If you're a fan of neat, but useful things for your keyring, stop by Staples and look for a bin full of Mini Sharpies. I snagged a black one yesterday for only 99 cents yesterday and put it right on my keyring. You never know when you might need a Sharpie, right?

Hearing Adam's Song by blink-182 on XM Channel 47 right now makes me realize once again that it's one of the best songs I've ever heard.

Ever since I moved into my apartment, I've been admittedly stubborn as to my choice of pasta sauce when I choose to dine on pasta. Up until this point, it's always been Ragu Rich and Meaty, with a couple exceptions when Danielle bought me some other brands that, unfortunately, didn't click with me as the Ragu did. The problem with this is as follows...see, I like to eat pasta, usually at least once or twice a week. Considering that each jar of Ragu is approximately $3.00, that can get a bit pricey. I mean, I'm getting one pound boxes of spaghetti usually at 5 for $1, so at least that's economical...but the sauce is killing me.

So, against my better judgement, I tried something that last time I went grocery shopping. Shoprite had a sale on Francesco Rinaldi sauce, 5 for $5. I figured, what the hell...I was getting five jars of sauce for the price of not even two of the Ragu. So I snagged 5 jars of the meat flavored variety and finally tried some last night.

And you know what? It wasn't half bad. Actually, it was pretty damn good. Not as good as the Ragu, mind you, but it was definitely worth more than the $1 a jar I paid for it. I think I may just have a new sauce.

Yes, this is the excitement one experiences when living on their own. Astounding, isn't it?

Okay, I'm geeky...but I don't think I'm this geeky. Sounds neat, but the price tag is a tad too high for a keyboard, even if it has individually weighted keyswitches and such. Leave it to Slashdot to find something bizarre like this.

Okay, this is getting frustrating. Every so often, I've been getting calls on my cell from two numbers of to which I have no idea who they belong. One is from Phoenix, Arizona and the other is from Ontario, Canada. Neither number ever leaves a voice mail and I've checked my credit card company locations, just in case it's them trying to get ahold of me, since Capital One did that to me once when my card had ended up with unauthorized purchases on it. But nada to that.

So...uhm...if you're calling me from Phoenix or Ontario, could you possibly let me know who the hell you are, so I don't go mad or something? Or if anyone happens to know a way I could look up the sources of the numbers, could you fill me in? And yes, I already did a Google search for the firstnumber and came up empty...the exchange is definitely the Phoenix/Mesa area, though. I actually called back the Phoenix number and just got a guy's voice that answered with something that sounded like "Rollin'". No idea what the hell that was.

You know how you see those images on humor sites of cars with the gas nozzles from the gas pumps still attached to them...long after they've left the gas station? Just like what happened to Andrew Largeman in the beginning of Garden State?

Well...er...I was almost one of those people today. Which is difficult as hell to do in Jersey, since the gas station attendants pump our gas.

Basically, I pulled up to the pump, asked him to fill it up with regular, then I went inside the station to get a coffee. Came out, handed my debit card to him and waited in my car. He came back with the card and the receipt, I signed it, returned it to him and then readied myself to leave. Unbeknownst to me, he'd been running back and forth so much that he had neglected to remove the nozzle from my car. I'm slowly beginning to pull away when I notice something in my driver's side mirror...and stop immediately...and then sheepishly kick myself into reverse.

The attendant and I had a good laugh about it though, since there was no damage done or anything. I suppose it's a good thing I'm not one of those people that just tears out of the gas station when my tank is full.

Okay, chuckleheads, now you can laugh it up.

First of all, a public congrats to Danielle on her new job! May Dress Barn burn to the ground and you rise from the ashes! Or something to that effect.

Have you ever noticed that as you get older, it's more difficult to keep track of your cash? I mean, when I was 10, if I had a dollar, I knew I had a dollar. If I had five dollars, I knew I had five dollars. Now, take this morning as an example. I thought I had a dollar in my wallet, when in reality, I had four dollars. When I was ten, I never would have simply forgotten about an additional three dollars in my wallet. Is it just a sign that I'm getting older and my memory is failing? Does a dollar not mean as much to me as it used to? There should be a study conducted on this phenomenon. I mean, hell, there's studies conducted about everything else, why not this?

