City Love

Last week I had the pleasure of fulfilling my civic duty and obeying the call for Jury Duty in Riverside County. Oh, what a joy. I actually don't dislike jury duty, except for the pain of interrupting work and other things that need to be done that can't because you're sitting in a dismal jury waiting room with your closest 400 friends.

I have always found the process very interesting and it's kind of "fun" (if I dare use that word) to see what other people are all about if you actually get picked on a panel and questioned by both sides. I've gone through this process twice, but have never been questioned myself. I've also never been picked to be on a jury, so my opinion might change if that ever happened.

A few highlights from the day:

Downtown Riverside is actually very beautiful and I enjoy walking around down there. Jury duty allows me this opportunity because I park in one of their assigned lots and opt to walk the 7 blocks or so rather than ride the shuttle over.

Being familiar with the Riverside jury duty process, rather than waiting in the main jury room where you're crammed in like riding coach on an airplane, I made a direct beeline to the jury waiting room where there are vending machines, puzzles, tables, magazines and old outdated books. However, I made an error in my choice of seats. Picking the furthest corner from the door where I could watch all of the random people while I pretended to read the book I brought with me, I also sat underneath the TV. This worked against me when they showed the video about how wonderful of a process our Judicial System is and how fulfilling it is to serve on a jury. I know this because they had actual testimonials from actual people who had served on a jury and felt good about their experience and wanted us to feel good, too. The volume had to be cranked up loud enough for it to reach the opposite corner of the room, so therefore I went partially deaf as I attempted to turn up my iPod's volume louder than the din of the TV. This did not work, and I still have ringing in my ears from it.

From my seat in the jury waiting room, I was approximately 6 seats away from a Mr. Robert Crank. I know this is his name because he was called to serve on a panel (as was I) and he responed "here" when that name was called. Mr. Crank had turrets. Not the kind where one cuss inappropriately or twitch - but the kind where one might grunt inexplicably. Mr. Crank was chatting with a woman he apparently knew from somewhere, and they were having a grand old time. It was hard to miss him due to the loud laughing and carrying on, but even harder to miss him because of the grunting. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone with turrets. Just found it obvious that the one person in the group of us that has it would be 6 seats away from me - seems to always happen that way.

All-in-all not a bad day. I didn't get have to report to a courtroom after all, and I got to spend a two hour lunch with my sister and The Thumb AND eat at one of my favorite places, Simple Simon's.

I'm good for another 12 months. Oh wait... I won't be here anyway.

Ain't that the way love's supposed to be

I know I tend to be a purist. I usually like the book better than the movie version, I prefer vanilla ice cream over anything with nuts or too many frills, I tend to wear solid colors rather than designs, I like when bands do stuff "unplugged" and simple, etc....

However, I'm not opposed to doing a remake of a good song. As long as your remake is a good attempt at trying something new with it, hopefully improving. Lately 80's remakes have been quite popular. A few examples of how this can be a good thing are The Atari's version of "Boys of Summer" and Alien Ant Farm's version of "Smooth Criminal". They both punked it up a bit, didn't take themselves too seriously and brought back an old classic to a new generation.

One excellent example of an 80's remake gone horribly wrong came on my television screen yesterday morning. One of my favorite songs that finds its way to my iPod more than just occasionally is Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl. Great hook, easy to sing along with, makes every girl wish they were Jessie's girl, and the object of someone else's affection and lets guys know they're not the only one who's been in love with their best friend's girl. Love it.

Imagine my excitement when I heard those first few chords on the guitar, and thought "Yes! Finally someone has chosen one of my favorites to redo, add some pizazz, and their own touch of individuality". That was until I looked up and watched in horror the madness that was happening before me. A band that has named themselves Frickin' A (I COULD just stop right there, couldn't I? That sort of says it all) has chosen "Jessie's Girl" to be their breakout song to get them on the map... and it is such a very painful thing for me to accept.

Not only do they LOOK completely ridiculous - late 30-year olds dressing like they're 17, complete with stupidly dyed hair, one token long-haired guitar player, one with a mohawk, and one with and way too much strategically shaved facial hair to be taken seriously. BUT they didn't even reDO anything about the song!!!! It sounds EXACTLY the same!!! And yet STILL worse than that - Rick Springfield is IN the video!!! As if he supports all of this mad ridiculousness!!!! %#&#$*!!!!!!!

