Caterwauling

I have a shorter amount of time to write my stories this month, thanks to earlier deadlines set to accommodate Turkey Day break. Shit. One of my stories fell flat on its face today, but I’ll live and just incorporate it as part of a bigger story, if at all. Yet I have these two nitwits who call me either every day or every other day, begging me to write stories about the work they’re doing. The work is interesting enough to grab my attention, but I have other stories that my editor requested and frankly, I am not killing myself to produce more than I must. Granted, I want to write some extra stories to keep in the kitty, just in case we have a hole to fill, but I’m not in a rush. I already told the one guy that he’s welcome to check in with me, but he should be prepared to hear that his is not the only story that has my attention at any given time. I told him that a story fell flat, and he joked that he hopes all my stories tank, so I can focus on his stuff. Ha ha. Fucker. I hope all my stories tank so I can take the month off. 🙂

Bill seems to think that Shan and I are meeting with him and Jackie on Monday; I sent him a quick e-mail to say that we aren’t involved but that we’d love to take him out for a drink afterward. He’s totally game for that. I wonder if he gets it, that Jackie doesn’t want us there; what we don’t want is for him to think that WE don’t want to be at the table. I hope Jackie fucks up this partnership even further and makes Bill want to bow out. I really do. I wish absolutely no success to this company or the idiotic cast of characters that composes it. They deserve Solitaire Queen, Chatty Cathy, Pussy Demure and Yellow-Haired Bitch. They do not deserve people with ideas and charisma and motivation. Like all of my former employers, they punish initiative and reward mediocrity.

Gawd, I’m bitter today. I’m also horny, but at least I can indulge the bitterness!!!

But the sex sign’s all Libra!

What’s *Your* Sex Sign?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

I was shocked to receive an IM from RK this morning … we haven’t connected since August, I believe. At any rate, we had a pleasant conversation during the course of an hour or two. He said he wanted to respond to my e-mail (the one I sent Oct. 6, for anyone who wants to check the archives). I honestly didn’t anticipate a response, but it was good catching up with him, nonetheless.

No news on the dumb bitch who wanted me to stop the presses about the profile I wrote about her. However, a past president is barking up our asses, which caused the exec to light a fire under my ass about a cumbersome article that I’m planning to compile in the coming weeks. I swear, the lengths to which we are forced to go, just to lick dick, are truly frightening.

Jackie is acting like his usual asshole self. Our contact from Boston, Bill, wants to meet with Jackie, Shan and me on Monday, but Jackie nixed the idea, saying that Shan and I are to have no part of it. What Jackie doesn’t realize is that the only reason Bill is coming back to D.C. is because he was inspired by Shan and me to retain, and invest in, this shaky partnership between the two companies. The good news is that Bill wants to meet with us, independently of Jackie, about our own business ideas. Shan and I plan to jump on this opportunity.

Some of the petty women around the office purposely snubbed IKEA Boy today (it was painfully obvious), which, as he said himself, is pretty immature, and he knows that sometimes, he has no room to talk about acting immaturely. LOL. This place is just going to pot. I wish I were going to pot, too. … :0)

Rather, a break from all sniper news, all the time. (I was beginning to sound like CNN.)

Since the alleged snipers were caught “like a duck in a noose,” I have been reading about the follow-up stories but not as avidly as I read the minute-by-minute details. I guess it isn’t pressing anymore. If we’ve truly got the culprits detained for good, I can relax till the next bizarre event occurs, whenever that may be.

I will admit, though, that I hate international news. Give it to me in baby-aspirin-sized doses; whirl the spoon around like an airplane or a choo-choo, just break it to me gently and give me the bottom line. I don’t want to hear about an unsafe world when we have so many problems at home. I am on information overload and can’t take much more.

Two news stories that rattled me today: a shooting at the University of Arizona’s nursing school, where a 41-year-old student shot three professors, and a shooting at a Jersey city high school, where a person walked in, shot one student, and walked out. I was just saying to Shan, last night if you can believe that, that I realize that school shootings, as defined by the mass bloodshed of the late 1990s, have dissipated, but that other forms of violence exist and that I was surprised we hadn’t heard of any shootings, as of late.

My concern for the schools is rooted in the fact that I have officially started volunteering for an organization that was founded to prevent school violence. And I plan to do some work for another one that, partly, deals with stress in the workplace (I am the poster child. hee hee. Only theoretically!). At any rate, it’s good to keep the ol’ brain occupied … and using my development background is kind of exciting, because I learned so much in a short period of time. For 28 years old, sometimes my experience and insight amazes me, but then I realize that I worked hard and paid a lot of attention to the successes and failures of my colleagues and superiors, so I earned everything that I know. It’s good to feel useful.

