urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou natalie natalie 2004-01-18T04:35:11Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:85030 2004-01-18T04:35:11Z 2004-01-18T04:35:11Z referring to hobbits as 'smurfs' is hilarious.<br /><br />god bless mad tv. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:84815 2004-01-17T16:17:43Z 2004-01-17T16:17:43Z warrant yesterday i went to work late, because i thought that carla, my interviewer, would call me and tell me whether or not i've been hired. but no one called. at work, i called my house answering machine every hour or so. only calls i got were from abby and tony. got home at 4:45... no message.<br /><br />so i called them. i called carla and she wouldn't tell me anything about it, i had to be transferred to the HR manager. when he started talking, he sounded like everyone else who'd ever given my job to someone with 'more experience' (see: was born before 1980---it's also called age discrimination).<br /><br />"well, let me start out by saying we've hired someone for the position of director of food services. this person has experience managing a team of people.<br /><br />however, carla was very impressed with you and felt you could do a great job here, so we'd like to offer you the position of assistant director of food services."<br /><br />i asked him if i could have the weekend to consider it, as he said the position was open only to me. i called him back after i talked on the phone with tony and he told me it was all the perks of being director, without having to deal with all the bullshit. so that's it, i'm hired. i start wednesday.<br /><br />this is a pretty big career change for me, i wanted to type a little bit about it, not just for all of you but for me to look back at in a few months, to say 'wait, i don't ever do that!' or 'there's so much i do they didn't tell me about', etc.<br /><br />well, it's at the judge rotenberg center (JRC), in canton massachusetts. 200 kids go there. it's about a 40 minute drive for me, so i think i'll either try to take public transportation or find a good used car. this is a school for people from age 7-40 (there are very few people over age 22) with mental, developmental, and behavioral problems. thanks to my parents for being social workers, i know a lot more than most people do about this stuff. there are two buildings that are about 300 feet apart, one has classrooms and 'faux hospital rooms', offices, conference rooms, etc. the other building has offices and the auditorium, i'm sure there's more, i'll be taking a tour wednesday.<br /><br />the school offers residency to the kids who need it. some kids go home at the end of the day with their parents, but a good amount of them live in houses together, assisted living. two of the houses are next to/across the street from the school, others are as far away as rehoboth.<br /><br />a news program, 20/20 or something like it, did a report on the school that turned into a scandal. kristin and kate have backed it up, (both of these FINE ladies were briefly employed at the center near boston) apparently the center uses electrical charges to restrain or punish the kids. i would not work at this facility in that context.<br /><br />now, about my position. assistant director of food services. i wish that 'assistant' wasn't in there. it's thirteen clams an hour, full time, benefits. the guy that got hired instead of me is 'dwayne.' grr.<br /><br />the job is really great. the director of the JRC has decided to make the entire school vegan. but he's going under the direction of a doctor who's come up with a new twist on vegan, he calls it RAVEn, which basically means no refined foods, no animal foods, and no vegetable oils. (the e stands for no exceptions) basically, they're raw foods wannabes. a lot of the kids don't like the idea of not eating 'normally', and i don't blame them, that sort of thing NORMALLY isn't forced on people, but the reason this school is doing this is because many of the students are overweight due to the medications they've been put on for various illnesses. all three meals are served every day. breakfast and dinner have about 40-60% of the student body each day (varies) but everyone's there for lunch.<br /><br />JRC is in the process of choosing a contractor to build an industrial kitchen in one of the buildings. until then, we use caterers to prepare the foods. then we set everything up buffet style in the cafeteria and have the kids eat that way. there's a fresh salad bar and soup prepared at the center, because they have a kitchen there, it's just... normal size.