It's almost too much for me to take. It's as if the cosmos are out of whack which has allowed this band to come along, try to make a funny video a la Bowling for Soup's 1985, but all they end up with is a really stupid video that diminishes the value of a really great song. Granted, I'm sure Rick Springfield doesn't have a whole lot going on right now, so he's got the time to appear in videos, do guitar solos, and heck, even rack up a few more album sales from nostalgic people. But RICK, c'mon!!! Only put your seal of approval on something that's actually GOOD. Not this wannabe crap from a band that no one will remember once the song has been played 14,456,583 times on Top 40 radio.

Curses on you, Frickin' A. Curses on you, Rick Springfield. And curses on you, American public for buying into this lame remake thinking it's as good as or better than the real thing. I hate you.

There's a meaning to the world

Today marks 6 years that Kyle passed away. So strange.

I still think of him often - every day in fact. It used to freak me out how often I thought of him. Like maybe I had something unresolved with him and it was now "haunting" me in a way. But now I realize that I think of him because I was so fond of him and our relationship. He was such a special person in my life and so many good memories involve him in some way: bus rides home, first crushes, party-crashing, basketball games, Lakers, valedictorian speeches, bean bags, ski passes, best friends...

I remember being in every class with him since 5th grade until he went to Track C and I was on Track A in 8th grade and how bummed I was. Being the only three kids our age who lived in our neighborhood, for a long time, it was me, him and Eliah - his best friend who I had a crush on. When I finally realized Eliah had long had his eye on another girl, Kyle made it known he had liked me all along. I agreed to go out with him, but being in 7th grade, it was mostly because I was interested in nursing my broken heart. Proof that I was already a direct girl even back then, I refused to accept his invitation to be his girlfriend via his friends - I made him ask me himself. Such torture for a 12 year old boy. I broke up with him shortly after because I realized I just couldn't get over Eliah. He hated me for a while after that, and of course, wanting what I couldn't have, I then had it bad for Kyle. Ahhh, middle school life.

High school we had different interests, but we always rode the bus together. And he was faithful to give me a ride to school after he got his license. I returned the favor after I finally got mine and his car was in the shop. We still talked all the time and would hang out occasionally here and there. We kept in touch after high school a bit, and the last time I saw him was at the funeral of another guy we went to school with.

I remember talking to Kyle, catching up with what was going on with his life. I remember telling him how I couldn't believe the circumstances that had allowed us to see each other again, but that I was so happy to be able to see him. I spoke to his mom and dad and emailed him a few times after that. When I got the call, I couldn't believe it - and still can't. It didn't make sense and I was angry at him for so long for making a few bad decisions here and there. But I shouldn't have blamed him - who could've known?

I remember being fairly numb at his memorial and really wanting to say something but not being able to stand up. And fearing I might throw up if I tried to speak. I've seen his mom a few times since, and have never quite been able to get the right words to tell her how much her son meant to me. I've always wanted to write her a letter, but I never knew if that was improper etiquette, or if it was too painful or just not a good idea.

I miss that guy so much still. He shows up in my dreams occasionally, and I often mistake other people who look like him. I can't believe that "It's Kyle!" runs through my head when this happens, but I guess I still can't believe he's gone.

I know Kyle made some poor choices, but I am so confident that I'm going to see Kyle again some day. Can't wait.

I might as well enjoy my life and watch the stars play

Ohhhh, so much to write about. Quick rundown of the weekend is a good place to start.

Friday night drove to Heather's and hung out, watched movies and had a really mellow night. Good times. We always have a sort of unspoken language where we can just give a look and know exactly what we're referring to and crack ourselves up. And she likes it when I do her dishes.

Saturday morning woke up, dyed her hair, started watching another movie, then got ready and headed to LA. My step brother, along with being a great actor and writer, has also gotten back into art as of late, and now has many works he is selling. He took the opportunity on Saturday to show his art and invite people out to meet him and talk. Pretty amazing works, and bigger than I thought. Check out fearnoartist.com to see his stuff. It was great to see him and I was the family representative, being the only one who could make it out. Well, the only one on my side of the family. I was so glad Heather was with me, if only to witness the weirdness of the other side of the family who was out in full-force. (WOW is all I can use to describe it).

