Hello from my new laptop. Except, not really

So I started a post last night from my new laptop which is beautiful and shiny (a little too shiny if you ask me because suddenly I have discovered how greasy my fingers are and now I am petrified that I'll shake hands with someone and they'll be completely disgusted and then I'll never get promoted again (and no, I haven't applied for a new job, that was hypothetical)) and I was going to include pictures but then realized that I can't find the cord I need to attach my camera to the laptop.  And my wireless mouse is thwarting me.  It works and then it doesn't and then it works again.  Instead, I am resorting to posting via email again.

But!  The most exciting thing in the world - the keyboard actually works like a keyboard should!  I type and the words actually form the way I typed them (instead of sticking on every third letter and making me look like an idiot like Keem's computer does)!  It's very, very exciting!  Did I say that already?  Probably.

Anyway, I promise to post pictures soon.  My hair is still adorably cute, thanks to the wondrous hair stylist at Fantastic Sam's.  And also to the fact that I actually blow dry my hair now.  This is a big deal because I am incredibly hair challenged and prefer to shower and get ready in 9.3 minutes.  Blow drying my hair actually adds an additional 5 minutes to my schedule in the morning.  It is a travesty.  Also a travesty is the 400 zits I have on my chin now.  I am 41, damn it.  I should not be breaking out!  Do you know how incongruous it looks to have gray roots and blemishes?  Dagnabit!

As an added bonus, I found this on Teri’s site so I thought I would explain why I haven't posted pictures yet in further detail.  Enjoy!

Holy Blog Of Doom, Batman! I just opened mine eyes, and lo! I have not updated this since long before Shakespeare wast a boy... You would not believe how terribly tardy the Victorian internet can be. I prostrate myself in sorrow and beg thy forgiveness..

I am lost in a sea of pseudo-olde-english with an awfully big adventure, being distracted by the shiny, just generally being an embarrassment to the secret service, my day is a magical flight from the light through yonder window breaks to sun down and beyond. I am avoiding recapture. it will be fun fun fun till they take my TBird away.

I declare solemnly I will update you with my nefarious activities as soon as I get a chance. Sincerest apologies. This is for my ever faithful, devoted public..

She found it here - it was very fun and rather like Mad Libs.

What's been going on

A sign of the impending apocalypse

I was listening to the radio the other day and a song came on. This is actually not that surprising. Radios = music (well, in my world. Not in the world of those people who like the news or talk radio*

(*Not that there's anything wrong with that (unless you listen to Russ Limbaugh. I can't stand him (Or Howard Stern for that matter (Is he even still on the air?)). Beth's mom has MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) on the radio in her bathroom. The first time I walked in there and switched on the light, there was this deep voice and my response was "God?" And yes, I did figure out it was the radio.

Now if I have to go to the bathroom when I'm there, I'll say that I'm going to go talk to God. Or respond to conversation with "God was just telling me about that upstairs." It's fun.).

Anyway, back to the sign of the impending apocalypse. This song came on the radio and I was seriously enjoying it. For a moment, I thought Lyndyrd Skynyrd had released a new version of Sweet Home Alabama and I was thrilled (I love Lyndyrd Skynyrd. What's not to love? Southern Rock, um, (rocks for lack of a better word)).

And then I looked at the display on the radio. It read Kid Rock. All Summer Long. Not Lyndyrd Skynyrd. Not Sweet Home Alabama. Oh my God, no!

DM: How can I possibly like a Kid Rock song? This is wrong! WRONG!
Keem: It's pretty good though.
DM: But Kid Rock!

There are those of you that will remember how Beth and I are absolutely convinced that "Picture" is the worst song ever and those who sing it at karaoke should be shot (Actually, I'm not sure Beth ever mentioned shooting people. That might just be me). So the fact that I like a Kid Rock song makes me feel that I am betraying my own karaoke rules. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

**************************************
Why I should not be allowed to own scissors

Yes. I cut my hair again. But in my defense, I was provoked beyond reason. My hair was being irritating and aggravating. The worst part of this is that Keem sent me an email today that I didn't figure out right away. And when I did figure it out, I was already half way through cutting off the pony tail (Former Boss Matt told me that's how his brother used to cut his hair. Back when he had hair). And I'm buying a laptop (Yayayayayayay! My sister is awesome!) and thought this would be a good way to save some money (my budget has now gone from Tight to "Oh my God, I can't spend any money for the next six months.").

When I went over to see Keem and ask her if I was correct about her indicating that we could go and get our hair cut, she said yes. And then I silently turned around and showed her the back of my head. And then all of my co-workers silently (and not so silently) dissolved into laughter.

Martha: Dana? Did you cut your hair again?
DM: Um, yeah.
Jessica and Christy: You need to stop doing that!
Carla: What did you do?
DM: I kinda cut my hair.
Carla: How do you kinda cut your hair? Is that the same as being kinda pregnant?
Andrea: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Keem: Turn around.
Carla and Andrea: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I will post the before and after pictures for you. Keem said she would take the pictures tonight.

And here is the email. My explanation regarding my suggestions are included. I have bolded the text so it makes sense.

_____________________________________________
From: Keem
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:12 AM
To: DM
Subject: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...