<br /><br />my job is this:<br />+ come up with nutritionally balanced meals for the students (that kids will eat)<br />+ stock each student house with easy-to-prepare foods<br />+ choose caterers and food vendors<br />+ constantly find new foods to incorporate in the menu<br />+ plan and execute organic gardens at the students' homes so we can use the veggies in meals<br />+ plan bi-weekly staff luncheons<br />+ decorate and plan fun stuff for the two "nutritional rooms" in each of the buildings<br />+ plan videos and other things for the weekly nutritional assemblies all the kids will see<br />+ help plan the new kitchen<br />+ spend tons of time with caterers, making sure they don't use chix broth etc. and help them cook<br /><br />i feel bad leaving my screenprinting job because my boss's wife just gave birth yesterday. and i really like the kid i work with. but i'm working 20 hours a week if i'm lucky, and i get paid $8.75. $175 and a lot of free time, or $520 and have a kick-ass job? hmmm...!<br /><br />so, that's my new job. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:84505 2004-01-15T21:37:47Z 2004-01-15T21:37:47Z i'm waiting impatiently to hear whether or not i got the job.<br /><br />the apartment on the 2nd floor is open. two kids need to move in pronto. $825 a month, 2 bedrooms, offstreet parking for 2 cars, brand new everything. get to live in a building with me and tony, plus three superb punkrockers from RI and CT. sarah and ryan? ashley? anyone?<br /><br />the cd player in my car shit out. it won't let me play the radio either. hell, it won't tell me what time it is. asshole. i thought we were a team!<br /><br />my landlord called and asked us to keep our faucet running a little tonight because it was supposed to be -40 degrees tonight. i don't believe it's going to be THAT cold, but still. i like weather. i love it when it thunders and your pets get spooked, or when its about to snow four feet and you run to the grocery store to stockpile non-perishables. i always think about the (only) 'little house on the prairie' episode i saw, when it snowed so much they had to leave their house through the teeny window at the top of the house, in the attic. it was probably, like, 30 feet or something. back before global warming. that was only 200 years ago! not even! i bet in three lifetimes, snow will be something everyone reads about but doesn't really believe. i mean, come on. little white balls falling from the sky? riiight...<br /><br />oh and i'm sure you're wondering how laura ingalls wilder didn't fall in through the 30 feet of snow.<br /><br />she wasn't allowed to go out. pa had snowshoes and he went to get food. and do men in the butt.<br /><br />what? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:84423 2004-01-14T03:44:50Z 2004-01-14T03:44:50Z hah, i'm back. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:84035 2004-01-04T11:43:19Z 2004-01-04T11:43:19Z i'm not going to have internet/phone for a while.<br /><br />see you in february. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:83909 2004-01-02T08:00:24Z 2004-01-02T08:00:24Z i'm switching live journals to see how i like it. i may or may not post on here anymore. if you want to get added to my new journal let me know.<br /><br />pace urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:83661 2004-01-01T02:43:26Z 2004-01-01T02:43:26Z why is new years eve the most depressing day of the year? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:83249 2003-12-29T05:02:05Z 2003-12-29T05:02:05Z today, tony and i watched all three lord of the rings movies. in order. it took a total of twelve hours. and all i can say, after sitting on my sofa/movie seat and eating junk, is this:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />i'm exhausted! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:83183 2003-12-28T03:21:27Z 2003-12-28T03:21:27Z christmas kicked ass and i have a job interview tuesday. james and i are spending a weekend with marissa in january, tony's parents are coming to see us jan. 17, the 4-7th we'll be at mt. snow with 25 other relatives in a huge condo, valentine's day the two of us will be in montreal, then two weeks in april in germany, italy, austria, switzerland and france. life is fucking GOOD. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:82773 2003-12-24T21:14:08Z 2003-12-24T21:14:08Z mind over sickness = natalie is going to participate in all holiday festivities. sickness or not. so there! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:82434 2003-12-23T13:44:55Z 2003-12-23T13:44:55Z i'm sick. it's ruined christmas. i hope i don't get the flu and die. imagine if i did, and after i died, everyone looked here and said, 'wow, that's pretty shitty, she joked about it and then it happened.'<br /><br />we got a bala shark for our fish tank. it will grow to be over thirteen inches, but it's so gentle it won't even defend itself if another fish hurts it. its name is gerry, after our landlord.<br /><br />there's so much i need to do today but my head is so cloudy i can't get my act together. it's taken forever just to type this. tony and i might be on the hallmark channel (what a thing to aspire to) for a show about morning rituals. (ours is to feed our pets.) i'm getting a phone interview in an hour with the show's director.