After the show, we took advantage of the rest of the day to look around some sites of LA. Well, sit in the car and drive around all day is more like it. Heather had never really been to anywhere in LA to actually SEE the city, so I was more than happy to show her around. Turns out Saturday afternoon is not the best time to choose to do so. In the huge length of time it took us to even drive to Hollywood, we had to pee and eat so we went to the Beverly Center, which I had never been to. Turns out it was probably the best place we could have ever gone to see the freaks disguised as normal people in LA. Lots of laughs had at the expense of others: like the guy lying on the lounge, talking on his cell, pulling out his wadded bills and papers out of his pocket and laying them on his stomach. Or the guys walking together who I insist were twins, but who Heather insists were boyfriend/boyfriend. Yeah. Weirdness.

Afterwards, we drove to Hollywood Blvd, but turns out everyone and their mother had also decided that this would be a good time to see the Walk of Fame so they joined us. We decided against parking and walking around (mostly because that would have required us to turn around and sit in stopped traffic on Hollywood Blvd. to get to the parking garage), so we just drove through quickly and headed to Beverly Hills.

I had been looking forward to walking around Beverly Hills because I've never done so. I've only driven through a million times showing people around, then continued driving to Santa Monica to walk around 3rd Street. After stalling Heather's car in the middle of the absolute scariest intersection in the world as the light turned red, we drove around in awe and jealousy at the beauty of most of the houses there. Really amazing. We made our way to Rodeo Drive and I was intent on finding a place to park to allow us to walk. Well, turns out that everyone from Hollywood followed us to Beverly Hills and stole all the parking spots. I drove into what looked like a regular underground parking garage, but turned out to be only valet - which required me to drive up a VERY steep hill to get out. Because I don't drive a stick shift all the time, hills and I are not friends when I do. The stench of Heather's clutch was a good indication of that as I made my way out without rolling backwards into the car behind me OR stalling. Finally parked in a normal spot and walked around long enough for me to pee, Heather to get a tea, and me to ask for directions to the quickest way back to the freeway, which turned out to be excellent.

Dropped Heather off, then made my way home. Fun times.

Today was church, then home, then work. Crazy night tonight - makes me both ecstatic and totally sad at the same time that I will no longer be working there. I love it and I dislike it so much both at the same time. I guess that means there are definitely some things I will not miss at all, but there is also TONS that I'm going to be very sad to be away from. Sunday night has become such a family that invites in new members every week - that I get to become friends with. Feeds my social needs, but they don't stick around longer than a night so it's very compatible for a commitment-phobe like myself.

The rest of the weekend was spent dealing with ebay. Turns out this weekend alone I sold more than 60 items, and am now having to ship it all out - what a concept!! I'm a really organized person anyway, so that part is simple. It's the actual pain of going to the post office I hate. Glad to be getting rid of all the CDs and books I've been selling, even if I'm barely earning any money off it. Feel like I'm purging a part of myself I've been hanging on to for way too long. And am glad other people want to take that part away from me for a small fee.

Next weekend is full of bridal showers (yippee!) and dancing with Heather so that H & H can visit Hermosa and the Lighthouse again before I leave. Although it won't be the last, it feels like it's a sort of send-off for me before I move 4 hours away. Watch out, here we come.

Lay your hands on me

Has anyone ever experienced the randomness that is wheresgeorge.com??

What is wheresgeorge.com you ask? Well, I, of course, am now a member of this strange world of tracking money.

Where's George is a website that tracks paper money and allows people to see where their money has traveled. I became a part of this world after I received a dollar bill that had red stamps that read "See where I have been. See where I go next. www.wheresgeorge.com"

You go to the site, register with your name and email address, enter the serial number and series (mine's from 2003) and bam! Up comes testimonies from people who have once handled the money that is now in your hands. Very interesting, but also freaky if you're a sanitary-type person who doesn't like to think where your money has once been.

My dollar was given to me as change at a Taco Bell in Vegas last weekend. Before me, the person who registered on Where's George with my dollar bill was a cocktail waitress at Ceasar's Palace who got it as a tip.

Where's George will now email me every time an update has been added and someone new registers with my bill. That is, if I can bear to let the little fella go.. I shall miss little George. But who knows, maybe one day we will be reunited...

