I have so much stuff

Comedian George Carlin once said, "A house is just a place for your stuff. You get a bigger house, you get more stuff...." (Okay, I am editing this post because I just found this classic bit on YouTube of George Carlin's A Place for My Stuff.)



So true. I am moving from a house to a smaller, one-bedroom apartment that doesn't have a lot of built-in storage. What to do? I save everything. I'd hate to part with stuff since sometime in the future I'll surely have a bigger place again. I have filing cabinets of nearly all the notes I took and papers I wrote from college, and even back to high school. I have boxes upon boxes of memorabilia from the days I worked in radio. That's all cool shit I don't want to part with. I have every birthday card I've received. I have bins of stuffed animals I was given over the years. I have jeans I probably won't fit into again, but want to save them just incase.

And the books!! That's one set of stuff I won't part with, but I've tried reducde clutter over the years, so I bought lots of books on clutter.... never read 'em and now they are part of the clutter.

I am thinking that either Dave can let me keep a small area in that attic -- but I will still sort through all the shit-- until I get a bigger place or I will just rent small storage unit. The most important thing to me is since I am starting over, I don't want the clutter there. I move in by Tuesday-- when the new shower is getting installled- it was special order because of the tiny space- but that is not enough time to sort through everything. Some of the stuff has never been unpacked from when Dave and I moved in together three years ago!! Like I really use it, right? But I think it is comforting to me knowing that I still have all these memories, somewhere.

So-- I better stop blogging and get to packing and loading the truck. Then, I get to go to Target or Big Lots or Office Depot a little later to find me a new desk. I am excited about that!

Back to that George Carlin clip, A Place for My Stuff-- this has a special place in my family. We've moved so many times that back in the 80s or whenever it came out, it became a family favorite and a family joke.

Solid Cactus Featured on NBCs The Office

Solid Cactus has gone Prime Time! NBC's hit show's The Office featured its Job Fair episode on Thursday, May 8. And, one of the vendors at the ficticious job fair at Pam's alma mater, Valley View High School was NEPA's own Solid Cactus. From our company blog, it appears that NBC actually contacted us for some props.

I am posting two pictures from the episode, which you can clearly see the Solid Cactus banner sharing some stage time with Steve Carrell and Jenna Fischer. If you look really close, you can see the one of the extras is wearing a Solid Cactus shirt.

Let's see what kind of resumes we get now!

Tonight, Grilled Cheese. Tomorrow, Hickory Burger. Sonic is PA-Bound!

Tonight, Grilled Cheese. Tomorrow, Hickory Burger.

Well maybe not exactly tomorrow, but soon Sonic will make a home in Northeast PA according to today's Times Leader. I am stoked to hear that a few business folks are looking to bring this fast-food chain to our area. I used to live off Sonic when I lived in Oklahoma, the state where Sonic is from! So, tonight I made myself a delicious grilled cheese, but soon I can savor the yummy Sonic menu. And, get service from my door window. (Oh- and that pic- I lifted it from someone's flicker- those aren't my 70-year-old hands....)

Thanks to network and cable TV, people of Northeast PA have been teased by Sonic for year and years. I heard many people I've watched TV with over the years ask, "What's a Sonic?" And because I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma I can say that I've eaten there many, many times. I think there is one is Western PA. I remember stopping at one on a drive to Nashville.

I just can't wait for Sonic to get here- seriously! There have kick-ass tater-tots and Cherry Lime-Aid-- oh an over the years they seem to have added so much to their menu. I used to always get the Hickory Burger meal with a side of tater tots. Hopefully they still have that! Oh, and the chili cheese dogs. Awesome.

So, just wanted to throw up a quick blog post to make my excitment known about Sonic coming to PA!

Here's a link to the Times Leader Story, Sonic Expanding into NEPA.

What I learned from Augusten Burroughs

When you were a teenager, do you remember having heart palpatations when you were at a New Kids on the Block concert and you were close to, say, maybe Donnie Wahlberg? Yeah. I felt that way yesterday at the Free Library of Philadelphia when Augusten Burroughs walked on stage. 12 or so hours later, I still kinda have those butterflies.

My fellow Wilkes University MA in Creative Writing friend and classmate, Angie and I, along with her avid-reader friend, Shannon trekked into the city of brotherly love to see Augusten Burroughs read from his new memoir, A Wolf at the Table, which by the way is getting rave reviews from places like The Washington Post.

