So...
I went to get my mail this afternoon, and I had a package!!!
How exciting!
It was from my friend, whose wedding I was in back in July.
She sent me a cute glittery thank you note, and a framed picture. And then another unframed one (which got all glittery from the card) since she couldn't decide.
In any case, they're pix of me that I don't hate, so I'm posting them! So there! Glitter and all. (and since I don't have a scanner, they're pix of pix, so there are stupid flash reflections.)

Oh, what a shitty day at work. I am about to kill a co-worker. I will leave it at that.

But I just remembered something I meant to post. And some other random crap.

• Kibarashi is closing?! This weekend I noticed a big orange "SEIZED" sign in the window- apparently they didn't pay their taxes?! Yowza...

• I was supposed to go to dinner at the Chop House tonight. But I had to miss it. BOOO!

• As I walked in to work this AM, it hit me: summer is over. Fall is in the air. Just like that. Sad, sad day.

• formication |ˌfôrmiˈkā sh ən|

noun
a sensation like insects crawling over the skin.

This is a great word, in part because it sounds dirty. And it describes how I feel right now. On the way home from work, I suddenly noticed a spider running around my dashboard. And then, it ran out of my view. And it was really dark, so I couldn't tell where it went. Until all of the sudden in the glare of the headlights, I saw it was on the steering wheel. And then I lost it again. I am not especially scared of spiders- but I still don't like NOT knowing where it is, and now keep thinking I feel it crawling all over me. YUCK.

Oh yeah, and formication is a well-described and fairly common symptom/side effect of cocaine .

So, I did, after all end up going back to Betty's on Sunday for brunch.

And this time we were seated almost immediately, at a 'normal' table. I even had the same waitress as the day before, and she was cute and attentive and the service was fast and great. I had eggs benedict, which was pretty good. (I love eggs benedict, but unfortunately I don't think most places do it very well- the hollandaise (which makes or breaks the dish) is usally too blah. This was decent, but could stand even more lemon, in my book.) The homefries were yummy. I wish the OJ was fresh-squeezed, but oh well.

So the stories I had heard had made it sound like Betty's brunch was simply OUT OF THIS WORLD. I thought it was decent, but not AMAZING.

But much better than the day before. So maybe they just had a bad day. I would still go back.

[I also tried the peach 'jet tea' from spot- Yummmm!! And while there, unintentionally recruited my favorite Spottie to my (ex) rescue. Woohoo.]

Ok, so I finally decided to check out Betty's, after all the hype I've been hearing lately.

So I got there... there were about a million people waiting outside. But it turns out they were just one big party, and there weren't that many other people waiting. While waiting, I overheard one waitress say that the "bee situation" outside was getting out of control. So when I asked to be seated, and she said "let me see what we've got outside" I wasn't too thrilled. But then she noticed this funny little afterthought of a table crammed in the corner of the little "front lobby" room, and put me there.

Oh, and I must mention- the whole reason I wanted to go to Betty's is b/c I was craving brunch. In the car I was debating... 'hmm... french toast? eggs benedict? omelet?' I love breakfast food. I was really excited.

So, she sits me at my funny table, which is sopping wet b/c they wiped with a really wet rag first. eh, whatever. Then it takes forever for a waitress to come over. But I could hear the hostess and waitresses talking about how CRAZY busy it was and they've never seen a saturday like this. So I didn't really mind, just sat and read the artvoice**.

finally a frazzled looking waitress comes over, and throws a menu and a specials list at me (a crumpled torn photocopy... I guess that's easier than memorizing/reciting?) and leaves before taking a drink or anything.

I pick up the menu, thinking 'hmm, do I have fresh squeezed OJ AND coffee AND water?' Yum yum, so excited, did I mention I love brunch?

Oh, I forgot to mention, it was about 1:30.

I look at the menu, and almost cried-
Brunch is only on sundays!!!
And breakfast on saturday is only til 12:30.
DAMMIT!!!