Come What May

After several months of thinking, considering and praying, I have finally decided to move to Vegas. It has been on my mind for a very long time now, but I loved my job too much to leave it, and if I couldn't even consider being 3 1/2 hours away from my nephew without crying. But there's never going to be a perfect time for it, and now is as good as it's gonna get. I'm single, I have a very low paying job, I have no huge commitments here, I'll have more opportunity out there in the field I want to head towards, and my parents are there. Most of my friends are now married and either have or are close to having kids, and as much as I love them - we're just not as close as we once were. For good reason, don't get me wrong. But I just think it's a good decision for me, and I am completely excited about what's ahead.

It wasn't a decision I exactly asked for a lot of opinion on, other than my family. They are completely supportive and I wouldn't even consider relocating if any of them had doubts about it. My sister has promised to come visit me often, and I will do the same. She's also promised to send me pictures ALL THE TIME (right, Wen?) of The Thumb so that I don't feel so far.

Work was shocked. My boss, though not totally shocked because we had discussed the opportunity my job provided for me to grow in a few months ago, and the conclusion we came to was none, was still visibly upset which honestly kind of made me feel good. All of my coworkers are still finding out, but the reaction has been more of the same.

Friends are mixed. Some saw it coming, but are still surprised that I've finally done it. Others feel like it came out of left field.

EVERYONE wants to know what I'll do for work and where I'll live. Answers? No idea and I'll crash in my parent's extra bedroom for a few weeks until I find employment and an apartment. I've already got my name in at a few places to live, and I hope to start interviewing before I move if possible in order to start working right away. I gave work a month's notice, but expecting it to be 5 weeks. So we're looking at the end of May.

Watch out Vegas, here I come.

And then you're in the man from Mars

Last weekend I finally took the plunge and went blonde. My dear sister very patiently highlighted all of my hair that had been very very dark brown for a very very long time. I totally love the results and think I will enjoy being blonde for a while, even though it means having to suffer through the various comments people will make that are complete and utter torture for me: "Oh, it looks amazing!" "You look older!" "You look younger!" "It's so great with your skin!" "Your eyes just light up!" blah blah blah... I know people mean well, and we all do the same thing when people make a change like this, myself included. I just can't wait for it to be over and for the attention to be focused on something else.

Before and after pics below. Just don't let me know what you think. Unless you hate it - a negative reaction would be welcomed at this point.

Not that innocent

Things I learned today:

People actually will talk about you and say you said things that you would NEVER EVER say. And chances are that you will actually see these things for yourself. This happened to me today in which I saw the proof via an email. Shocking.

Freakin' Constantine makes me like him more and more each week and I hate this. And Anwar needs to shave the mustache PRONTO. Gross.

Britney's pregnant. Surprise, surprise. Well, to give her credit, she did stop smoking due to the pregnancy. Which is actually what tipped most people off about it several weeks ago. Because really... why ELSE would Britney stop smoking? Considering she only started smoking because she felt it made her voice sound raspier and have more depth. Britney, sweetie... it would take much more than smoking to improve on your voice. It would make sense that such a stupid reason to start could lead to an equally idiotic reason to quit. Turns out she actually made a smart choice with this one. Let's hope she continues on this path, and that her baby's daddy (aka: Pimp Daddy) does the same.

I read the news online all day, and come across some really strange stories. I'll try my best to find strange stories from random sources, rather than ones that make the national news, but once in a while I will have to include stories like the following that are just too good not to talk about.

Lover who lived in closet charged with killing husband
Man spent a month among mothballs before fatal encounter, police say
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 6:39 p.m. ET April 12, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - "A man who secretly lived in a closet at the home of his married girlfriend for a month was charged Tuesday with beating her husband to death after the man discovered him sleeping in the storage area.
Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said Rafael DeJesus Rocha-Perez of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was charged with criminal homicide in the beating death of Jeffrey A. Freeman, 44, and ordered held on $500,000 bail.
"From time to time, you come across a case with very unique - even bizarre - circumstances," Aaron said. "This one probably rates right up there with them."
Detectives said Martha Freeman allowed Rocha-Perez to live in a closet of her four-bedroom home for about a month without her husband's knowledge.
Jeffrey Freeman discovered Rocha-Perez late Sunday night when he came home and heard him snoring, police said.
Freeman told his wife he was taking a walk and instructed her to get rid of Rocha-Perez before he returned, the Nashville Tennessean reported. Instead, when he returned Rocha-Perez ordered him into a bathroom at gunpoint and beat him about the head, the newspaper said."