I cannot put to words how I felt when I read Running With Scissors. That book really gave me the courage to write my own memoir-- but at the same time, it also entertained the hell out of me. I don't think there is anyone else on this Earth like Augusten. In Running with Scissors, we learn that as a kid he loved shiny things and dreamed of fame. Now that he has it, guess what? He's just like you and me. He's honest, sincere and just so super-freaking inspiring to people like me. And he is funny as shit, too.

I did the unthinkable. I wrote him a fan/thank-you letter this morning. It's so strange-- when I worked in country radio, I had the really cool opportunity to meet some big names in the music biz-- and not so much with the big stars, but I also got to hang out and do some really cool things on a personal level with lots of singers (many who turned out to be one-hit wonders) that have had a lot of mainstream radio success. They were all cool, but it was so usual for me. I didn't get excited about meeting someone famous anymore. I don't get star-struck easy is what I am trying to say. Meeting Augusten was very different. He's truly someone I have related to for years. And I met him. And when he signed my book, he gave me writing advice and recommended a book to read (Elizabeth Berg- The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.) There were hundreds in line ahead of us- but he didn't rush us. He wasn't tired. He wanted to talk to us. He's so humble.

I am not ready to share my story with the world just yet through this blog- but there are some things I never had the courage to put on paper yet-- some painful things I want to include in the memoir. Through reading Augusten, as well as the support from my Wilkes mentors, things are really coming together for me on the writing front. Finally. I am drafting it now, and will hopefully one day get to see it printed.

In his reading- which was FANTASTIC- he was just so animated. A Wolf at the Table is a little different than his past memoirs- this one is a told a little more seriously because as Augusten explained, he didn't have the humor defense mechanism developed yet- he was a lot younger. So as an aspiring memoirist, it was very cool to hear about this being in a totally different voice because it was a different time in his life. But Augusten Burroughs does not hide behind the podium. He walks around the stage with a wireless mic and tells us a story- he doesn't read to us. He shared it like he was talking to a few friends- not an auditorium filled with fans. He also reads his own audio books. I also listened to Running With Scissors and my god, did he do a stellar job. Makes me wonder why he never got into film or theater.

During the Q&A, he was just so open. He gave some great writing advice as well, describing the memoir process like I never heard before. Someone in the audience had asked if Augusten felt Scissors helped create the memoir craze-- which of course led to some "lying memoirs" so Augusten commented on that with an answer so amazing that I took notes on my checkbook (I didn't have my moleskine). The answer itself was one that I have been sort-of taught- that a memoir is the way we remember something. But the analogy he used was awesome. Maybe I'll post it later, but Angie and I were both blown away by his advice. He also quoted Einstein, that there is no one point of relation in the universe. We all see things from a different perspective. It was powerful. The whole freakin' night was just powerful.

And- if you have not read Augusten Burroughs. Do it. Read Running With Scissors first-- if you read that, I know you will fall in love with him too. Then, Dry. Then read the others- Possible Side Effects was great and so was Magical Thinking. I actually was with Augusten from the beginning because I bought Sellevision when it first came out- that's his only novel. I was a communications major, so I was always fascinated by TV stations..... Buy them from your favorite bookstore because I want his sales to soar. However, if you want you can also use the library or if you are local, borrow them from me.

But by golly, read Augusten Burroughs. Turn off the freakin' TV and read a reality book-- a memoir.

P.S. Speaking of courage, I have more. To really focus on my career, education and writing, I have decided to move into my own apartment in Shavertown- less than a mile from where I work. Out of respect for Dave, I won't publicly write a blog about the whole thing or share those kinds of feelings right now, but wanted to at least mention it because it goes along with this whole theme here-- but please know that everything is fine- it's on good terms and just something that I need to do. This week has really been a week of change! So, here is to new beginnings.

P.P.S- I didn't realize that I've blogged and written so much about him: http://randomthoughtsfromdonna.blogspot.com/search?q=augusten+burroughs

Solid Cactus Proud

Did I ever mention that I love my job?? This article explains some of the reasons why.

Check out this great story in today's Times Leader on Solid Cactus- this story was from a report on our Ribbon Cutting last Monday.

http://www.timesleader.com/business/20080504_04solid_cactus_sd_ART0.html

Been a few weeks! Happy Anniversary to my blog!

I've had this blog for one year.... as of April 16th. I wanted to go all out and create this anniversary post, but things were a little crazy the past few weeks, so I missed out on my anniversary blog post. Damn.