So, the waitress came back, and I ordered lemonade. And water.

She brought lemonade. No water.

I ordered a cajun chicken salad wrap.

Then I waited and waited and waited. Read the artvoice. Finished my lemonade in about two minutes, and then had no water. And no food.

Just when I thought they'd forgotten me, my food came out. She really kind of threw it on the table- it actually made a loud noise when the plate hit the table, and then scurried off, never to be seen again.

But- it was tasty. i can't complain about my sandwich.

I did finally have to yell across the room to the hostess for some water, though, when I got sick of waiting for the obligatory 'how is everything' check-up from the waitress- which she poured in my empty lemonade glass.

After I finished my sandwich, I sat there with the empty plate in front of me for quite a while. And then I noticed desserts on the menu, specifically key lime pie. And I thought that maybe to make up for my disappointment in not having brunch, I'd treat myself to dessert.

But then the waitress came back and gave me my check. No dessert for me, I guess.

I am really not one to complain about service. Being a waitress is kind of thankless job.

And it wasn't her fault that I wanted brunch, so it wouldn't be fair to take it out on her.

That said, the service was lackluster. But, the food WAS tasty. So even though I thought otherwise, I tipped nicely. And I think I'd go back.

Maybe tomorrow.
For brunch. ;)

• so.... am I reading this right? This is from news of the weird in Artvoice...

Until a July Florida appeals court ruling, Mark O'Hara, 45, had been in prison for two years of a 25-year mandatory-minimum for trafficking in hydrocodone, based solely on the 58 tablets found in his possession in 2004, even though his supply had been lawfully prescribed by a physician. The state attorney in Tampa had pointed out that Florida law did not mention a "prescription" defense to trafficking, and even though O'Hara had lined up a doctor and a pharmacist to testify, the jury wasn't allowed to consider the issue. After the appeals court called the case "absurd" and ordered a new trial with the prescription evidence allowed, the state attorney still refused to drop the case.

I'm really NOT in favor of frivolous lawsuits, but did this guy really serve two years in jail for having legally prescribed Lortab?!
How did this happen???!!!!!

Ok, so I think this story is as good as, if not better than, the karma story...

So...
Last week at work I saw this patient in the clinic... A really sweet woman who had had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction a few years back, and came in for a follow up. She was doing great, and didn't have any problems. I asked her who her surgeon was, so that I could set up the right follow-up appointment with her. And she said "well actually, I didn't have my surgery here- I had it when I was still stationed in Rhode Island." I said "oh really? I'm from Rhode Island, what a small world." Then just to make conversation, I said "did you have your surgery at the naval hospital?" And she replied "well, no. My naval surgeon did the mastectomy, but the reconstruction was done by a local guy, at Newport hospital." At this point my interest was piqued, and I asked "who was that?" but she couldn't think of his name. I showed her my ID, and said "he didn't have this last name by any chance, did he?" And she said "YES! Oh my goodness! That's it!"

She was my dad's patient!!!

And even better than that, she then went on and on about what an amazing guy he is and how he did such a great job. And she said 'and you know, he told me he had a daughter going into surgery! He said he thinks you're crazy for doing, but that he's really proud of you."

Aww... it just made my day.

Number two:
Here is a very unfunny lame Planet Unicorn ripoff-
BOOO!



and finally-

Happy Birthday Timika!!

So, thursday I went to the square for the first time this year. I was really excited to hear the band- the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans.

So I went with a couple girlfriends, and we all just kept running into people we knew all night long, including a bunch of med students that I know. Well at one point, one of the girls (who is very cute... 24, long blonde hair, a runner [i.e. bitchin' body] etc etc) was talking to this guy... good looking, I guess, but just LOOKED cocky. Like it seeped out of his pores. At one point he said something, and I responded. I was a little off to he side so he couldn't see me. So he turned to see where this voice was coming from, and I shit you not- THE SECOND he caught a GLIMPSE of me, he turned on his heel, and started talking. I wasn't even done. It was as if I am SO REPULSIVE that I didn't even deserve to talk. I mean I know I'm not a 24yo blonde hottie, but still! No skin off my back, the guy was pretty lame anyway, but I still thought that was particularly rude.

