Today's Happy Dance: I Am Good At My Job

Yesterday, after some asshole writer tried to tell me I was an idiot because he couldn't see files that were posted directly in front of his face, and after an interminable conference call, during which our client gave feedback on some manuscript, most of which was "same thing here" except instead of saying that, she would explain the thing AGAIN, we had a meeting.

During the meeting, I suggested that at least one of us in the office try to accomplish that which our writers are trying to accomplish, seeing as they keep sending  us manuscript and we keep having to edit the hell out of it. We needed to figure out if what we were asking was just really hard to do or if we were just better off doing it ourselves since we seem to understand it better. 

So I took a sample and worked on it myself and handed it over to my boss this morning. After an hour, she gave it back to me, saying "Either you've totally got it right or we're both wrong." A few minor corrections but otherwise, I slam-dunked that which exactly none of our 12 writers, who are all way better at math and have years more experience than me, could manage to do.

Snoopy. Dance.

I'm So Stupid, I'm on Fire

Hello, dear blog-readers. Sorry to go dark for so long. Life has been alternatively too busy to allow time to update and too boring to bother writing about. But, harking all the way back to mid-May, there's been lots to keep me happy.

• I completely failed to mention the super-fun weekend we spent in the Catskills for Liam's birthday. It was just a big ol' fun get-together with friends and beer and wiffle ball. It was nice to get away and spend time with everyone. 
• The following weekend the BBQ of DOOM! was held. The families met and got along swimmingly. The food was enjoyed by all. It was, overall, a rousing success.
• We settled on vacation plans: a week spent down the shore, lodging with Kris's generous parents, with days spent on the beach at Wildwood. Not the most luxurious or glamorous getaway, but still fun and much needed.
• I have been schooling bitches left and right at Dr. Mario online on WiiWare. If you have this game, let me know and try your luck against me. I'm nowhere near as good as Kris but I rock. (The post title comes from what we often say when we make a mistake. Kris said it first when playing against me and it made me laugh so hard I almost screwed up my own game.) WiiFit has turned out to be OK. Not the fitness savior we were maybe hoping, but it's not really WiiFit's fault. It was foolish to hope for a fitness savior at all. Just because it's a fun videogame that incorporates fitness doesn't mean there are more hours in the day for me to do it or more drive for me to do it when I'm tired or don't feel like it. But it is good, it helps some.
• Got to go to the Wine & Blues Festival with Sarah and friends. Tasted a bunch of lovely wines, bought a couple bottles, and spent a really nice day with some really nice people. 
• Seen every summer movie I was hoping to see so far and was not disappointed by any. Prince Caspian was only OK but that wasn't one of the ones I was looking forward to anyway. 
• Just general happiness and good-feeling in general. They're not all perfect days, but most of them are. Getting stuff accomplished and feeling good about it. Having lots of fun and lots of love. Summer is here and that always makes me happier.
• Let's all give a cheer and put all our support behind the Yanks' starting pitcher tonight. GO JOBA!

Get Up Off The Mat

I hope that you were lucky enough to miss what was posted here before. It was a misery-ridden, self-pitying pile of refuse. I was in a screenwriting competition, I did not make the finals, I was disappointed, I had a fairly strong flare of self-doubt, and, like an IDIOT, I immediately posted it on the internet. 

It sucks to lose. And yeah, I don't think I'll ever lose that part of me that says "you suck, you should give up." But I'm certainly not going to let it rule my blog. Fuck that.

Do like Isaac Jaffe says. Get up off the mat.

I couldn't find a clip of that particular moment in the show, but here's another good Isaac moment.

No Country for Clever Titles

I was in a craptastical mood yesterday but I got by with a little help from my friends. Some random good things.

• I may have forgotten to mention, but I had an opportunity to pass on the good karma last week. While rocking out at the Schocholautte show, something caught my eye on the ground, near where I was bouncing around. Closer inspection revealed it to be an iPhone, which I immediately turned over to the bartender and it was immediately claimed by  a guy standing nearby who thanked me and bought me a drink. After having my wallet returned, it was the least I could do. You see, nice things do happen in New York.
• MarioKart, MarioKart, MarioKart. I am obsessed. Also, Wii Fit is just about here! YAY! OMG when did I become a gamer?
• Gawker had this amusing Extinction Timeline.
• This amusing story about Jason Giambi's magic gold thong, which apparently is not working.
• And if you're in Germany, look out for Klaus the forklift driver. This thing deserves an Academy Award nomination for short film :) It's a safety video Sam Raimi would make.

