It's hard for me to fall asleep to music sometimes, because I stay awake listening to it, but if I had to do it I'd pick something soothing but somewhat interesting. Like maybe um...DJ Shadow or RJD2 or something. I don't know...anything good and non-peppy would probably be fine.

You would like out of your parent's record collection: I was going to say the Stones, but I think I have more of that than them. They have some Beatles stuff I don't have. And a lot of Clapton. And I have a lot of good jazz, but they have a lot of good jazz that I don't have, so that'd be good too.

You love but you wouldn't know about if it wasn't for a friend: Lots of stuff...Smoking Popes is a good one though...I first heard of them from David Wilkins, same as Brett.

Makes you think of the moon: It's Only a Paper Moon by Nat King Cole.

Makes you think of the sun: U2's Staring at the Sun.

Makes you think of home: Even though I've never actually lived in Alabama, Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd makes me think of home for some reason. Maybe it's that it reminds me of being a kid in the south? Who the hell knows.

Makes you think of sex: Le sigh. Anything that is supposed to make me think of sex (Custom's Hey Mister, lots of DMB & Maroon 5, NIN's Closer & Head Like a Hole, The Cure's Hot Hot Hot, Nappy Roots' Ho Down and Start It Over, Elastica's Connection, etc) and some that aren't (Harry Belafonte's Day-O, etc).

Makes you think of being alone: Huh...it's interesting that Brett put Hyperballad, because I'd say Joga, also by Bjork. I know it's about her husband and about love, but it always makes me feel a little vulnerable and panicked because for some reason it makes me aware of how much I love him and how not in control of losing him I am, which makes me feel alone in a strange way.

Makes you angry: Ha...poorly written or performed songs that I have to hear over and over again, songs with lyrics that I find offensive to the point that they make me angry, many of Alanis Morissette's songs from Jagged Little Pill.

le second post du jour

Meh...I'm about to go home, so I guess I can't write much, but hmmm...I will write about..ummm...our hot tub. It is nice to go in, and I like that during the week when I'm home during the day and the neighborhood is quiet, I can go in and swim around and float in it in the sun and think, "haha! I have a hot tub!" and then sit on the edge and let the sun dry my back and feel like all is right with the world. Or at least it will be, once GW is out of office. Which will hopefully involve laughing and pointing. And maybe some sort of an impeachment hearing. Okay, well it's time for me to go now...to sing along with my childhood crush in the car (RobertSmithoftheCure) and spend the evening snuggled up with my sweet Brett in our cozy house. Yaaaaay!!! :D

le blog post de 26

Or something to that effect. I hope blogger is right and this is my 26th post, otherwise the number in this title doesn't make sense, let alone the French-like language. I get so jealous of people who speak other languages...people who speak other languages are hot. If not hot, then bilingual. :) Anyway...so I'm at work...not much to talk about...my ankle itches...I'm still searching for a good lotion I like. I think I'm going to just make one from scratch. I really liked one I got from L'Occitane that was like 25% shea butter or something, only it had a funny smell that interfered with the better smells of my shampoo and perfume. I hope the shea butter itself isn't too smelly. I think I'm gonna try making like a super thick buttery lotion that I have to keep in pots or tubes, because those do a nice job of helping my skin not crack and bleed. I'm so frigging gross...ugh. But seriously, that shea butter stuff was really nice, so I want to make mine 25% shea butter too, only less smelly. I'll have to make sure to mix it with non-smelly oils and stuff. And make it unscented! That'd be good too...rather than just making it smell like something I like better than L'Occitane's strange scent, because that way I can wear it with whatever I want, and I can wear it to Shanononononon's mom's house. Which is a funny thing to think of, since I haven't been there in about a million years, since Shannon just usually comes to our house now that we ain't livin' in the projects no mo'. I'm bored with this post now though, so I'm going to start a new one and write in it until I leave...