Now, there are so many random things about this story that confuse me. Like, how could you LIVE in a CLOSET for a month? And who is this woman that thought this would be okay and that her husband would never find out? Aren't there certain issues like using the restroom and.. I dunno.. EATING.. that might come to interfere with this type of living situation? But whatever. He lasted a month, so kudos to him, I guess. And to get caught because you were snoring. That's gotta sting. Maybe in the future when he decides to live in his married girlfriend's closet he'll invest in some Breathe Right strips or something. But there probably won't be a next time considering he'll be snoring alongside his new boyfriend Damon in the state penitentiary for the next 50 years or so. Way to go.

She always prayed to headlights

Ohhhhh, the silly randomness of life.

After just complaining about the 91 freeway never not having traffic anymore, I drove home at 6:30pm on Monday night and had an almost completely traffic-free drive. I don't get it, but I like it.

I pulled on to my street on this same drive home and saw a new character. Now, in addition to the man with a huge gray afro that drives the little yellow car living around the corner, and the scary red-haired guy whose head never turns side-to-side across the street, there was a person on the corner who was there merely for my entertainment, I'm convinced. I enjoy walking on my street while making calls, so this was a good excuse to get a closer look after a long drive home. This person wore a maroon sweat suit with a yellow and green basketball jersey poking out from underneath, with green high top converse and a big beach hat, which was replaced by a day-glo orange beanie when the air turned a little more brisk. This person was standing on my corner apparently singing, but you had to strain to hear as you walked by. I know this because I passed closely by-- twice. Only a faint "baybaaayy" or "ohhh yeeeahhh" could be heard and at one point two kids walked by but a quick "theatrical" movement of this person's hand scared the bejeezus out of one of the kids who flinched and broke into a dead sprint. I keep referring to this character as a person because frankly, I'm still not sure if it was a man or woman. I took a picture with my new camera phone and as soon as I learn how to get it from my phone to computer, it shall be seen below.

*home of future picture*

Alias tonight featured a man who melted in the opening scene. I did not need to see that. Pretty sure it will haunt my dreams for at least a few nights. It also again featured Sydney in a life-or-death situation. Why do they continue to try to make us think she might actually DIE???? She's the freakin' star of the show. And she's got a contract at least until the year 2034, so just stop it. Pretty sure she'll be around for a while. It's getting old.

Someone who won't be around for a while is Nikko. He finally got the boot and I couldn't be happier. Well, I could be happier if it was stinkin' Anthony Federov. I'll admit, he had my sympathy vote in the beginning with the whole "kid from Romania who needed a tracheotomy who was never supposed to be able to talk again but is now singing in a huge American singing competition thing. Now, in comparison, you stink so just go away. I don't want to see you shake your Clay Aiken-wannabe booty anymore.

I'm also totally into America's Next Top Model and am not ashamed to admit it. Next week Tyra actually yells at someone during elimination and I can't wait. Plus, the show is on UPN, which is also home to Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's new "reality show". How much better does it get than that??

For more opinions way more cleverly spoken than mine, check out televisionwithoutpity.com. You won't regret it.

City of Sorrows

So, a few weeks ago I had a really fantastic incredibly good day. Unfortunately TODAY was pretty much no where near good and incredibly fantastically bad. And even more unfortunately is that it (almost) all had to do with things at work. This is unfortunate mostly because I truly LOVE my job. But today was proof that no job is perfect, and no really great job is great all the time.

It woke up this morning completely puffy and bloated - the 2nd of 3 days a month this happens. Yay for being a girl. This means the outfit I had planned to wear would not be satisfactory and somehow the only thing I could even conceive of wearing was the EXACT SAME THING I wore on Monday (FYI:today is Wednesday). I'm not kidding - I wore the same outfit: black pinstripe pants, t-shirt, black cardigan and little black heels. I did change the t-shirt, so maybe no one noticed. I don't really care if they did. It was an emergency and I had an early staff meeting to go to.