Last weekend, I headed to Seven Points Marina on Raystown Lake to spend three nights on a houseboat with a few of my friends my the MA in Creative Writing Program at Wilkes. I can't tell you how awesome the weekend was. It is just so great to get together with people who have a common dream-- and then to spend the weekend sharing our work with each other, getting feedback, advice and whatnot. And the fun.... what a great time. Good food, drinks, games and lots of adventure, that's for sure. If anyone is looking for a fun weekend or week get-away, I highly recommend that you consider renting a houseboat at Seven Points Marina on Raystown Lake. The staff was wonderful and the houseboats are super cool. We have an 8-sleeper, but they let us look at the next "ship" bigger, a 12-sleeper which was brand new last season- a lot more modern than the one we had.

Our boat had a deck on the stern and bow and also a roof with a hot tub and lounge chairs. We had two "bedrooms," the stateroom and salon, as well as guest rooms in the "bowels" which had two full mattresses on either side, dowstairs. There was a bathroom, or the Head and a kitchen/dining area and a living room areas and of course, the captain's chair. We had a dinghy that we towed along that came in quite handy when we became stuck the one morning.

Raystown lake is beautiful! It is a man-made lake-- a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-- they flooded the area, and in fact a little town, to create this lake for recreation and energy. It was just so peaceful to be out on the lake- and it's not really in-season yet, so we had this lovely environment to ourselves! Aside from Seven Points Marina, there are also camping areas, hotels, resorts, hiking trails and lot of other places to stay around this lake.

Lots more happened in the past few weeks since I blogged- and I had all these ideas for blog posts, but they are all kind of old news now.

Like- they are finally doing some work on Route 118-- that's making headlines. Hopefully this road will become safer because frankly, I hate driving home every night.

And also- I am so tried of gas prices. It almost cost me more to drive the 3.5 hours to Raystown than my share of the houseboat rental. That's sad. All these poor tourist places may start to lose money because people can't afford the extra few hundred dollars to drive there. A plane ticket from Wilkes-Barre to Orlando may have been less money! Cripes.

I'm Walking a Little Funny Today

Paintball post coming soon.

Just a random post- tanning, CDs, NPR, old friends and the like

This week has been great. Lots of good stuff.

Writing & the Memoir
Had a great writing workshop with some Wilkes U. creative writing classmates and friends on Sunday, so I am feeling all sorts of motivated. I've been getting some great feedback from my mentor as well. I finally understand what some of my roadblocks have been and have some ideas on how to get over them. The first thing is to turn off the Internet and get writing, meaning I really should not be writing this. My big thing now is to reconnect with the people I was close to at ages 13-16- so I spent a few hours on MySpace and Facebook last night to find some old friends. Memories are already flooding back at just the mere sight of someone's name.

Tanning
I'm not just a white girl. I am a very white girl. I used to tan regulary a few years back, but I let myself get back to being Casper-esque. I feel healthier when I am darker, so I am now committed to tanning and getting a nice glow. And then maybe next is to whiten my teeth. (Years of coffee stains and my dentist swears I smoke.)

CDs & Wayne's World
My next blog will be about how I like tangible things, so I'll elaborate. But today, I went to Wayne's World, which is in the same plaza as the new tanning place. The smell of incense filled my nostrils and I went back to high school where I lived for spending my ice cream parlor money on incense and Dead t-shirts and other rock-and-roll apparel at Gallery of Sound in Mount Pocono or Living Dyes at Blakeslee Corners. So, I bought 10 incense sticks for a few bucks, a really cute Dead shirt and a local artist's CD. The sounds of guitar lessons at Wayne's World reminded me that I really want to learn guitar someday.

NPR
Tonight American Idol is doing a fundraiser which I guess is cool. But part of me just hates that fact that all these celebs and muscians-- that became famous the 'hard way' are being part of a show dedicated to insta-fame. Not that the Idol contestants aren't talented, I just mean that in the old days, people packed up, moved to Nashville or LA or Seattle or Austin with nothing but their guitar/keyboard and a notebook full of songs and poems and paid their dues and played their hearts out for years and years until they finally were at the right place at the right time. Now, people on Idol get stylists, make-up artists, etc. and record deals even if the lose. Okay, this could be a blog post on its own, but what I meant to say is that I pledged my annual membership to WVIA last night for George Graham's show, specifically- local and unique music every night. And of course, I also want to support WVIA for its NPR affiliation- I love Morning Edition and Fresh Air. So, $120 per year to get the best news and music. Worth it.