More Inappropriate Puppet Humor Than Avenue Q

Today's Happy Thoughts:

• My taco lunch was a success. Every month, someone in the office brings in lunch for everyone. May was my turn so I made this pork-and-pineapple taco recipe that I had never made before and it came out wonderfully and everyone loved it. In fact, one of my coworkers is making himself another helping right now!
• As my office kicks ass, we got to have margaritas with lunch. And the guy who mixed them made them kinda strong. Whee!
• I love my new Bitten t-shirt that I'm wearing today. I know it's kind of odd to show love for something as simple as a t-shirt but it fits great, looks great, and is super soft. I'ma go get some more after work, they're only $9!
• I have a feeling about tonight, that it is going to be an awesome night. The Schocholautte Girl Groupies will be getting together before the show for dinner to bond outside of the band and I think the show is going to kick everyone's ass.
• And for a little humor, this is what happens when a conversation on a discussion board spills over into your band rehearsal and 4 beers later someone says, "Hey, I've got a video camera." Ladies and gentlemen, my friend Jeremy (the one on the left) singing "If You Had To Fuck a Muppet" (extremely NSFW)
  

That's All She Wrote

The show, she is over. Much to my great relief. It was fun and it had it's moments. It was also tough. Our leading man became an increasingly bigger jackass over time to the point that everyone wanted to smack, strangle, and otherwise maim him. Apparently he had many choice words to say about me behind my back, which our director wisely kept from me until after he'd cleared the building following the last show. The gratitude, I say, for coming in and doing a fantastic job under serious pressure at the expense of almost all of my free time, is ASTONISHING.

The show went...well. For what it was. People who came seemed to enjoy it. Lots of loved ones came from great distances to see it which was super-flattering and I almost felt kind of bad. I was not super-proud of the show. It was outdated and kind of a dinky story. It's not the show I would choose if I were to direct, nor is it the show I would choose to represent myself. At any rate, it's past.

And now what? Well, stuff. There are some events to be planned this summer. I'm attempting to hammer out vacation plans with Kris though I do have some...hesitations shall we say. And I really want to get back to the Nicoffeine remake. Which will of course require effort on my part. I feel...

To be honest, I feel 30 bearing down on me. Not like "oh God, it's coming, I'm gonna be OLD!" because that's not it. I have plenty of lovely friends who have already hit that benchmark and are by no means OLD. It's more that I'm running out of time where it's just me and what I want. And in that time I need to accomplish a certain amount. Hopefully enough to allow me to still continue to do what I want, once I have others' needs to consider. You shouldn't take this as some cryptic sign that I'm pregnant or on the verge of marriage or about to buy a house. But these are all things I want, sooner or later, and I'd like to not have to give up films to get those or vice versa. 

Happy Thoughts of the Day:

• The show is over and I have my life back.
• I get to go away this weekend and, God willing, relax.
• I have orchestrated a meeting of both families, to be held next weekend. It's important to me and something I've wanted for a while.
• I'm making pork-and-pineapple tacos for the office tomorrow and fully intend to blow them away. 
• I'm going out to dinner tomorrow night with Haley Jane and Marissa. Awesome first because, it means it's one of those rare nights where I don't have to entertain myself for hours between work and a gig. Awesome second because I get to bond with the girls outside of a band-related environment. Hee!
• Work is showing signs that I might get to do something interesting requiring brain function soon.
• I'm on Twitter. Please come follow me. I am totally a technology whore/Sarah's bitch who does whatever she's told.

For Sarah

Actually for anyone who needs something fun to watch. This is a soda-and-candy-powered Rube Goldberg contraption featuring two of Sarah's favorite things: Christmas and the Mythbusters. And she needs a bit of cheering up today :)

There are a bunch more featured here. As you can tell, I have jack to do at work today and am slightly resentful of the fact that I am even here since I have a show to do tonight. I haven't been this bored/resentful since the bad old days at the Big Grey Corporate Publishing House. Please, just let me go home and have a nice weekend, eh?