The only reason this spot is cool is because we finally get to see what the movie trailer voice guy finally looks like.

I bet he'd be fun to party with. I want him to do my voice mail greeting.

It appears that a new Quantum Leap series might be in the works, according to an interview with Donald Bellisario. He says:

I am working with Universal's Sci-Fi channel to create a new Quantum Leap which would have (Dean) Stockwell as a regular and Scott Bakula appearing at least in the first episode which would introduce a young female leaper.

The potential series, according to IMDB, is tentatively named Quantum Leap: A Bold Leap Forward and the plot synopsis is entered as:

Twenty years after the original series left Dr. Sam Beckett "leaping" into the great unknown, Sam is finally reunited with Al, his old mentor and "partner in time." But when circumstances beyond their control send Sam away once more, Al must recruit his lost friend's daughter to pick up where her father left off and hopefully help find Sam again in the process.

Seeing as those bastards at UPN just took away one of my favorite series of the past decade, it would be nice to have another show come in - and one based at least somewhat around Scott Bakula, to boot - to attempt to take its place.

I'm so fucking tired of the state of television today. Garbage like Everybody Loves Raymond lasts for nine years, while gems like Enterprise, Undergrads or one of my old faves Key West. There's seriously nothing on television that I religiously watch anymore. I mean, I download my episodes of Transformers: Galaxy Force so I can watch them subtitled, but otherwise, there's nothing on the tube to which I really look forward anymore. That's why this news of a possible new QL series is a blessing...and airing on Sci-Fi would ensure that it would prosper, as well.

Today was a bit of a surprise for me.

After this morning's shoot for Kent Place's Pre-K Spring Program, I headed back to FDU to await the annual Florham Day Picnic on campus. I had been led to believe that Mike, my department's technician, was receiving an award at the Campus Recognition Awards that take place at the picnic. Imagine my surprise when my name was called instead of Mike's...my trusted co-workers (as well as the entire Library) had tricked me! Curses!

Yeah, it was embarassing to get called up in front of everyone, but it's nice to finally get some recognition on campus after working there for almost six years now. And on top of the plaque below, I also got a $100 American Express gift check! Not too shabby.

Okay, a neat concept, but I'm not paying $4.95 for only 15 adhesive bandages...even if they do look like delicious bacon strips.

I mean, is there really a market for this stuff?

Er, wait...I guess there is. Personally, I prefer the Pirate Shower Curtains and the match adhesive bandages, a much better deal at 25 for $4.95 than the bacon ones.

Well, it looks like that pastor I mentioned a couple posts down is resigning. What a shame.

I think his supporters, as quoted in this article are a bit out of touch with reality.

"I don’t believe he preached politics," said Rhonda Trantham, one of Chandler's supporters. "I don’t believe anyone should tell a preacher not to preach what's in the Bible."

Hmm, I don't remember the passage in the Bible that reads, "Thou shalt support George W. Bush! If thou does not, thou must repent or thou shalt most certainly be cast out!" Is that in the King James Version?

"The only thing I wanna say is that everything that's been in the press is a lie," said Misty Turner. "I have never bowed down to Chan. I've only bowed down to the Lord."

So wait...is Ms. Turner's statement a lie then? I'm confused. I think I need to go lay down now.

Is it wrong and blasphemous that I laughed like a loon at this picture?


(courtesy of Jeni)

I think I'm becoming more and more domesticated as each day passes. I've actually created a shopping pseudo-routine, every few weeks or so of actually grocery shopping. And with clipped coupons, no less! I actually got to the point today where I couldn't fit any more food in my freezer. My haul today was plentiful, with about $25.00 in savings! Yeah, I'm becoming domesticated. Next thing I know, I'll be driving a minivan...

And this is why I truly believe churches need to start being taxed. As George Carlin said, "If they're so interested in politics, let them pay their admission fee like everyone else!"

