i have an overwhelming desire to pick up other people's trash

i was thinking that since andy & i might not be playing in the hockey league this summer, we should do some volunteer work. it's been a while since i did anything like that, the last experience being summer 2005 when i did some work for tech corps georgia. basically i scrapped old computer systems and fixed/rebuilt ones that were worth salvaging. the organization would then donate the machines or sell them at a reduced cost to schools and small businesses that needed them. not only was it a good learning experience and something good for my resume, but it was pretty fun. i like computers, i like recycling things, and you're damn sure i like working in a warehouse with no air conditioning in august. near turner field. just playing. anyway, volunteering is a completely free activity, unlike playing hockey (although i did have to drive a few miles to get there, but whatever, gas was like 18 cents a gallon). it also kept me occupied so i wouldn't troll through the mall buying stuff i didn't need. and just because i have them, here are some photos:

cases ready for recycling

old floppy drives

warehouse full of other people's "techno trash"

turning trash into money

in the past few years andy and i have gone on many hikes/walks through the chattahoochee nature preserve and we're always saddened and disappointed by how much trash has collected on the riverbanks. most of it's plastic bottles and aluminum cans. it's really pathetic. a lot of things make me mad, but i'd have to say that littering beats out "not knowing how to use google to answer your questions" and "spending money on stupid shit." i keep telling myself i'll go enjoy a leisurely stroll and pick a bunch of it up one day but that idea usually loses to watching america's next top model. but perhaps if i sign up for something official and make a committment then i'll actually do it. as gary the no-trash cougar says, 'give a larbage, throw out your garbage.'

not everyone thinks i'm a bitch

andy & i went to bainbridge, ga last weekend to attend this huge surprise birthday party for one of the town's elite business owners, vic pemberton. mr. p has a vending and catering business and andy used to work for him while he was in high school. andy's parents are friends with vic & his wife. anyway, the party was awesome. i actually bought a dress for the event. i rarely do that. i was gonna wear what was already in my closet but these days i'm starting to exhaust my options, and those options are looking kinda crappy. anyway, i was excited to have scored this particular dress and bragged to my mom that i got a rad dress at tjmaxx (as if i'd shop anywhere else), and that i'd get someone at the party to take my photo so she could see. here it is:

andy & me gettin' our drink on in bainbridge

anyone see a problem with this photo? you can't see the whole dress. and you can't see my shoes, which were totally cute thank you very much. i was very careful on who i grabbed to take this, as in, i didn't pick someone who was 50+ years old. perhaps i expect too much of the bainbridge crowd. sorry. i might add that this was the 2nd of two photos: the first was taken horizontally. when she wanted to take another, i advised her to hold the camera vertically to get a full body shot. then she handed the camera back to me and said "here make sure these are good." and so i wouldn't make myself out to be a total a-hole, i was like "oh they're fine," and i didn't even check them. i totally should have checked.

someone tied balloons to andy's pants

so the party was great and there were tons of people there. the rest of the weekend we ate the remainder of the finger foods (i call them that since i can't spell hors d'oveurs? eh? that doesn't look right...) at the pemberton's house and hung out with andy's friends josh & lane. i've been hearing about these guys for 3+ years so i kinda felt like i knew them already, but it was good to finally meet them both. josh is possibly the nicest person i've ever met. lane is very entertaining and perhaps a little psycho. i mean that in the nicest way possible. check this out - he was on wheel of fortune last fall and completely dominated, won like $45k or something ridiculous.

daniel, lane, andy, & josh. ugh i really need to clean my camera lens.

so, one thing that made me feel good is that everyone seemed to like me. granted, i behaved myself, didn't break anything, and kept the cursing to a minimum. andy kept telling me how much everyone liked me, which wasn't really that shocking, because i am pretty cool. although i i'm sure a select few think i'm crazy and overbearing since i begged andy not to eat a burger king cheeseburger at 1am that was apparently calling his name. but it's always nice to hear that people don't think you're a total bitch.