I Like Perfume In Small Doses

I've decided to use this post to discuss perfume. Well...to write an essay on perfume I guess, since the internal conversation I'm having on the topic doesn't really count as an actual discussion. Moving on. As the title says, I like perfume in small doses. I like to wear a tiny bit under my clothes so that mostly I forget about it but sometimes I can catch a whiff of it and it makes me happy. I find any scent worn too heavily to be offensive, and I'm totally repulsed by people who try to cover up a stinky smell with a good one (creating some sort of hybrid sickly smell that only serves to give me a negative association with the good smell) but all in all I'd say I'm still a perfume girl. I'm pretty picky about it though, and in a strange way. I like a few orientals, even fewer florals, and I have a huge load of single notes and essential oils (that are more for creating bath products with than wearing alone) that I just love. In high school I stuck mostly with Joop! (homme, which suited me in a weird way, because I'm weird) and Shalimar, which I loved at the time. So I either smelled like a boy or a gramma, which some people liked, but most people didn't. I currently have three perfumes that I like to wear, and I love all of them.
First, there's Fracas. This has been my favorite for quite a while now, but I first began my affair with it from a sample I received in a shipment from Sephora, so I'm not sure how it's pronounced, as it (and the huge amount of it I've ordered since then) came in the mail. I've been pronouncing it fra-CAH, which is what I'd heard was the proper pronunciation, but Brett says that the word fracas is pronounced FRAH-kis, so now I'm unsure and feel ignorant and uncomfortable about it. It reminds me a lot of Shalimar, but is more refined, more sweet than powdery, and melts into my skin in a better, more subtle way...making it seem like the smell is just radiating from my warm skin, rather than from something I sprayed myself with before I got dressed that morning.
Next is Clinique Happy Heart. A recent birthday present that is much appreciated, it's the first floral of its kind that I've ever been able to wear for long periods of time without getting a headache. It's super feminine and reminds me a lot of Estee Lauder Pleasures, which I like but just can't wear. Wearing this makes me feel pretty, and like I fit in with other girls.
The last one is Bvlgari Omnia, which is new to them and to me. It's a wonderful oriental that doesn't get too sweet like some orientals do, which is great and good...grood. It's got that nice shy quality to it that makes me not notice it very much when it's on my skin. Instead I'm just happier through out the day and feel more pulled together, and then I remember to notice that I'm smelling perfume, and that it's lovely.
On that note...huh...note...I'm late leaving, so I'll end this here and go home to my sweet Brett now. And to movie night with Shannon! Woohoo!!! :D

Quiet to Surfeit

Most days at work I like to keep to myself and do my own thing, seldom offering more than one-word responses to the people around me as I surf the internet for random crap or work on little projects for home. Sometimes however, I'd like to be social and talk and laugh and gossip and share and be all normal and bubbly and social. The trouble is, when you spend so much time isolating yourself from people and trying to have them *not* notice you, getting them to start paying attention to you (let alone accept you) is quite the feat. Which is why I'm socializing with my blog right now. :) I tried to get involved a little but it didn't really work out, so now I've given up and am all eyes and hands again; typing my thoughts instead of speaking them. Which is fine...this way my venom gloss will stay on longer, and I like its cinnamony sting. So what to write about...hmmm...There are 17 minutes left until my next scheduled break...I think I'm going to end this post at my break and then start up a new one after. That way I'll feel like a more productive blogger; the kind that has huge archives of many, many witty and insightful posts that other people actually read and are interested in. Rather than the rambling, self-involved drivel that my sporadic posts consist of.

Just Shy Of Two Months Later...

and here I am again. I switched shifts at work and with that came a busier schedule and a more active use of my free time, so once again my poor blog was shafted. I'd been thinking about posting again lately though, and the lovely and brilliant Shannonnonnonnon has given me something to post without even knowing it. So here it is; an email forward that I'm choosing to post, rather than forward:

1. First Name: Catherine

2. Where you named after anyone? Sort of, in a differently spelled kind of way.

3. Do you wish on stars? Not often, and not seriously.

4.Which finger is your favorite? All of them, but if I had to pick one to lose, I'd pick a pinky...sorry Shannon (Shannon picked pinkies). If I ever lose a pinky and then find it again, I'll give it to you so it can be better appreciated.

5. when did you last cry? During the anti-ecstasy commercial on tv last night where the old man is all like, "you shouldn't have to outlive your children" or whatever. It hit the old Stephanie Sore Spot and made me sad for my parents.

6. Do you like your handwriting? Yes

7. What is your favorite lunch meat? Natural Turkey, or natural-ish ham or beef. I like the meat at Albertson's because it's both affordable and not all salty or made of pressed sweepings like the meat at Fred Meyer.

8. Any bad habits? Yes

9. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf? I was going to say "The Best of the Brady Bunch" but I'm strangely proud of that one. I think that since Brett and I have so many hundreds of cds and thousands of mp3's it's safe to say that there are a lot of ties for this title...use your imagination.

10. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? I'd *say* I was friends with myself and I'd like myself bunches, but neither one of us would ever call the other, so it would be a quiet and distanced relationship.

11. Are you a daredevil? I ate a wasabi pea that had rolled into a dusty corner of my basement the other day...does that count?

12. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? Um...noooooooo...

13. Do looks matter? Only when the person is so good or bad looking that I can't help but focus on it.

14. How do you release anger? By taking satisfaction in other people's discomfort. Fnord.

15. Where is your second home? Anywhere (outside of my own home) that I go to spend time with my family.

16. Do you trust others easily? No.

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? I think it's a tie between a pink blobby thing that smelled like soft plastic and is the reason I love the smell of soft plastic now, and any and every strawberry shortcake toy.

18. What class in school did you think was totally useless? I can think of something positive I've gotten from every one of them, so I'd say none of them have been TOTALLY useless. Some of the teachers/professors on the other hand...

19. Do you have a journal? No.

20. Do you use sarcasm? See above.

21. Have you ever been in a mosh pit? Yes.

22. What do you look for in a guy/girl? Brett.

23. What are your nicknames? Cat, Kitty, Kitty-Cat, Catbones, Cat Wife, Catfish, etc.

24. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I try not to wear shoes that require that much effort.

25. McDonalds or Burger King? McDonalds.

26. Do you think that you are strong? My mind and soul are strong. My body is less strong.

27. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Sorbet/Ice.

28. Shoe size? Nordstrom keeps telling me it's an 8, but I always buy a 9.

29. What are your favorite colors? The ones that are appropriately used. I like blue swimming pools and yellow bananas but wouldn't really care for a yellow swimming pool or a blue banana.

30. How many wisdom teeth do you have? Four, in a little pouch in my house.

31. Who do you miss the most right now? Brettbones.

32. Do you want everyone you send this to to send it back? Um...this isn't really relevant...

33. What are you listening to right now? The quiet sounds of people working on a Sunday.

34. Last thing you ate? A blueberry.

35. Last person you talked to on the phone? A WaMu banker.

36. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Depends on what stands out the most.

37. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course.

38. How are you doing today? Good. :)

39. Favorite Drink? Carbonated.

40. Favorite Alcoholic Drink? Sake.

41. Favorite Sports? I don't like actual sports, though I do like things like gardening and swimming, which are active and outdoors, but not something I'd compete at.

42. Hair color? Everything bagel; a little blonde, a little red, a little brown.

43. Eye Color? Aqua.

44. Do you wear contacts? No.

45. Siblings? Many.

46. Favorite Month? I haven't really taken the time to actually pick one; all of them.

47. Favorite Foods? I'm fairly buxom, so I think it's safe to say MOST foods are my favorite foods. :)

48. Last movie you watched? Some thing about Mars on Sci-Fi last night.

49. Favorite day of the year? These sorts of questions weird me out...who has one day each year that is consistently so much more enjoyable than the rest that it would become, without question, their favorite? I don't play favorites with my days; they all have the potential to be good or bad.

50. Are you too shy to ask someone out? I'm too MARRIED to ask someone out. Before Brett though, I'll admit I was sometimes too shy.

51.Scary movies or happy endings? Why does it have to be either/or? The best movies are scary AND have happy endings.

52.Summer or winter? Neither would be as good without the other. It's all about balance people, balance!!!

53. Hugs or kisses? I like the almond toffee kisses.

54. Relationships or one night stands? For me? It's pretty obvious that I've chosen to be in a relationship. For others? Whatever suits their life at the moment.

55. Who is most likely to respond? Um...I have no idea, since I'm not emailing this out. Maybe Shannon or Brett?

56. Who is most likely not to respond? Most people. I don't think very many people even look at this...

57. What books are you reading? The last actual book I read was Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot. Currently I'm in the middle of both the May issue of In Style and the spring Sephora catalog.

58. What is on your mousepad? A mouse and some dust.

59. Favorite board game? Things that don't involve the actual board as much as they involve trivia and/or word play.

60. What did you watch on tv last night? The Mars movie mentioned in #48.

61. Favorite smells? Brett's skin, my mom, my mom's house (smells like lilies, wood, and good food), my lip balm (Mimosa, Jasmine & Violet), my hand lotion (Summer Hill), my perfume (Fracas), most of the bath products that I make (even though I mostly give them away), family dinners, Sasha's fur, my backyard, ginger tea, bread, sunshine, snow, rain, movie theatre lobbies, etc.

62. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up? What am I doing today?

63. Say one this nice about the person who sent this to you? Wow...that sentence is messed up, but I get the gist. Shannon is sparkly with creativity and animated in a moony sort of way, making her someone who both challenges me and relaxes me at the same time. She's sedentary, she's verbose, she's witty, and she's well-read, making her a perfect person for me to spend time with. Even though I'm baffled by her love of spectator sports. :)

Thing One and Thing Two

So...duality. I'm a Gemini, and I think that symbol really fits me well, in a way. I'm like two twins stuck inside one body; part of me is super girly and pink...I have two Britney Spears albums, I yell words of encouragement at the tv when watching Animal Planet's "That's My Baby" and I even tear up sometimes when people are kicked off of reality shows. I love hosting parties and wearing makeup and I love to organize and make things pretty. The other side of me is like some sort of Wednesday Addams; I spent today humming Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", I like snakes and bugs, I'm addicted to horror movies and CSI, I'm fascinated by body modification, I like working nights, I've yet to introduce myself to my neighbors, and I can sometimes have trouble being the fake kind of nice, and end up just being a bitch instead, because that's what I feel like doing. Oh, and I also like science AND art, as well as talking and not talking. I could talk or not talk for hours. And on that note, I'm going home. Thank you, and good night. :)

Floccinaucinihilipilification

So. I've been pondering the relationship between my antisocial tendencies and my conflicting desire to be accepted and admired by my peers. So far it seems pretty dysfunctional, as relationships go. I am shy and pretty insecure when I first meet people, so I'm pretty quiet. Then when they start talking, most people seem so different from me that I assume they'll either not like me because they'll think I'm too spoiled, not like me because I'm so liberal, not like me because I'm not so into religion, not like me because I have a college degree, not like me because I don't have a graduate degree, not like me because I'm too fat, not like me because I'm not pretty enough or cool enough, not like me because I'm too big of a snob, not like me because I swear or because I say gross things, not like me because I'm too quiet, not like me because I talk too much, not like me because I ask too many questions, not like me because I'm not really a partier, not like me because I'm too responsible, not like me because I'm not working in "my field", not like me because hell...who knows...because I'm happy. Which I really am, but which contradicts strangely with how socially insecure I am. The other thing that contradicts with my insecurity is that I'm truly not interested in hanging out with people that much. I have trouble returning phone calls and emails, I almost never just email them on my own, and even rarer is the time I'd actually just call someone on my own with out them calling me first (and specifically telling me to call them back). If I only had one free day I'd prefer it be spent either with Brett or alone, rather than with others, but if I have two I'm usually interested in making plans for ONE of the days. I can't decide whether or not I'm dismissing society or society is dismissing me. I'll talk a little more about my duality in my promised second post of the evening...

Second Post

People have been getting to me more lately; I've lost all patience for people who run on and on when asking me a question, or people who need me to repeat myself because they weren't focused enough when I gave them an answer the first time. I'm sure this has happened because of my job; I answer questions from bankers for a living, and often times the bankers are more ignorant, less experienced, and/or not as quick as I am. The thing that pisses me off is that it's transferring over to my personal life and I'll be having a conversation with Brett and motion with my hands for him to speed it up and get to the point if he starts to ramble, or I'll talk to him like he's retarded when he makes me repeat myself over and over or he doesn't understand something. Even though he's way smarter than most people, and I shouldn't be behaving like that. So I'll try to be better I guess. Maybe it's just a phase I'm going through, or maybe it's just that WaMu has sooo many New Hires right now that it's grating on me more than usual, but whatever it is, I don't likes it.

So.

I wanted to write in this once a day, and I missed Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. So today through Friday I'd like to make myself post twice a day, but we'll see if that actually happens. What will I write about in this post...hmmm...let me look around for inspiration.........Garbage Pail Kids. Someone from my old team at work gave me a bunch of Bazooka Joe-esque GPK gum pieces (that appear to be made out of some industrial-strength resin) that have cool GPK stickers wrapped around them. Retro things are cool. I came across my two cop car MicroMachines on Sunday, and was bitching to Brett that my little blue cadillac MicroMachine has been missing for awhile now, and my cop cars have no one to chase. He lit up and said, much to my shock and delight, that he had a whole slew of MicroMachines in the garage that I could play with. So we got them out and played with them and had a super time. I just wish I had some Strawberry Shortcake dolls...

