check this out...

check these out...haha
http://www.addictinggames.com/monkey.html

http://www.nata2.info/humor/flash/endofworld.swf

sigur ros + good friends = perfect weekend (part II)

time for more of the story!!

so...we had lunch with jenny and josh and soon headed back to aaron's place to take a MUCH needed nap...so cozy and warm (finally) in aaron's bed..lol


after an almost serious fiasco regarding tickets and concert attendence, we met aaron and gabe at Rocky's for some local brew and a bit of bar food.
this is gabe and aaron

hallie and misty enjoyin some beer

not too thrilled about picture time!!

the three of us just before the sigur ros concert began!!! soo excited!!


breakfast the next morning(lunch time) at the garden room cafe

it really was cold in there!!

in all truth, i could spend a whole post on the trip home...we got stuck in Toledo due to incredibly poor signage directing our way past a highway that was closed. we made two full attempts after following and misfollowing cars, on and off ramps, and finally we found our way onto 280 SOUTH away from the god-forsaken town!!
finally back in motown, we decided to take a picture of the three of us at a stop light, and after about 7 attempts at getting the right amount of cheek exposure (i won't tell who), and 7 stop-lights later, for which we stopped in the middle of the road even when the light was no longer red...we finally decided on this photo as good enough.

and then this one:

anways, we made it home safely, exhausted, and completely NOT ready for another week to begin. and here we are again at the end of another friday...

for the record...for anyone else who might want to know when the hell we get to graduate...today is #81 on the countdown till we say adios!! yeeyaa

toodles...

sigur ros + good friends = perfect weekend

well, this post has been a few days in coming. tuesday is already over and i have not yet posted about my fabulous trip to grand rapids to see sigur ros, among other amazing people!! part of me wants to deny it's over...yes, i have a hard time accepting the past as the past...and i just loved getting out of motown sooo much!!

however, i think my dog will explode if i don't go let him out..so i'll be back...


...that was close!!
so. grand rapids for the sigur ros concert, to see my bro...and people i have only chatted with on the phone or IM for months. face-to-face contact is soo much better! i had the pleasure of traveling with two great friends from motown...it wouldn't've been the same w/o them!! i have plenty of pics that i've been enjoying...but to not make this blog way too big and long, i'll pic a few of the good ones to share. if you want more, let me know and i'll email 'em:)

we finally made it to gr and got to chill and listen to my bro play music while chatting with his roommies...(joel made it into this pic, lucky guy)

misty and hallie listen along...

then i get to sit with him!!

silly girls at breakfast (told you i'd post these pics...lol)


real food cafe...good food and some stimulating conversation...love it!!



time for the first of two concerts of the day and the first ever offical concert by none-other than Spice Coyote. what a treat!! (Gabe, Aaron, and Joel)

lunch with jenny and josh, but i don't know what happened to the pics of josh and jenny's pooch pedro...boo pedro is one of a kind...and so is josh:)



ok...the rest of the weekend is yet to come. time for sleep...stay tuned!!

we made it to gr...i'm soooo tired

so...after about 1.5 hrs of sleeping, it's saturday and we are in grand rapids and today is filled with things to do...hopefully a nap will be included in the plans...in fact, i demand that it is! time for breakfast soon, then a private concert by aaron and his band...:), then lunch with other friends, and the afternoon to spend with my bro doin whatever he wants...followed by a kickass concert and dance party to finish off the day. gotta love it!

i know...you're all jealous!

rambling thoughts and procrastination

i'm supposed to be studying for a mid term for next tuesday evening's class. sharing a book for the class means i can't procrastinate and cram the night before the test which is good, but it also means, i can't procrastinate and just cram the night before the test, which means i have to get this stuff done tonight. and i really have no excuse not to...i'm at work til 8pm and it's just after 1pm, should be plenty of time. however, i'm having difficulty focusing on Limits of Confidentiality and figured i should take a short break. unfortunately, what's on my mind, instead of court orders, client complaints and litigation cases, can't be solved today. i'm continually distracted by things i need to remember to pack for my trip to gr, road trip mixes i need to create, vacuuming my car so that my two friends won't die of dog-hair inhalation, not to mention i'm worried about my friend Damien who's watching my baby brayson while i leave. then my mind goes to leaving motown for good...and the fact that i have to start figuring out where i'm moving next year and i really have to research job availability and start narrowing down my options, cause i could go anywhere, and i mean, anywhere i want. saying i have to look into this stuff doesn't help..i have to just do it, so that i can start planning my future. on top of all of this, discussions from class last week about early recollections shaping how we view the world and how we behave have remained on my mind lately. i know what my earliest memories are...and how they have effected me, but i don't know how to stop them from dictating my future. (early recollections is something that i strongly encourage anyone explore...it's truly interesting!) anyways...none of this...besides some packing i'll get done later this evening...can even remotely be dealt with today. ahhhh, to learn how to let it go or 'put it on a shelf' to deal with later as we like to say in the counseling world...man, i need to get out of all this!! YAY short vacation to gr and people i love and miss!!

ok...i'll start with a solid hour of study...i hope. here i go...

i survived my first country concert...

So, after a little 'pre-gaming' (a.k.a. had a few drinks), we headed through snow and sleet to park a 1/2 mile away from the coliseum where the big event was to take place. Although we were over a half hour late, the show started just as we sat down. this is the view of the stage from where we were sitting...not a bad seat i must say (though i didn't have anything to do with getting the ticket!!) this is the best my little digital camera from Scotland could do even zoomed in. not horrible, but still kinda far away...just a little!!



the first band:

This would be Billy Currington, and though it's not nearly close enough, he looked mighty fine in his jeans. yumm yumm. he's the one in the middle. though the guy on the left had his legs open that much for THE ENTIRE show...i was wondering if he was having problems or if he just thought he was cool...cause, oh, man, i certainly did!!~~


here's a bit of a closer picture...


then we got a little bit of Sara Evans...