Okay- enough rambling. Time to microwave some corn. I was supposed to rotate 1/4 way ten minutes ago.

The School Bus: My Favorite Shot

I have to thank Jimmy R. and my days at Froggy 101 for learning how to ride the bus. The school bus is my favorite shot.

I've been doing more school busses as of late, and wanted to write a tribute to them. In 2003, I was actually paid for an essay I wrote about the school bus shot for a book called The Buzz on Beer- I am not sure if my essay didn't make it, or if the book wasn't published. At any rate, I tired tirelessy the last few days to located the essay. No luck- that was two computers ago.

So, what is a school bus? A school bus was long before Jager Bombs. But, it's a similar type of shot. It's a mug filled a quarter the way with orange juice and a quarter the way with a draft light beer. It's served with a shot of Amaretto. This shot works best with glass mug and glass shot glass. Then, you drop the shot glass in the mug and slam it. It tastes so smooth! Yummy! I love them.

I was introduced to this shot my a record guy from Nashville when I worked in radio. It became a popular shot among the radio staff and we always did them at our regular hang-out, Hops and Barley's. After the first few times of getting them there, the bartenders knew exactly what the school bus was. But, I must take credit along with the old radio crew for spreading this to NEPA. Everytime Jimmy would come to town, he would jingle his keys and say, "Ya'll ready to ride the bus?" At the big Country Radio Seminar one year, be made a bus pass- it was a laminated pass with a professionally drawn caricature of him driving a school bus. That's what he was known for! The School Bus shot. I still have this bus pass, by the way. I'll try to find it so I can scan it in here.

The school bus can be messy. While dropping the shot glass in is the best way to do it, the bar staff will be upset if they have to follow you with a mop. So, try to respect the floor and ease the shot in. : )

I've been doing a lot of school busses lately with my new co-workers and they are quickly becoming a favorite! I've included a few recent pics!

So- spread the wealth. Teach your local bartender how to do a school bus. And remember, school bus safety: don't drive your own car if you've done too many busses.

My First Ticket

I've been know to live life in the fast-lane. However, I don't drive there.

I am a slow driver. People pass me all the time. People ride my ass all the time. In general, I think I piss other drivers off. I'm a 29-year-old grandma driver.

Yet, Wednesday morning, I was given my very first speeding ticket. It's like a life milestone. Your first tooth. Your first step. Your first word. Your first "time." Your first beer.

Your first speeding ticket.

It was my first day at our new location in Shavertown, so I took a different route to work. Work is now about 12 minutes closer for me because I don't have to go into Wilkes-Barre on the Cross Valley, or through all the lights on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. I have a short-cut that I can take which leads me right to the road my new office is on.

My first day going to my new workplace. I am driving on Sutton Road in Shavertown, which has some gorgeous houses. I dream of living on this road, actually. So, 1) I was extremely hungover. 2) I was in la-la land and 3) I was starting at houses, left and right. Next thing I know, I see flashing lights-- no siren though.

I do a double-take because I thought these lights must be intended for someone else, but I realize that I am the only car on the road, so I pull over.

I was quite embarrassed because if you are a regular reader of this blog, then you will know about my letter to the editor a few months ago-- about speeders and terrible road conditions on Route 118. So, I tell the cop this, as well as the story about it being my first day. I still got a ticket. $164. I was nice, polite, didn't object or anything. It is what it is. He was doing his job, and I was now late for mine.

48 in a 25.... yikes. That's almost double, a co-worker pointed out to me. It didn't feel like I was going fast. Maybe since the road is hilly and curvy, I was caught while I was coasting? I don't know.

I wanted to say to him, "Oh thank goodness you got me this morning because I was shit-faced when I drove home from Hops last night..." but I didn't think that he'd think it was funny. Haha. I sort of wondered if my breath still smelled like alcohol. I read Tucker Max, I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell, and he actually had his own breathalizer and was still reading drunk the next morning. I mean, I doubt I was, but it was a funny thought to actually get a DUI the next morning on your way to work.

And, as Murphy's Law would have it, I did win a Spiff at work-- $100! Collected it that same morning, which was quite comical. Last time I won on the slots (five years ago), my car broke down, so as Donna Luck would have it, win money- something happens to my car, or in this case, my driving.