today, i'm putting on a dress for literally the first time in at least one year. sad... but i'm going to a wedding tonight and can't get away with my uniform of jeans and a tshirt. boo.

otherwise, life is looking good right now. which is quite nice for a change. :)

today's entry will be reserved for complaints. first, i don't think any of the remaining "survivors" actually deserve the grand prize.

secondly, i got an email about a week ago -- one of those "forward this to a thousand people or you'll have bad luck for seven years" emails. it was a poem about a young person dying and being denied access into heaven. the part that bothered me fell at the end, the "forward this or die" sentiment often found at the end of such emails. except this was what followed:

"please show this to everyone you care about. (((which should be everybody))) if someone had a gun held in front of your face, and asked you if you believed in god, what would you do? say no and feel ashamed the rest of your life? or say yes, i do, and die standing up for god? if you'd say no, then delete this email. if you would stand up for jesus christ, then send this to all your friends."

am i the only one who finds that disturbing? i am not quite sure why it bothers me... maybe because it included a gun. maybe because i would fear that scenario, or maybe feel i couldn't answer the question. maybe because i've spent a large majority of my life surrounded by people who insisted on preaching to someone. for example, this girl used to sit at the lunch table in middle school and tell two of my best friends (on more than one occasion), flat out to their faces, that they were going to hell because they weren't christians.

maybe i'm just bitter b/c of experiences like that. i'm by no means an ideal human being, but i do try to be tolerant of everyone's beliefs... except i have a hard time when they are thrust into your face and pushed on you -- insisting that their belief is the ONLY belief. that all bothers me, and i guess that email just struck a nerve... rant over.

more on the "foot and mouth." i'm still not scared of going to britain, or catching

the dreaded disease... mainly b/c i don't plan on moving cow carcass.

one thing i'm looking forward to though, is being welcomed by the fresh scent pumping into the london underground!!

robbie williams doing queen?? i'm sorry, but i hardly think he'd do a good job on "we are the champions." (i've always favored that john deacon.)

this whole "foot and mouth" epidemic going on over in britain is crazy. i'm going to be there in a month and have read a lot about the thing... for one, stonehenge will most likely be closed while i'm there! bummer. and it's possible when i come back into the united states, customs officials might have to take my shoes and disinfect them. how silly... anyway, some people are afraid to eat any meat or dairy products. i'm not scared... but maybe i should be.

today is my wonderful boyfriend's birthday!! happy birthday jon!!

maybe it's because i didn't hang out with the stoners in high school that i have never heard of this whole "4:20" hype... either way, it's kind of silly -- a day devoted to ditching school to get high?

is it just me, or was tonight's "friends" the funniest one they've had in a long time?

tonight, catering to my obsession to become a fabulous cook (far from it now, though)... i'm cooking a recipe i saw on "the naked chef" the other night. it's called "prawn & pea risotto with basil and mint." in other words -- shrimp and rice. it looked amazing on tv and will hopefully taste even better.

it's that time of year -- income tax is due. it's due today, hope you mailed it in time. isn't it ridiculous to have so much money that you could drop 14 million in the mail for your income tax return? well, if you haven't heard, that's what our vice president is paying this year.

one of the bombers supposedly responsible for the 16th street baptist church bombing is going to trial this week in birmingham. if you haven't watched "four little girls," -- a documentary by spike lee about the children killed in the bombing -- and you're from the south (particularly alabama), i think you should rent it some time.

i enjoyed reading this story about trying to mail out tax returns. my experience was highly uneventful, unlike this man's. |via eaton web|

currently i'm reading "speaking with the angel," -- a collection of short stories. last night, i read the entry by giles smith called "last requests." it's about a cook preparing death row prisoners' last meal requests. it really got me thinking what i'd want my last meal to be. i don't know if i could decide... it'd probably come down to either a mcdonald's cheeseburger and a sprite or sweet and sour chicken from my favorite chinese take out place in birmingham.

i'm a bit behind on reading the online comic "dot and com." i thought this one was pretty funny and cute.

happy friday the 13th! here's to black cats, walking under ladders, and throwing salt.