And I hear that I am getting business cards with the new company … they were ordered today. Cripes, it took me more than six months as a director at Two Strikes (or as Shan calls it, Second Choice) to get biz cards, and that’s because I finally got pissed off and had them designed and ordered especially for me. I hope I do well with this endeavor. I really do. And eventually it will pay off financially, and I am willing to devote time and energy right now to prove my mettle. Here’s to hoping the mettle isn’t tarnished or rusted from taking off the past few months from really using the ol’ brain. And here’s to eventually earning enough money to kill off some of those hardworking brain cells with smokey and swallowy treats!!!

“The silicon chip inside her head

gets switched to overload

and nobody’s gonna go to school today

she’s gonna make them stay at home

And Daddy doesn’t understand it

He always said she was good as gold

And he can see no reason

‘Cause there are no reasons

What reasons do you need to be shown

— Boomtown Rats (as covered by Tori Amos), “I Don’t Like Mondays” —

Appropriate for another gloomy day in the life. Was just lying in bed, contemplating what I want out of this life, what I’ve already got, and how to use the latter to acquire the former, before the silicon chip switches to overload.

Before I die, I want:

1. To own a house/condo/apartment.

2. To see Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland and Spain.

3. To earn enough money to choose When and If I want to work during a particular day/week/month/year.

4. To always have enough money in the bank to purchase a last-minute plane ticket to anywhere and be able to afford at least a week in a hotel, wherever I end up.

5. To continually be surrounded by beautiful people and things that are real, consisent and meaningful.

6. To be pleased with my whole self, instead of certain parts or none at all.

7. To love what I do, both professionally and personally.

“Sometimes you’re hit by the moment

When suddenly everything seems to be clear

A time when the world moves so slowly

A time when the answers just seem to appear

— Seven and the Sun, “I Won’t Look Back” —

After a fun night out drinking with Shan, I got up this morning feelin’ kinda shitty (mainly because my cold renewed itself and therefore only allows me to have one functioning nasal passage at a time), but determined to clean my room.

Well, that didn’t happen, but I did do some work on the living room, kitchen and bathroom. And I tossed up a few Halloween decorations. I’m not real in love with the apartment, although I’ve got my eye on a studio that’s almost as big as the three aforementioned rooms combined, but while I’m here, I figure I might as well attempt to enjoy it. And it’s amazing how, with a little bit of TLC and a bit of effort, how cute the place can look and how yummy it can smell.

I also threw away an entire bag of paperwork and bills, let’s face it, I’ll never get around to having the money to pay. Sure, I’ll be sittin’ in jail one of these days over it, but hell, I keep stressing every time I see the paperwork and might as well get it out of sight. LOL. I think I have a solution for the phone problem, though. But I’ll post it at a later date.

On a work note (a brief one), I told IKEA Boy and Shan that I am at my last *real* job. Ten years and 10 employers later (note that I worked many jobs concurrently), I have operated under the belief that when a job stops being fun or ceases to further my skills, then I can leave. Now that I have mastered my current position and will probably have nothing to do outside of my department (media stuff), I have one more skill to master, and that is using Quark. And I don’t want IKEA Boy’s job. He’s undoubtedly my coolest supervisor, but let’s face it, he still serves at the pleasure of Pussy Demure and Jackie. Which just sucks all the way around.

And when you think you’ve escaped the bullshit from your former job, you step into a fresh pile of it at your next job. And the one after that. All employers have their problems, and all have their positives. Yet the only way to combine all the great things about each job is, well, to take your collective experiences and launch your own company. Sure, it will have its own issues, undoubtedly, but I will have the power to fix what’s wrong and build upon what’s right.

Shan and I are loosely planning a trip to Boston for some freelance work for some people we met at our press conference. They, in turn, are willing to give us some real advice for starting a business. I think it’s going to come down to us launching a media relations gig for companies who appreciate us. We are also talking about doing a publicity campaign for a company her dad is heavily involved with and helped to launch. I am actually pretty psyched about trying to raise some money for it, so I can put my hard-earned fund-raising skills to the test.

At any rate, that’s news for now. Off to watch “Trading Spaces” in my French-mint scented living room!

1. What is your favorite scary movie?

Oooh, I love scary movies, but I have to admit, the “Scream” series was my favorite. I like to laugh when I’m scared, and I did plenty of that while watching those movies!