<br /><br />marissa made me mittens that say 'sweet dicks!' on them. how did she know? how did she know. &lt;3 urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:82353 2003-12-22T06:12:23Z 2003-12-22T06:12:23Z this weekend was incredible.<br /><br /><br />friday i got my check, my boss also gave me a christmas bonus. came home and saw tony, left at 8pm to drive up to derry nh. transistor was playing a show, i got to see a zillion people i hadn't seen in so long, some over two years. we all went out to denny's afterwards, then james and i hung out till 3am, went to my parents house and crashed on the futon until 1:30pm...<br /><br />on a safer shore played at the "derry skate park" (OR, as i remember it, the lodge at the alexander carr park, where i used to go sledding). got to see a zillion MORE people, watched them play after practicing dilligently for two years and it was fucking magical, i was so proud of all their hard work, and everyone watching was really impressed.<br /><br />it felt like it was the year 2000 and i was watching random beatings and earth by april at the sad cafe or the upper room. ha!<br /><br />today my mom and i went out together to do some shopping, she got me new sneakers and dress shoes, and something nice to wear for christmas. we went out to lunch and we just generally had a good time. then i went to see marissa and we visited kate and matt's baby elliot, but she was a little fussy so we left, and jammed out in salem. i made the long trek home, wrapped gifts and whatnot... now its time for bed.<br /><br />thanks to all who showed me a good time this weekend. &lt;3 urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:82138 2003-12-20T00:13:54Z 2003-12-20T00:13:54Z -gone to new hampshire for the weekend! my parents number is 437-1522, give me a call if you wanna jam! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:81773 2003-12-19T01:09:31Z 2003-12-19T01:09:31Z BEATRICE IS IN HEAT!!!!<br /><br /><br />AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHAOEIGNEROGNI EROG MRGLAMROTA EROGMEROGMJ ZO;DGMZRO;GAOR urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:81505 2003-12-17T16:45:28Z 2003-12-17T16:45:28Z i am voting for dennis kucinich. who are you voting for?<br /><br />**<br /><br />i'll make it easier for you...<br /><br />Kucinich first came to national prominence in 1977 when he was elected mayor of Cleveland at age 31; the youngest person ever elected to lead a major American city. In 1978, Cleveland's banks demanded that he sell the city's 70 year-old municipally-owned electric system to its private competitor (in which the banks had a financial interest) as a precondition of extending credit to city government. Kucinich refused to sell Muny Light. In an incident unprecedented in modern American politics, the Cleveland banks plunged the city into default for a mere $15 million. Kucinich lost his re-election bid in 1979. Fifteen years later, Kucinich made his first step toward a political comeback, winning election to the Ohio Senate on the strength of the expansion of the city's light system which provides low-cost power to almost half the residents of Cleveland. In 1998 the Cleveland City Council honored him for, "having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city's municipal electric system."<br /><br />As chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (which is the largest congressional caucus), Kucinich has promoted a national health care system, preservation of Social Security, increased Unemployment Insurance benefits, and the establishment of wholesales cost-based rates for electricity, natural gas and home heating oil. When the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory arbitration could be a condition of employment, Kucinich introduced a bill to reverse the Court's decision.<br /><br />In his Cleveland, Ohio district, Kucinich has been recognized by the Greater Cleveland AFL-CIO as a tireless advocate for the social and economic interests of his community. He is currently leading a civic crusade to save Cleveland's 90 year-old steel industry and the thousands of jobs and retiree benefits it provides. While hundreds of community hospitals have been closed throughout the country, Kucinich led a powerful citizens' movement which reopened two Cleveland neighborhood hospitals. He was prepared to block a railroad merger at the Surface Transportation Board until he gained an agreement from the nation's largest railroads which improved rail safety while diverting a heavy volume of train traffic away from heavily populated residential areas. His promotion of rail safety improvements gained him the top award from the Ohio PTA in 2000. His efforts on behalf of Cleveland's poor gained the recognition of the National Association of Social Workers. He continues to be a local and national advocate for the homeless.