After the staff meeting (which was really really great, but they always are. See? I even love my staff meetings, that's how much I love my job), my day went from hopeful to CRAP in 0.6 seconds. My phone literally never stopped ringing, and every time I answered it, it was some new issue someone had that had to be dealt with yesterday. blah. Go away. There is also new protocol just instituted for some reason that makes me go through about 10 more steps than I was before which is completely annoying. Our network kept shutting down all day which automatically puts me on edge and no internet makes me cranky. And I had to work on something completely last minute all day that was completely annoying for so many reasons.

It was this last instance that made me realize that I was literally being attacked by evil forces. I'm not a whiner, and nor do I usually voice my frustrations about work AT work. But at about 4:15 I realized that something was at work against me... and it was winning. So I shut my mouth and apologized to my co-workers at the end of the day for having to listen to me complain.

Mr. Miagi: "Ahhh, Holly-son. So many things to learn. Have patience. I will teach you."

Yeah, somehow today I forgot the whole wax-on/wax-off stuff and went right to complaining about how painting the fence just left my arms sore. Look closer. You're being stretched, taught, and tested. And you're cracking under the pressure. Get over your hurts and use what you're learning to your advantage. It sucks when you're in the middle of it, because you can't see the big picture yet.

The process is necessary. Don't let the process beat you.

I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life

My problem is this: I don't carry around a pad of paper and a writing utensil to write down all of the random things that happen to me - thus, I go 2 weeks without blogging like now. I DID just get myself a brand new $20 purse from Ross that is ginormous, so is therefore plenty roomy enough for me to carry around said pad of paper and writing utensil. Maybe I will start a new habit.

So, to make up for lost time, I'm going to simply list random things and my thoughts on them. AND, while I'm at it, I will also list the random things that have happened to me in the last 2 weeks as they come to mind.

Pope John Paul, II has died. He became Pope the same year I was born, thus making him the only Pope I have ever been alive for. I am not Catholic, but can appreciate all of the wonderful things he has accomplished on behalf of preserving Catholic faith and tradition, and also for humankind as a whole. The thing I don't get is this: If this man is the holiest of holy men, and was kind of the Spokesman for God for the last 26 years - then he's assuredly going to heaven, right? So why is everyone so stinkin' sad?!?!? All the Catholics of the world should be rejoicing and having a big 'ole party for his entrance into the pearly gates!!! So stop weeping and turn that frown upside down - he sure isn't crying, is he???
(For the record, I am not saying the Pope is or isn't in heaven - but the Catholics probably do, so this was just a little encouragement for them... okay? Done now.)

How come people with long nose hair don't trim it? Do they not see it when they look in the mirror? I once saw a guy with the absolute LONGEST nose hair anyone has ever had - I spotted it while traveling in the lane next to him on the FREEWAY - at least 8 feet away. It was like two shrubs were growing upside down out of his brain. Insanity.

Last night at the gym, there was a girl who stood in front of the mirror fixing her hair next to the track while I made at least three laps around. Then she proceded to "jog". At least in her own way - she was wearing what I can only describe as ballet slippers, and it was not so much a jog, as a type of hopping someone would do while avoiding puddles, or small animals. Very strange.

I have the cutest nephew in the WORLD. And yes, I will take anyone on who tries to disagree. My (older) sister is afraid to have another, for fear that they will be nowhere near as cute as he is. I assured her that cute kids run in our family, and that as studies will show, the kids in our family only get cuter with each new one. (Note: I am the youngest of 3 and I am definitely the cutest). So she should put all her fears aside and get working on #2.

I went to Newport Beach yesterday. This made me very happy. The traffic on my way home, however, did not. Why is there now traffic on the 91 Freeway 24/7?!?!?

I have edited my Cabo post to tell a very funny story about Heather. Please read it.

I purchased Finding Neverland today. If you read my Oscar post, you'll know why this makes my day very special.

I realize that admitting you are wrong or when you've done something stupid is a very hard thing to do. VERY hard. There have been many times I've had to put my pride away and face the harsh reality that I was an idiot for doing (or not doing) something. WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO DO!?!?!? I had an experience this week at work that was so utterly ridiculous (and so obviously not MY FAULT as time revealed) and so obviously the result of one person's stupidity, but this person absolutely refused to admit it or accept responsibility. Instead, this person expected me to clean up their mess when it was so out of the realm of possibility for me to do anything about it. I really wish I could tell the story, but I know better than to burn any bridges - which is also the reason I could not tell this person how completely RETARDED they were. Good lesson in biting my tongue this week.