Sleepies and Vampires

I'm so tired...sooo, sooooo tired...it's almost time for me to go home, but I'm thinking of watching Mad Mad House when I get there, even though I'm so sleepy. I'm so fascinated by alternative people...piercing, vampirism...all that crap. Less so the hippy crap, just because that really doesn't seem that alternative to me since I'm from such a hippy-ish place, but the other stuff I'm just really intrigued by. I'm too self conscious already to pierce up my face, and I've had too many doctors and body artist people and the like warn me against some of the other piercings I've been interested in. Hands? too many nerve and tendon problems. Tongue? Bye bye tooth enamel. Neck or collarbone? Just a bad idea in general. I won't go into the belly or the boobs because that was more an aesthetic decision than a health issue, but still, no body piercings yet. Maybe one day when I'm like 65 and it'll be REALLY sexy to have a bunch of metal in my flesh...then I'll do it. The "modern primitive" guy on the show makes me feel more brave about it though, and he reminds me that I never did get the rest of the places I wanted to tattoo done. (note to mom and dad: no more tattoos in places summer clothes won't cover, I swear) Anyway, so the vampire. I've always thought vampires were so hot, and I still think if the opportunity arose I'd probably want to be one (a real one, not a cap-toothed goth-and-go shopper) so I was super stoked that they had a vampire and I wanted to see what he/she'd be like. Well, he's a loser. He looks like Butthead from Beavis and Butthead, and he sounds like an ASS and he dresses like...well like he used to have a punch card at Goth-and-Go (hot topic, for those of you not familiar with it's CatandBrett alias). Anyway, I've been off work for about ten minutes now, but to recap - piercings: still intriguing, vampires: still intriguing, but mostly totally lame.

Second Post

So Brett has a blog now, and I have to pee. That's my update for now. Way to cop out on the second post, Cat. I don't know where his blog is located; he said he wanted to make one, I pointed him to blogger, he said he made one and was going to title it le blogue or something, and then he went offline and went to bed. When I know where it is I'll post it here, and most definately add it to my links page. Great, now I have to update my links page...thanks Brett. Wait...wtf...who cares if I have to update that page, I'll be creating a whole site for him this weekend I bet...helping him lay out his blog and adding a subdomain for him on my site. That's a little more work that just an added link. It'll be fun though, and now that I only have nine more minutes left to work and I've written two posts as promised, I'm going to start cleaning up my desk and getting ready to get the hell out of here...

Okay, okay...

I said I'd post every day and then THE NEXT DAY I failed to post. I'm so consistent. Today I'll post twice to make up for it. First I'll post about Snausage (aka Sasha). Let's start with a picture of her from the other day:

This is Snausage in my shower. Every morning like clockwork I get up and go straight to the bathroom. Sasha, who sleeps right next to me in her little bed on the floor wakes up, follows me in there, and waits patiently by the door to the shower. I open the shower door from my spot on the crapper (I've decided that if I'm going to write in this thing every day I'll be damned if I'm going to try to write for a more universal audience, so crapper is the word I have chosen this evening) anyway, I open the door from the crapper, and she stands up and with ever so much grace and dignity and sniffs her way into the shower with her little twitching nose and whiskers. There we remain for usually about five minutes or so; me appreciating the regularity of my bowels, Sasha sniffing around the shower, hot on the trail of my bed-head shampoo. The strangest part is that usually she starts licking the shower after a few minutes...the walls, the floor, even sometimes the little thingy that catches the water at the bottom of the door. This little weirdo has multiple water bowls that are cleaned and/or refreshed several times a day, and God only knows what kind of strange crap she's licking up from the shower...tub cleaner with teflon, shampoo, people cooties, mildew, etc but eeeeevery morning it's the same thing...she's so frigging cute, and so entirely our kind of cat. :)

Busy Me

I've been so crazy busy...I've had a weird schedule because of some training at work, Sasha's been sick, blah blah blah. BUT my schedule is going to be back to days as of 03/22/04, so that'll be cool. 0600-1445, so Brett and I may even be able to carpool. Yay!! :D I have split, non-weekend days off though, so that's sort of lame. Anyway, I decided that I'm going to *try* to make myself write in my blog everyday, no matter how short of an entry it ends up being. So yeah...here's my super short entry for the night. :)