<br /><br />Congressman Kucinich acts upon his belief that protection of the global environment is fundamental to preserving the life of all species. He has been honored by Public Citizen, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and the League of Conservation Voters as a champion of clean air, clean water and an unspoiled earth. He was an early critic of nuclear power as being risky economically, and environmentally, raising questions about nuclear waste byproducts. As a state senator he raised so many questions about a planned siting of a nuclear waste dump in Ohio that the idea was eventually scrapped. Early in his first term in Congress he thwarted an effort to repeal a provision of the Clean Air Act. As a congressional representative to the global climate treaty talks, Congressman Kucinich encouraged America to lead the way toward a sustainable, shared stewardship of the planet through carbon reduction, and investment in alternative energy technologies.<br /><br />He not only believes in sustainability, he practices it. Congressman Kucinich is one of the few vegans in Congress, a dietary decision he credits not only with improving his health, but in deepening his belief in the sacredness of all species. In the 106th Congress, his call for labeling and safety testing of all genetically engineered foods provoked a $50 million advertising campaign by the biotech industry. Kucinich hosted an international parliamentary session, attended by officials of 18 countries, on the social, economic, political and health impact of genetic food technologies. More recently he was one of the principal speakers at an international conference on water rights, where he called for governments to reserve public ownership of water resources.<br /><br />US Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, a Democrat of Ohio, is a dynamic, visionary leader of the Progressive Caucus of the congressional Democrats who combines a powerful activism with a spiritual sense of the essential interconnectedness of all living things. His holistic worldview carries with it a passionate commitment to public service, peace, human rights, workers rights, and the environment. His advocacy of a Department of Peace seeks not only to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our society, but to make war archaic. His is a powerful, ethical voice for nuclear disarmament, preservation of the ABM treaty, banning weapons in outer space, and a halt to the development of a 'Star Wars' - type missile defense technology.<br /><br />He has been recognized for his advocacy of human rights in Burma, Nigeria and East Timor. Together with the late Rep. Joe Moakley (D-Mass), he has led a concerted effort to close the School of the Americas, which has been an incubator of human rights violations in Central America. On the eve of the World Trade Organization's Seattle conference, Rep. Kucinich organized 114 Democrats to help convince President Clinton to seek human rights, workers rights and environmental quality principles as preconditions in all US trade agreements. Kucinich marched with workers through the streets of Seattle protesting the WTO's policies and with students through the streets of Washington, DC, challenging the structural readjustment policies of the IMF.<br /><br />this was taken from his website <a href="http://www.kucinich.us/">http://www.kucinich.us/</a>. i highly reccomend everyone sign up with the volunteer department, they'll send you a bumper sticker and yard sign, and you can flyer in your neighborhood or go door to door. i really feel like this is a man everyone can be proud of. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:81272 2003-12-15T12:05:24Z 2003-12-15T12:05:24Z the christmas party turned into a giant sleepover, with a breakfast run for falafel. the yankee swap was hilarious. thank you to everyone who came, you made my weekend! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:81101 2003-12-12T05:57:33Z 2003-12-12T05:57:33Z this is a christmas entry!!<br /><br />we got a christmas tree on tuesday, and set it up in the stand last night. today we decorated it with pinecones, candy canes, and tin shapes. it's be-au-ti-ful! tomorrow i am getting a tree skirt. we still need a tree topper.<br /><br />tony got me an early present today, a new cage for cecilia the chinchilla! it's five feet tall and purple and she loves it, it is so nice! she is a happy chin chin!<br /><br />i got christmas candles, a centerpiece, made carrot cake and banana bread, and i'm working like a wild woman on the christmas gifts i'm making for tony and marissa. there are so many commercials for the clapper... only at christmas can that thing sell. i remember when i was little, there would be so many toy commercials around the holidays, and i'd keep a pad of paper in the living room so if i saw something i wanted i could write it down and add it to my list. there was something that really confused me when i was about three, that i can still remember: "batteries not included." did it mean it didn't need batteries? did it mean you had to buy them separately? i have no idea why, but that phrase boggled my mind.