due to mysterious reasoning, the phone lines are gone at my parents' house. therefore, we can't call out, nobody can call in, and most importantly -- i can't get on the internet. (how ironic i just set up blogger & now i can still post to my site from my dad's office) anyway, i called bellsouth yesterday to report the problem, and the guy said he was going to run a check to see what was going on. he came back to the phone and said, "yeah there's no response, we need to send a crew out." thanks, that's why i was calling in the first place dude. so he put in a service request and told me that someone would be at the house to check it out... and it'd be no later than 600 pm ... on thursday.

here's a fun site... what was #1 on the day you were born? how accurate is this "life's theme song" prediction? well, the #1 song in the u.s. on my bday was chicago' "if you leave me now," and the u.k. song was "mississippi" by pussycat. i guess i could apply both of these songs to my life in one way or another... but couldn't you do that with just about any song?

steve brought home tux for the weekend. that cute little kitty i adored back when he brought him home the first time... well, let me tell you -- that thing is moodier than i am. (hard to beat) yesterday morning i went up to say hello -- he rubbed against me, purred while i rubbed his back... general lovin'. later on, i went back for a visit -- hiss, hiss, growl (strange), hiss. i even tried to win it's affection with a kitty-treat. i can't win with that thing. at least the dog still likes me.

too many years of listening to music too loud is getting to me i think. i just don't hear all that well anymore apparently. last night my best friend, sarah, left a message on my cell phone telling me to meet her at a coffee bar downtown... it's some german place called "kaffee kletch" or something. (i can't remember the exact name or spelling) anyway, i swear that her message said "hey, we're heading to the coffee crotch..."

my brother was mentioned in the paper wednesday, for something that happened 11 years ago. (he was named soccer player of the year for the state of alabama.) the article is about his coach.

i love my slip-on skechers. they're my solution to being too bothered to tie laces. but occasionally, i'll notice a foul stench emitting from my shoes. i'll pull my foot (and shoe) up to my nose puzzled, and i can't find any notable smell... but it's there... somewhere. i have become quite fond of wearing my scoots without socks. (i doubt that helps the situation any.)

i used to laugh at foot odor. while studying in london, i lived on the sixth floor across from elizabeth and jeanne. most days i'd walk up the stairs and immediately be greeted with a foul odor in the air. there sat elizabeth's shoes, outside her doorway, unwelcome in the room by jeanne. it was the worst scent imaginable, but we all laughed (along with elizabeth) over it. sometimes we'd even make her stick them out on the fire escape.

i'm not going to start sticking my shoes outside, and i don't want to throw them away. coincidentally today i saw a blurb for the "odor eaters" web site. fate, or what?? the smelly feet gods must be trying to tell me something. at least i didn't get a postcard (shown above) on their site from someone. (and is it just me, or does the "sole-man" look like a jogging peanut?)

it's april fools, i believe... sorry, no jokes here. did you remember to spring forward though? that's no joke kids... it's really an hour later than you'd think. that sucks.

for all you southern spring breakers, most likely returning from a hopefully (and jealous) sunny week at the beach... an (after the fact) informative page on myths, truths, etc. on tanning. |via: ms.pink, via: 50 cups>|

poor jerri. the huntsville native finally got booted off survivor 2 this week. this town treats her like some seasoned celebrity we've grown up hearing about. hardly anyone in this city knew of her prior to her stint in the outback. but the news and paper can't get enough of her it seems. people are calling the annoying "feedback" lines on channel 19 to complain that she never mentions huntsville, or denies being from the south, and how it makes them mad. it's kind of funny.

saw the movie "someone like you" (ashley judd/greg kinnear) this weekend. sweet and funny film, with sad sad bits; great soundtrack though. very funny and interesting theory on how men are compared to bulls, and women as "old" or "new" cows. which essentially means that once a bull's had his way with a cow, he loses interest, and she then becomes an "old cow;" and the bull waits for his next conquest, or the "new cow." it's adapted from the novel "animal husbandry" by laura zigman.

speaking of movies adapted from novels -- "bridgit jones's diary" is coming out soon! i loved this book... it was the last book i purchased in london to read on the trains while traveling around europe in '97. excellent read.

one of the more interesting trailers seen was for "moulin rouge" with nicole kidman and ewan macgregor. very colorful preview and highly diverse soundtrack -- from christina aguillera to beck to fatboy slim (to name a few).