The Good, the Bad and the Movies
Good: Found a boustier for $42.00 at Bloomingdales this weekend. Ha! Have somma THAT, Victoria?s Secret!

Bad: The teeming masses were out in full force at the mall and by the time I left I wanted to kill myself and everyone in it. It was like stupid and ugly exploded all over the place. And why does everyone need to bring their screaming child with them everywhere? God invented babysitters for a reason. Can?t afford one? Here?s a novel idea: don?t have kids! A condom is pretty cheap and guess what ? Planned Parenthood dispenses ? get this ? birth control! Going to the mall is reason 8,434 not to have kids.

Movies: Saw three this weekend. The first was Matchstick Men with Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Something. It was entertaining, but a little predictable. I didn?t mind, though, because watching Nic Cage be so neurotic was really fun. It was like watching a train wreck or a car accident. You know it?s bad but you just can?t turn your head.

The second movie was Thirteen with Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, and Holly Hunter. This movie is reason 8,435 not to have kids. It was a very realistic and scary portrayal of what being in the in-crowd is all about.

The last movie I saw was Lost in Translation with Bill Murray who was phenomenal and Scarlett Johansson who was great as the bored wife of busy photographer Giovanni Ribisi. It kept me entertained and interested, but it wasn?t anything special. The pacing was a little off and I kept checking to see what time it was. Still, if you?ve got an afternoon to kill, you could do worse.

Irvington
Yesterday, as a result of more moonlighting, I had to be in Chester, NJ. Getting to Chester, NJ from Union, NJ (where I happened to be) is easy. You get on 78 West from the Parkway and take it to 287 North.

Getting to 78 West turned out to be trickier than I thought, though. You see, the signage in Jersey is sketchy at best. Signs fall down, are covered with the foliage of the Garden State, or are simply stolen/graffitied over.

From the Garden State Parkway (which, I think we've established is the road I use the most), you exit onto 78 East and then follow the signs through Irvington to get back onto 78 West. The only problem? The signs disappear once you're in Irvinton.

For those of you unfamiliar with Irvingon, NJ, let me just say this: When I was a nanny I lived in Maplewood, NJ and had other nanny friends. We used to go out clubbing in Hoboken and NY and we had a great time. Once, though, while driving back from Hoboken we got lost in Irvington. We eventually found our way home, but the next morning when I was relating the tale to my kids' parents, Jim (the dad) replied with a stern, "That is NOT a place where four girls should be getting lost in the middle of the night."

So there you go. I had been warned. And last night it wasn't so much that I was the only white person, it was that everyone around me looked pretty tough. Well, a lot tougher than I looked or am. And I was alone. Driving a ratty old pick up truck. And I couldn't find the sign directing me to 78 West. So, I ended up driving up and down Chancellor Avenue for a while thinking the sign was there and I had simply missed it. But no. By this time I had broken out into a cold sweat and was tracing the numbers of my cell phone with my thumb. If I have to I can call for help, I thought.

Eventually, I gave up looking for the missing sign and took the turn back toward 78 East. Thinking that there'd be another opportunity to loop around and get on 78 West I tooled along in rush hour traffic, knuckles white on the steering wheel, wondering what I was going to do.

Then, I saw it. The sign for Newark Liberty International Airport. I know what you're thinking. The airport? But yes. You see, in Jersey, all roads converge at the airport so I took the exit, looped through Terminal A and back out again, saw the sign for 78 West and was on my way.

The lesson here? If you're lost in Jersey, get to the airport. It may be the only thing between you and the delights of Irvington, NJ.

So totally NOT Vietnam
After nine major suicide or vehicle bombings in 43 days, does anybody really think this isn't our generation's Vietnam?

Holy Crap.
This is why I don't swim in the ocean, lakes, ponds, rivers or anything else that isn't chlorinated. People say, "Oh, but the liklihood of it happening to you is so remote, how could you possibly be afraid of it?" To that I say, "Dude, this shark held on and left SEVENTY puncture marks, okay? It's not a chance I'm willing to take."

And yes, okay, there are no sharks in lakes and rivers and ponds, but do you know what there is? Big ass fish with teeth, blood suckers, and duck poo. I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than put one toe into water with living creatures in it.

Uh...more stuff
I guess this is the Miscellaneous Thoughts portion since I have nothing to rant about today.

The truck is back to normal, I think, and that makes me happy. I picked it up this morning and there was no charge so that makes me even happier.

This has been a very busy week so far and it's only Tuesday. Last night I attended a business dinner for a friend's company. I've been moonlighting to make some extra cash and I forgot how exhausting it is working two jobs. Hopefully it won't be for long, though.