<br /><br />everyone is posting what they want for christmas, it's all really nice clothes and watches and electronics... my wishlist is like... bundt cake pan, garlic press, 8x8 baking pan, dr. scholl's shoe sole inserts... what a nerd.<br /><br />this christmas is going to be awesome. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:80888 2003-12-11T19:59:30Z 2003-12-11T19:59:30Z i am selling the lovebirds we just got, the chinchilla can't sleep because they chirp during the day (she's nocturnal, in case you were confused). they are two and a half years old, plus the cage, stand, and a zillion toys.<br /><br />if you are interested let me know. &lt;3! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:80626 2003-12-09T03:13:26Z 2003-12-09T03:13:26Z bongzilla - hash dealer my cousin ryan and his wife lindsay are expecting another baby in june, ryan graduates from law school in december. that'll be rough for him, studying for the bar exam with a toddler AND an infant. my aunt michelle is expecting too. neither were planned for. i don't know why that doesn't bother me more. the women on my mom's side of the family get pregnant if someone LOOKS at them suggestively. pregnancy, in the past twenty or thirty years, is constantly seen as a dissapointment, 'oh, no! was it planned?' I mean... it's a baby. come on people. if and when i am pregnant, i will get angry, offended, and disgusted if people assume i don't want to give birth. what the hell.<br /><br />i heard on the radio today a man was impersonating a police officer, and pulled over a REAL police officer. haha! that guy must have been like, 'excuse me sir, can i see your license?' and the cop would be all, 'well, no. but can i see YOUR license?' and the other guy would be like 'no dude I pulled YOU over.' and the cop would be all, 'yo, i'm a cop' and the other guy would be like, 'shit.' <br /><br />lately when i fart it's really smelly. but i still fart in my cat's faces because they knock my plants over, it's only fair. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:80153 2003-12-08T00:17:20Z 2003-12-08T00:17:20Z two new additions to our zoo... a male and a female fischer lovebird! yeehaw! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:80104 2003-12-07T15:11:35Z 2003-12-07T15:11:35Z so i just got a call from my hollywood agent, seems i've inspired yet ANOTHER glamour-trend: bum cleavage. god. when will america learn? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:79835 2003-12-05T13:03:03Z 2003-12-05T13:03:03Z HANDS UP WHO WANTS TO DIE urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:79411 2003-12-05T05:27:28Z 2003-12-05T05:27:28Z kay kay kay. here's ANOTHER update on my "future" situation... knowing me this will just change again but as of right now it's the most solid thing i've got...<br /><br />move back to new hampshire. yeah, yeah, you heard me. and go to plymouth state for four years. tony wants to go to college too, for computer somethingorother. get a place up there for 4 or 5 years, then look for a teaching job and move where-ever that takes me (in NH of course). why the change of heart? .. we looked at the prices of u-hauls. $8,000 to move to washington. NO THANKS. plus, we would only be able to take our cats. that's just not fair to the rest of the lovelies. we wanted to settle down in that area anyways, after college, why not now? i'd also live superclose to my grammie, who is the most wonderful human bean ever yup even better than your grammie. for those who don't know, plymouth is a half hour north of meredith, so i think from concord that is... not quite two hours? 1 1/2? hm.<br /><br />!!christmas tree saturday!!<br /><br />i have so much rage pent up inside of me, but it's not really justified, because it hasn't got anything to do with me. i'm just mad at what people are doing to my best friend. and she lives so far away that i can't protect her. but i know all the people who are being rotten and i want to fucking ... ugh. hatehatehate. she should run away and live with me in a treehouse or something. i guess i'm just lucky to not be surrounded by assholes. seems most people are, these days. absolutely isn't her fault. and she's got enough to deal with at the moment. (&lt;3 you)<br /><br />grape soda is a good friend to have at the beach, isn't it? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:79300 2003-12-05T04:17:31Z 2003-12-05T04:17:31Z today was the ten year anniversary of frank zappa's death.<br />today i cried ten tears.<br /><br /><br />I HATE PROSTATE CANCER!!!!! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:girlminusyou:79051 2003-12-03T17:06:53Z 2003-12-03T17:06:53Z attention ex-PINKERTON kids: do you remember a kid named john stewart, little hardcore kid, probably a senior this year if he hasn't already graduated? sings for a band called guns up (i think?) if you know of his email address or any way to contact him let me know.<br /><br />i'm superfuckingsick.