2. What is your favorite Halloween treat?

I’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat me first! (Wait, did I say that? lol) I have a weakness for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, although I can get those all year, which is fine with me. I love caramel corn and caramel apples, too, although one of these days, I’ll probably lose a tooth in one of those sweet treats, with my luck.

3. Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, describe your best Halloween costume.

I’ve been an angel (purely for irony purposes), a devil (that’s more like it!), a cat, Miss Piggy (no comments from the peanut gallery, please!), Little Orphan Annie, a nun … and scariest of all …. myself. EEEEEKKKK!!!!

4. Do you enjoy going to haunted houses or other spooky events?

Hell yeah!!! I’m always on guard anyway, so I don’t get too scared. Walking through a haunted house, though, is less stressful than walking into work, on many occasions … so it’s nice (in a haunted house) to see people PURPOSELY acting like freaks (instead of just NATURALLY acting crazy)!!!

5. Will you dress up for Halloween this year?

Hmm. Depends on what I can whip together for free (I bought two cheap pairs of sneakers and unfortunately, that small purchase screwed up my whole budget. Fuckin’ pay cut.) I should at least do something gypsy-ish, ’cause I can find hoop earrings and some scarves with little effort. I could always go as a ho’ … it’s fast, cheap and easy … just like me. 🙂 And hell, it’d be no extra effort than a normal day!!!

It’s amazing, the amount of information the police withheld. I just heard on the news that the kid confessed out of guilt to a priest (!) in Ashland, Va. (I wonder if the kid represents the fucked-up Nation of Islam, like Muhammad does … I highly doubt that he would approve of the kid contacting anyone, let alone a priest, in this matter!) Also, a great deal of the content of the notes is now being released. But I don’t care … if we truly have the perpetrators in police custody now, I am completely cool with the information that was withheld. A miracle has occurred: the veritable “needle in a haystack” has been found.

Although …

Police told us to look for variations of white vans, trucks and cars … only for us to learn now that they have been searching for a blue or maroon Caprice since the get-go. How many Caprices have I seen on the road? Granted, not many, but I could have been on the lookout for it for three weeks.

Something’s still up, though. We have this convergence of unmarked police and FBI vehicles in a neighboring parking lot at work every single day. It’s within full view of my office; their token vehicles (with multiple antennae) sit there from 9 to 6, give or take, every day. Today was no different. With our area having been thought to be a potential target, I fear that again, some level of information is being withheld in regard to this case.

Schools in the area are lifting their restrictions on field trips and outdoor activities. Wobin and I were laughing about it, how parents were refusing to send their kids to school, but in TV interviews, they openly said that they were taking their kids to the malls, movie theaters, etc. Cripes, wasn’t the whole point to keep the kids hidden after that 13-year-old in Bowie, Md., was shot?

The tally: 22 days, 14 shots, 10 deaths, 3 wounded.

You know, I giggled in an earlier entry when Mom heard about a bombing in Bali and immediately associated it with Bally, my gym. Yet her unique perspective could have solved this case … she is the type of person who would have connected Washington, D.C., to Washington State. She would have related Montgomery County, Md., to Montgomery, Ala. Perhaps this is another case of the police, by not releasing the information, missed out on someone like Mom out there in TV land who might have made the association, given the right clues … and what, for her, is obvious might have taken cops days or weeks to unravel. Although, with all the rabid media coverage, I am shocked that the recent sniper shootings in Alabama — which took place during the snipers’ supposed four-day hiatus — weren’t publicized in this area. If for no other reason than to make us feel better that we weren’t the only ones watching our asses, I think we should have heard about that.

I was angry when a CNN poll showed that the public gave the media an “F” for their coverage of this case. I at least rated it as a “C.” But now, after NOT hearing about the Montgomery, Ala., shootings, I say shame on our reporters (or, rather, their assignment editors) who weren’t watching the wire and making the connection. Christ, if pseudo-literate Moosehead can solve a case in three weeks, I’m certain a half-witted journalist could have solved it in two weeks, max.