ps - more pics from bainbridge here

happy 311 to you

it's march 11 - 3/11 - and one of my fave bands, 311 (that's "three eleven") , has a new album coming out in...june? yep, june 2nd. i'm looking forward to this because i need something new and awesome to jam to, and it has been a while since the last album (which i didn't buy). if you are a 311 fan, good for you. if you can't stand them, that's ok. if you're not familiar w/ their stuff, you should be. go listen to their greatest hits album. that disc has spent a lot of time in my cd player. actually, i think it's in there right now. anyway...woah. i just looked at when the 311 self-titled album came out. that's the one with "down" and "all mixed up." dude. 1995? has it been that long? i remember listening to that in jo beth's garage while i helped her and tessa paint run-thrus for the football team. shit, i feel old. and i'm totally not.

anyway, today i was doing some paperwork and listening to project 9-6-1 as usual. i am so tired of hearing "bad girlfriend" and "crazy train." anyway, aly had nick from 311 on the phone in honor of 3/11. he was talking about the new album and saying they're doing a show in atlanta on july 4th. last summer they were on tour with snoop dogg or something. yeah, i steered clear of that one. don't think i could handle the d-o-double-g. but i was thinking, would i even want to see 311 now? if i could go back in time and see them as they were in 1999, as my adult self now, that would be cool. i'm afraid if i go to their show in a few months i'll be disappointed. and i know what that feels like - i saw weezer a few years ago up at gwinnett arena, and they were not good. i was totally looking forward to the show because their blue album is definitely one of my favorites ever, and because i'd never seen them live. they blew. it was a total let-down.

my brother would have made a better "the bachelor"

omg did you see the bachelor last night?! total craziness!! you must watch the aftershow. if you haven't seen any of it, don't worry, the following post won't spoil anything important.

i had a lot of problems with this season.

1. deanna. girl, next time, when trying to convince an ex that he should get back together with you, never show up wearing the frumptastic getup that you sported with jason. it didn't do you any favors. if anything, it made us notice the weight you gained after your season was filmed, aka after jesse dumped your ass. sheesh. and to think that i used to like you (refer to post from 06.05.08).


2. where were the "women of color" in the top 25 or whatever? yeah, raquel was from brazil and had somewhat of an exotic look about her (as well as a jacked up grill), so i guess she's the token minority. anyone who looks "ethnic" in the photo just has a fake tan. actually, wait. i think the girl in the orange dress is asian. i recall her name as julie, or something equally non-asian. i remember cheering for her on looks alone, but then she turned out to be really weird. nevermind.

3. jason is pathetic: while lying on the bed with melissa jason uttered the words "what are you thinking?" video coming soon. i tell you right now, if andy said that to me in a moment of intimacy i think i'd flip my shit. those words belong to women.

4. jillian. where did they find this girl (don't say "canada," because that's not what i mean). i really really wanted to like her. but i couldn't. i'm probably one of the few who didn't enjoy her kind of crazy. she blew it for me with her hot dog theory. not only was her "theory" totally unfunny, but the way she pronounced the words "hot" and "dog" made me squirm. and you know, sometimes i like the quirky girls (if you could call her that). but usually the quirky girls don't talk so damn much.

5. what happened to the initial whittling down of the women show? many seasons ago they'd show you a bunch of strange (but still hot) girls that got through the initial screening rounds, american-idol style. each girl would get a few minutes alone with the bachelor and then the bachelor would narrow it down to the 25 or so girls he wanted in the house. what happened to that? now the first thing we see are the top 25 bachelorettes all glammed up beyond recognition, stepping out of limo to meet the bachelor for the first time. all of the awkwardness and none of the hilarity. i need to see the stupid human tricks!!

p.s. - i often refer to my addiction to reality tv as a guilty pleasure. andy hates this, and states that it's definitely not a *guilty* one, as i feel no guilt while/after watching.