My first dress fitting is this Monday and that means I have to get my "undergarments" purchased so that I can wear them to the fitting. I'm resisting because of how ridiculously expensive a boustier is. I can't remember if I mentioned this here already or not, but a plain, white boustier is $78.00. Seventy-eight DOLLARS. For a piece of underwear I'm going to wear ONCE!! Does that sound sketchy to anyone else?? Because for $78.00 I'm taking the dress off at the reception and showing the thing off.

Sigh. Anyway. I have to purchase said boustier this weekend so that I have it for the fitting and I'm not looking forward to shelling out that much cash for something so frivolous and silly.

On the up side, I got some good news this week. My thesis is finally in at the library in Savannah and they're UPSing it to me today. I'm looking forward to seeing my name on a book...although it isn't actually a book, it's just my thesis in binding. But still. It's kind of a big deal.

Stuff
We watched the end of The Swimming Pool last night it was really good. Definitely go rent it.

The truck is back at the shop today and that's not good. Hopefully, whatever they do to it will not cost me anything, but we'll see.

I'm getting the Wisdom teeth out in two and a half weeks. Arg!

Am not feeling very peppy today. I sort of want to sit in a chair and consume large quantities of food while channel surfing in my pajamas.

A Few Things
First, the truck is still idling low and rough so it's back to the shop with it tomorrow. More money out the window.

Second, we saw part of another good movie last night before the HBO shows came on. Swimming Pool is a very quiet little film that becomes a very tense little film. We turned it off just as it was getting to the final act. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Finally, this is a very interesting link on Bush.

Update
Well, the truck is back in my hands after a $410.00 tune-up. It's running much better, but it's idling very rough, so I'm going to run some carb cleaner through it today (at my dad's suggestion) and hopefully that'll take care of that. If not, it's back to the shop.

Why does everything cost so much these days? Or maybe it's just that now that I'm an official 'adult' doing 'adult' things (getting married, having surgeries, needing car repair) I'm finally realizing how much stuff costs.

Between this bill, the $1200.00 I'll be paying over the next five months for the Wisdom teeth (which, by the way, is scheduled for Friday, February 27), the upcoming wedding, and various other items (rent, etc.) it sometimes feels as if we're literally hemorrhaging money.

On the up side (after all, you gotta take 'em when you can find 'em), we watched a really great movie last night. The Secret Lives of Alter Boys was extremely good. It's a coming of age story about two boys who are growing up in the seventies and going to Catholic school. My description in no way does it justice, so you'll just have to take my word for it and go rent it.

This was actually our second choice. We started out watching Woody Allen's Anything Else and had to turn it off in frustration. There wasn't one likable character in the whole movie. Jason Biggs plays a schlub. Christina Ricci plays his bitch girlfriend. The best thing about this movie was the fact that Woody Allen has FINALLY decided to stop casting himself opposite whatever hot, young thing is tearing up Hollywood.

So Sad
I've got good news and bad news today.

The good news is that I called up my original oral surgeon and they took pity on me. They'll rip out my Wisdom teeth and allow me to pay them five installments of $255.00 each. So, while I'm still pissed off about having to pay at all (thanks a lot you greedy insurance bastards!) I'm pretty happy that the procedure will be done.

The bad news is that last night on my way home from the job that provides the craptacular insurance, my '91 Mazda two-tone pickup truck started to die a little.

Now, the Garden State Parkway is stretch of road that goes from North Jersey to South Jersey and is filled with speeders, cell phone users, non-signalers, New Yorkers, and dare I say it, in general, jackassalopes. It's a dangerous place to drive when it's daylight, with good weather, and a stable car.

Last night it was dark, rainy, and all of a sudden my little truck started to make this weird gasping sound and jerking motion. I made it home and immediately consumed a bottle wine to calm my nerves but today I have to take it somewhere to be looked at. Ugh.

Not looking forward to it. Money doesn't grow on trees and I'm hoping that whatever they have to do to it won't cost me a lot. Pray with me.

As a side note, I'd like to make a movie recommendation. Last night we watched American Splendor and perhaps it was all the wine I'd had, but I really loved it. Everyone should go out and rent it today.

That is all.

New Look
Perhaps you've noticed the odd gentleman hunched over his laptop on the left there. Well, I was thinking last night that I'd like to add a little personalization to my little Ranting Corner and what better way to do that than with one of the original ranters himself. So this morning I found a nice picture of Spider Jerusalem and put it up where everyone can see it. Not sure who Spider is? Check this out. You'll thank me.