Speaking of breaking news. …

Something that puzzles me … Reuters reported that Muhammad was homeless, and he and the kid spent some time in shelters. Yet Reuters also reported that shelter workers noted his ease in flying to Louisiana, Jamaica (the kid and the kid’s mom allegedly immigrated here illegally from Antigua) and other locations, whenever he damn well felt like it. How, praytell, did he get such money? Was it from extortion? And did he drive to Alabama or fly this time? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

What frosted Shan’s and my flakes today was reading about how the backseat of the Caprice was rigged to collapse, and how there was a hole in the back of the car through which the barrel of the rifle could fit, allowing for easy, undetected shooting. Damn, that was clever as shit. But how could this clever man get caught? Obviously, he wanted to get caught. Was he tired? Bored? Longing for a roof over his head? A homeless man and an immigrant minor seem like such an unlikely pair to conduct such a reign of terror, but I will be scratching my head till a motive is declared. I mean, shit, they were sleeping at a Maryland rest stop when a trucker reported seeing the wanted vehicle with the right license plate. Obviously, they didn’t have access to a TV, to know that the information was released at midnight. But I would assume they had a radio in the car, even if it was a little transistor radio.

Gawd, how many times do you get behind a shitty driver on the freeway? Who’da thunk it that they could shoot you for tailgating them? At least, though, they didn’t do that. They picked off one victim at a time, whereas a freeway shooting could injure dozens of people, at least, simultaneously.

And how bizarre that Sniperoo’s note asked Moosehead to tell the public that they caught him “like a duck in a noose.” Is that a new cliche that’s sweeping the nation? Shan said that the Ducks are a sports team in Oregon, which is dangerously close to Washington state. Further, her dad is a fire chief in Oregon, and he’s dealing with a serial arsonist right now (40 fires in 10 months, all linked stylistically). Perhaps Sniperoo was truly acting alone in his sniping activities, but what if one of his buddies is a serial arsonist? What’s next? I wonder if there could be a connection. I’d rather have a sniper than an arsonist, though, I think. My biggest fear (alongside car accidents) is of fire. I love fire for its dangerous beauty, but having faced an apartment fire when I was in third grade, I am not a happy Dawn when flames are present.

Bleah. I just want to breathe. So many residents are crawling out from their holes, venturing out to stores and gas stations and letting their kids go back to school. Is it REALLY safe? Let’s assume Sniperoo and Sniperoo Jr. are truly the felons in question … what’s to stop another sadistic son of a bitch from picking up where they left off?

Moosehead infuriated me with today’s press conference. He thanked area residents for their patience and cooperation, and he said that this was the worst act of terror in this area, ever. Um, did Sept. 11, 2001, slip his mind? I felt that terror from 250 miles away. Unfortunately, this area is just a sitting target. One only wonders what’s in store for us next, and how long it will take before we have to enter panic mode again.

It’s interesting that Muhammad is a Gulf War veteran. I’m dealing at work with some dumb bitch who served in Saudi Arabia. She’s out of her god damn mind, and she’s pursuing her doctorate in counseling. She initiated the process of me writing a story on her, only for her to call Shan (because Shan was the only one at her desk when the bitch began bouncing through the voice mail system) and rant that I initiated the process over a year ago (yeah, when I didn’t even work there) and that I was the one who asked her about stuff that she wouldn’t have otherwise talked about (like some references to a public execution square in Riyadh), when she, in her initial e-mail to propose the profile, talked at length of that horrid place. It’s a shame that she got to treat military personnel for post-traumatic stress disorder, when she’s clearly one fucked-up duck herself. Argh. Had tons of drama at work yesterday in relation to her, and I didn’t finish my own work till 11 p.m. (at least I had come home briefly at 5 to feed the cat). Bleah. Today should be an easy one, I hope. This week has been full of tension, despite the winning press conference and coverage, and I will be glad to lock myself in the apartment with the cat and not deal with anything related to work for two full days.

Finally, a picture of the stepson.

At a press conference held two minutes ago, Moosehead gave a website to acquire images of the two men wanted for questioning in the sniper case. The elder has “Mohammed” as part of his name … was it the guy I was ignoring every damn time he called my cell phone? lol. It’s funny but still freaky.

At any rate, I think this was the website: www.atf.treas.gov. And just like the tip line, it’s impossible to get through to it. 🙂

Keep your eyes peeled for a 1990 Chevy Caprice Classic with Nu Joisey plates. Ugh. Nothin’ like picking a conspicuous vehicle, although it is less so than the van. And there’s a juvenile in the car, too. Christ. This kid’s gonna need some serious therapy. And zoloft. If this kid is actually connected (and I’ll bet he’s driving while Mohammed takes the shots, although I can bet they take turns) to this debacle, he’d better not be tried as a juvenile.

Ah, could an end to this madness be in sight? My heart leaped when I heard the names, descriptions and license plate number, NDA-21Z. Granted, all of those physical indicators can be easily changed, but what I wouldn’t give to bring justice to those who put an already uneasy public on its utmost edge.