Do you wanna (Insert something you've wanted here) …?

Keem
_____________________________________________
From: DM
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:14 AM
To: Keem
Subject: RE: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...Inserting things I've wanted

Go to Senor Wong's? (Best Chinese/Mexican food in the world and right in our building)
Go to the Library? (I’ve been trying to get her to take me here for years. No luck)
Go to the hardware store? (I have started making memo boards for people at work. I want to be able to add a magnetic section to it so I want metal (I also need tin snips because I have been trying to cut up mint tins. Regular scissors don't work very well). Jo-Ann’s doesn’t sell metal that I could use as a magnet board)

Have yummy, yummy potatoes and garlic bread? (I’m thinking this is pretty self-explanatory. But, if you were not aware, Keem is the best cook in the world. And we went to the Farmer's Market on Sunday where I bought Roasted Garlic baguettes)

DM

_____________________________________________
From: Keem
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:20 AM
To: DM
Subject: RE: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...Inserting things I've wanted

No.
NO!
NO to the Nth degree.
Emphatically no.
Probably not.

Try again...

Keem

_____________________________________________
From: DM
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:22 AM
To: Keem
Subject: RE: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...Inserting things I've wanted

Work late? (I’m running out of PTO and have Friday off (doctor's appointment). I have to make up time)
Sit across the street and take pictures? (Discussed this morning on our way to work. There is a park that overlooks the Mississippi River)

Get our new badges? (Pogo reference)

DM

_____________________________________________
From: Keem
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:10 AM
To: DM
Subject: RE: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...Inserting things I've wanted

I am so sorry that you took your hair into your own hands. I can't believe you didn't get that that was what I was trying to say to you. :) (This is obviously after I showed her my hair.)

Keem

_____________________________________________
From: DM
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:13 AM
To: Keem
Subject: RE: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...Inserting things I've wanted

You can't be cryptic with me! My brain doesn't respond to cryptic! (It really doesn't. I can sometimes pick up on it but it requires a lot of effort. And I prefer to use that effort for solving murder mysteries (not real ones, ones in books and on television))

No biggie. Will you take a picture of my hair before we go so I can blog about this?

DM
_____________________________________________
From: Keem
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:26 AM
To: DM
Subject: RE: Since we aren't doing laundry tonight...Inserting things I've wanted

Yeah. I think that you also need to do the emails too.

Keem

Work is hell. Unless you work with Christy

Friday, Co-Worker Christy says to me, completely out of the blue "Dana, do you think the term doozie comes from Duesenburg?"

I right away know that she's talking about the car.  I also know that if I don't find this out, it is going to drive me insane all freakin' day.

"I don't know," I reply.  "But I'll find out."

"Good," she tells me.  "And then you should blog about it."

I love many things but words and where we get them from is on top of the list.  I guess the word that I want here is etymology, the study of the words and their history and what language they are derived from.  I love knowing where a word came from.  Is it derived from Latin?  Is it slang?  Where the heck did it come from (one of my favorite Mom gifts was a book about where words came from, including red herring (one of my favorite mystery plots and a phrase I first discovered in Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie (I might have been 12 when I read it for the first time.  Not sure)))?  Words that are derived from Latin are bonus words for me.  I like Latin.  And no, I have no idea why.  It's pretty?

So Christy's question was answered by a search on www.dictionary.com.  And it is one less thing that puzzles me.

1 result for: doozie
http://m.reference.com/d/search.html?q=doozie
doo·zie /ˈduzi/ [doo-zee] noun, verb, -zied, -zi·ing. Informal.
–noun
1.      Also, doo·zer /ˈduzər/ [doo-zer] . something that is extraordinary or outstanding of its kind: The storm was a doozie, with winds of fifty miles an hour.      
—Verb phrase
2.      doozie up, to make more attractive or appealing, as by adding features or ornaments, cleaning or repairing, or clothing brightly: You'll have to doozie up the house before you can sell it.   

[Origin: 1925–30, Americanism; of uncert. orig.; sometimes associated with the Duesenburg, a luxury auto, though the var. dozy precedes the appearance of the car in 1920]

And also, Christy was very amused when she was asking me a question today and the reminder I set up for myself in Outlook popped up. 

"Blog about this and Christy?  What about me?"

I explained I set up a reminder so I wouldn't forget to post this.  And she laughed.  You have to love someone who loves words as much as you do, right? 

In other news, the results of the tests came in and they are negative.  Which tells me lots of things but not the most important.  What the heck is wrong with me?  Tune in next week when I go back to the doctor!  Yay!  On the other hand though, I am glad that the week long bout of something I've affectionately titled "Sciatic nerve, you can knock that off right now!" (and Christy kept asking me how my Sci-Attica was because we said it could be a prison film about a futuristic Attica) appears to now be over. 

Hi.  My name is Dana.  And I am apparently falling apart at the seams.  Fortunately Christy can sew.

Have a great day all.  Oh, any of you remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books?  Well, NPW does and she decided to create a Choose Your Own Blogventure.  Absolutely brilliant, that one.  Check it out

(and pun was not intended, even though she is a librarian (dream job.  Until I discovered it involved less reading and more dealing with people)).