...who unfortunately for her, had bronchitis, and unfortunately for us, only sang 2 songs. yes, i said unfortunately for me...she's not bad...and has one hell of a voice, bronchitis and all!

and after a short break,






brad paisley puts on quite an entertaining show. the screens on stage had funny videos to go along with the songs...very creative!! and his version of Country Road by John Denver was impressive..especially when he realized he didn't know the words to the second verse!! "Country roads, take me home, to the place i belong, west virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads". i get that stuck in my head for days...and yes, i know it...very well. You can't live in west virginia and not now it!!


and here are some of my friends...


first and foremost...jourdan and myself.


then jourdan and her hubby shannon...


and then me and my friend chris,

overall, (and for those of you who despise country music, brace yourselves and don't disown me) i did enjoy the music...more than i expected. though this does not mean i can even listen to a whole country cd from start to finish, but i've broadened my horizons and experienced something out of my comfort zone!! you should try it too, just once...

how to change a tire in the dark

Directions:

1. call friends to help.
2. when friends don't answer, decide that it's better to change the tire by yourself than wait til tomorrow because you won't have time tomorrow
3. look for flashlight in car or home
4. when can't find flashlight, ask neighbor to lend you one
5. use flashlight to find jack and donut from trunk.
6. spend 3 minutes brainstorming how you can hold the big flashlight and change the tire at the same time.
7. decide you can balance the flashlight on box found in your trunk.
8. try to forget the fact that the neighbor who lent you the flashlight is probably watching you change the tire from his window and chuckling, cause in all truth, it must really be a funny sight:)
9. retrieve box from trunk and balance flashlight facing flat tire.
10. lift car with jack a few inches without getting in way of light from flashlight
11. unscrew bolts on wheel
12. lift car enough to take tire off
13. take off stupid flat tire, and replace it with very small and funny looking donut.
14. put flashlight back on box when it rolls off so you can still see what you're doing.
15. tighten screws on donut and hope that they are tight enough
16. lower car back to ground
17. put jack and stupid flat tire into trunk.
17. go inside...it's cold outside!!

did i get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

today has been a day. and yes, many mondays are nuts...the beginning of a new work week, school week...whatever. but i hope that the craziness begins to subside.

so...this morning, i woke up, and as i come back into consciousness, i realize that there's more light in my room than normal. after a quick squinted look at my alarm clock, i realize that it's 8:09am, and i have to be at work in 20 minutes, which is literally impossible. i just can not make myself presentable in that short of a time. so i decided i could make it by 9:30, i call my boss, and head for the shower.

upon ariving at work, two of the clients that have been admitted have decided to hate being there and throw fits about not being released TO-day. I still have yet to acquire an ability to stand up to such behavior, and i learn everyday from my supervisor...she takes shit from NO ONE.

Then...around 11:30, my supervisor and co-worker were just about to leave for lunch, and the fire alarm goes off. So, i go around to help close all the room doors, and keep the patients in the one main group room instead of roaming and asking questions. i look down the hall at one of the other units, and i can see smoke and water...and i know it's not just something minor. Staff starts running up and down the halls, trying to figure out what's going on, and i decided to hold one of the doors open that lead down the hall so i could see what was going on. gallons of water were coming out of the sprinkler and maintenance crew-men were running around trying to figure out what to do. one of the employees yells...we need a bed on wheels...and he comes running into our unit, takes a bed an rolls it into the elevator. apparently, a patient from the adolescent unit tried to escape by setting fire to the ceiling around the sprinkler and stormed out down the stairwell. unfortunately for him, he slipped (probably from wet shoes) and probably broke his leg. he was brought up a few minutes later on the bed and in restraints.

After everything calms down, i run over to the hospital to get some money and upon re-entering the building in which i work, the woman at the front desk is paging a 'code red in the main hallway'...one of the day-treatment patients was being chased down the hall, and upon being caught, started punching my old supervisor in the face. he was finally taken down by staff and taken back to the unit.

it's not a full moon, so there must be something in the air today.

beyond that, i led, or really still co-led, a process group and felt good about it. i hate process group b/c i can't really prepare for it. if there's a topic that i know i'm gonna talk about, i feel much more comfortable because i can prepare questions and make sure i understand the content. however, when i have to hope that they have stuff to talk about for an hour, otherwise i have to create conversation...my heart rate increases. but, i made it, and my supervisor had good things to say...as well as some helpful suggestions. maybe i can do this afterall:) maybe.

this afternoon and evening have been more calm already...and i hope to make it to the grocery store and home this evening without further incident;)

congrats...i'm glad you made it all the way down to this post. you get a dollar for the day!!

so...i've been trying all morning to figure out how to put these four pictures in the post as a panoramic view (yes...i'm not very busy at work this am!!). this is the Atlantic Ocean from Troon, Scotland...a 7 minute walking distance from where my mom lives. i think over all, the panoramic idea worked pretty well...at least it gives a better feel for what it was like to stand there...as the sun rose in the AM. ain't it beautiful!!

enjoy this view while you can...cause when i post in a few days...i'll put it all back to normal, and then i think you just get 2 and 2. this is much better!!

didn't work

well, i had a fun short little clip posted...but i guess it isn't the right format or something...i could see it at work today, but now on my laptop, i can't see it either. maybe i'll try to do more tomorrow...otherwise...never mind!

...

100 bottles of beer on the wall,
100 bottles of beer,
take one down pass it around
99 bottles of beer on the wall...

the count down continues:)