So then on saturday my friend texted me "boat! monday!" I asked what she meant, and she "the anesthesia guy wants to take us all out on his boat!" I thought "what anesthesia guy?" but said "ok cool, sounds fun."

So we get there. And who is "anesthesia guy"? The dick from the square. Great. And THEN it just so happens that a guy my friend has a crush on just happened to be at the next table, totally randomly. So she's talking to him, leaving me semi-stranded. And then his friends show up- fuck. I know them. It's a girl who used to live downstairs from my friend, and her obnoxious loud-mouth boyfriend, who immediately proceeded to offend everyone. An example- he was making fun of his brother for going to nursing school. In front of several nurses/nursing students. He goes 'I mean, like it's not bad enough that his wife makes more money than him, now he has to go be a NURSE?" Yeah. What a winner. So I'm stranded with all these losers. We finally take our leave of them, and go down to the beach. Where one girl then took a sip of her beer and started frantically pawing at her face- she had drank a bee and it stung her lip, so she was "angelina jolie" for the rest of the afternoon.

Ok, but to get to the point... So then the jerks come back from swimming. And they're asking what everyone does. I ask "anesthesia guy" what he does- well it turns out he's a med student. Not an anesthesiologist. And he asks what I do, and I tell him... I can see his face fall a little... He asks what hospital I'm at... I tell him... He goes "oh... wow.... I'm starting my rotation there on wednesday. On vascular surgery."

I just look at him, and go "Oh really? Then I'm going to be your chief. See you at 6am!"

The look on his face was priceless.

Michael Vick's statement following his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to a dogfighting conspiracy charge:

"For most of my life, I've been a football player, not a public speaker, so, you know, I really don't know, you know, how to say what I really want to say.

"You know, I understand it's -- it's important or not important, you know, as far as what you say but how you say things. So, you know, I take this opportunity just to speak from the heart.

"First, I want to apologize, you know, for all the things that -- that I've done and that I have allowed to happen. I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates, you know, for our -- for our previous discussions that we had. And I was not honest and forthright in our discussions, and, you know, I was ashamed and totally disappointed in myself to say the least.

"I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up.

"I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player.

"I take full responsibility for my actions. For one second will I sit right here -- not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I've done.

"I'm totally responsible, and those things just didn't have to happen. I feel like we all make mistakes. It's just I made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions. And you know, those things, you know, just can't happen.

"Dogfighting is a terrible thing, and I did reject it.

"I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that's the right thing to do as of right now.

"Like I said, for this -- for this entire situation I never pointed the finger at anybody else, I accepted responsibility for my actions of what I did and now I have to pay the consequences for it. But in a sense, I think it will help, you know, me as a person. I got a lot to think about in the next year or so.

"I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out in there in the world who was affected by this whole situation. And if I'm more disappointed with myself than anything it's because of all the young people, young kids that I've let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model. And to have to go through this and put myself in this situation, you know, I hope that every young kid out there in the world watching this interview right now who's been following the case will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions.

"Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to.

"So I got a lot of down time, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I've done and how to make Michael Vick a better person.

"Thank you.''

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Thanks, writer!

"Do you know that near where I grew up called Jenks Rd? They used to take us out there in drivers ed. Its this country road that seems normal. When you drive west on it, theres a little dip that blocks your view of the road and then boom its like a roller coaster.
I think it dives like 80 feet.

The first time it scares the shit out of you but then its a fun ride. The story goes that the guy who lives in front of the hump will come out and chase you if you keep going over the hump enough times.

Anyways what I mean to say is that in some ways Jenks Rd is like you. Sometimes theres ups and sometimes theres downs, but damn if it isn't a good road."

And I'm sorry to anyone I've hurt- I certainly never meant to.