The Universe Finds Balance Once Again

My morning and afternoon? Perfect. My night? Not so much. Call after call from bankers with questions that they shouldn't have to ask, lame scheduling things that need to be figured out asap, tense shoulders, and a crabby mood have sort of put a damper on the evening. It's strange; I'm crankier than I should be about this evening, but I was happier than I should've been about my morning. Things balance out in a really interesting way sometimes, but they always seem to balance. At least *I* see it as balancing when bad things happen. It's just like, payment for the good things, and the good things are generally good enough to make the bad ones okay. Most of my friends haven't had as many tough things happen in their lives as I have, but I bet most of them haven't had as many cool things either. Or maybe it's not even about that; maybe it's just about being aware of the experiences you've been given and acknowledging your emotional reactions to them, but still retaining the understanding that any experience, whether it feels horrible or wonderful, is still beautiful in a way because it's an experience. It's your life, and life is just like...the things that you go through, and how you handle them. Damn. That sounds like something that should be printed in High Times. And for all you old-school friends of mine out there, I'll take us on a High Times walk down memory lane: Two apples walk into a bar, one apple turns to the other and says "oh my God I lost my tractor!" Ah, yes. If anyone read that and wasn't there for the like SIX MONTHS that Jon and I found that joke to be cripplingly funny and told it over and over and over again, you probably think I'm less retarded than the people who WERE there. The funny thing is, Jon's never smoked pot, and I hadn't smoked it in years...

Left-Liberal

According to your answers, your political philosophy is left-liberal.

Left-Liberals prefer self-government in personal matters and central decision-making on economics. They want government to serve the disadvantaged in the name of fairness. Leftists tolerate social diversity, but work for economic equality.



The red dot on the chart shows where you fit on the political map.
Your Personal Self-Government Score is 70%.
Your Economic Self-Government Score is 20%.

This quiz was like two seconds long, so I don't know how the hell it managed to gage me so much better than the huge quiz I took at another site, but it's really dead on. The other site said that I was more Socialist than anything else, which isn't accurate. It also had yucky questions that mostly didn't offer the options I prefer.

Go here to take the good quiz: http://www.self-gov.org/quiz/

I wish I were more like...politically minded or whatever. I want to have a say in the caucus tomorrow, but I neglected to remember that I needed to *register to vote* in my new county. I suppose I could just sneak in my two cents within my old precinct, but I don't really feel comfortable doing that. My friend Megan sent me a great email on why she loves Dean, and since I don't like Kerry and he's the front runner right now I was verrry interested in what she had to say. I really liked her email and it made me favor Dean, but then I read some more things about him online and I was less comfortable with him (don't hate me, Megan!). His inconsistencies on certain issues, and even his behavioral inconsistencies concerned me, because I'm not one to favor unpredictable people, especially those who may end up running our country. So I read up on all of them, and I'm by no means like, SUPER educated on the matter, but I feel like I can safely say that Clark is my man. It's a little strange to think about...me...liking Clark...but at the same time it sort of makes sense. I'm okay with the fact that he's from the south, very okay with the fact that he's a general, and even though I'm apparently "left-liberal" many of his views align with mine in a similar enough fashion that I think I might actually like him as a president (or at least like him more than The War Monkey). Also, I think he's centered enough politically to do a nice job of pulling in the votes of republicans who feel disenchanted with the Bush administration. This is a significant factor for me, because I'm more desperate to get Bush out of the white house than I am to get one specific democratic candidate in. Which is why I'm frustrated with statements people (Brett) make like "I don't really like any of them enough, so I think I'll be voting for Nader." I know that if those smaller parties get a certain percentage of votes they get heavy funding and it's meaningful and all that...not exactly "throwing away" a vote, but Bush's viewpoints are dead opposite mine on almost every single key issue. The idea of having him around for a second term seriously disturbs me; I'm desperate for our country to be free of his little coup, which is something far less likely to be accomplished when massive amounts of people who might have voted D choose to vote for small parties who have no chance of winning. I feel that a change in leadership is more important to our country this election year than it has been in a loooong time and honestly, I'm gonna back the democrats this year regardless of who wins the nomination (non of the candidates are really that bad, actually), and I'll be happy to do it. Just as long as once the REAL race starts, they're able to kick Bush's ass. :)