Dems voted out of N.C. church, members say
Pastor reportedly told Kerry-backers to repent or leave
The Associated Press

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - Some in Pastor Chan Chandler's flock wish he had a little less zeal for the GOP.

Members of the small East Waynesville Baptist Church say Chandler led an effort to kick out congregants who didn't support President Bush. Nine members were voted out at a Monday church meeting in this mountain town, about 120 miles west of Charlotte.

"He's the kind of pastor who says do it my way or get out," said Selma Morris, the church treasurer who was among those voted out. "He's real negative all the time."

Chandler didn't return a message left by The Associated Press at his home Friday, and several calls to the church went unanswered. He told WLOS-TV in Asheville that the actions were not politically motivated.

The station also reported that 40 others in the 100-member congregation resigned in protest after Monday's vote.

During the presidential election last year, Chandler told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic Sen. John Kerry should either leave the church or repent, said former member Lorene Sutton.

Some church members left after Chandler made his ultimatum in October, Morris said.

George Bullard, associate executive director-treasurer for Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, told the Asheville Citizen-Times that a pastor has every right to disallow memberships if a church's bylaws allow for the pastor to establish criteria for membership.

"Membership is a local church issue," he said. "It is not something the state convention would enter into."

He added that the nine members were not legally terminated because Monday's meeting was supposed to be a deacons meeting, not a business meeting. They have a lawyer looking into the situation, he said.

The head of the North Carolina Democratic Party sharply criticized the pastor Friday, saying Chandler jeopardized his church’s tax-free status by openly supporting a candidate for president.

"If these reports are true, this minister is not only acting extremely inappropriately by injecting partisan politics into a house of worship, but he is also potentially breaking the law," Chairman Jerry Meek said.

Doris Wilson, one of Chandler's neighbors and a member of First Baptist Church in Waynesville, said God doesn’t play partisan politics.

"I hate to see the church suffer like that," she said. "God doesn't care whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat. It just hurts to see that going on."

Can you believe it's been one year already since the Red Wings last played a hockey game? Mitch Albom summed it all up pretty well in this article. Just when I thought I was beginning to feel at least somewhat okay without hockey (for now), he goes and writes something like this. *sigh*

Okay, I've been looking at the images from this for damn near 20 minutes now...and try as I might, I can't see anything but concrete and a normal water stain. Am I crazy or is it the people flocking to that Chicago underpass?

If a department tells us they need equipment for an event that starts at 4:00pm, logic would dictate that the event actually starts at 4:00pm, not at six o-fucking-clock! Am I crazy in thinking this?

Okay, network comes back up and I get the extension for University Systems and Security. I call them...and they have no idea why I was referred to them. They refer me to the Dean of Students office and he's extremely helpful as he had some similar problems when he was an undergrad here. He refers me to the Director of Admissions, who I'm pretty cozy with due to helping out with a lot of the Open House days on campus.

She makes a call to another department...and FINALLY gets me re-admitted and restored to active status.

Then I go to register for my classes...and find that one of them's already full! Yargh! Thankfully, there was another section on different nights, same times, different professor. At this point, I'm just happy that I'll be able to finish my lab sciences this Summer with that Environmental Biology class. The classes for the Fall were okay...mostly. One of them was actually only available to transfer students, so I had to switch to another section...so now I have classes in the Fall on Tuesday from 2:10 to 4:40 and 5:25 - 8:00, and Fridays from 5:25 - 8:00. Add into that working Monday - Friday 8:00 - 6:00 (with the notable exception at 2:00 on Tuesdays) and...I'm gonna die. Woo hoo!

Eh, I want to graduate and taking two semesters off didn't help, so I need to play a little catch-up. So, my next classes are as follows: Environmental Biology in the Summer and then Core A: The Global Challenge, Creative Writing: Fiction and Beginning Japanese in the Fall. Wish me luck.

Okay, this day started off decently enough... I got into work early, managed to get a lot done and even was able to finally get my registration forms signed so I can sign up for classes. Everything was going so smoothly...

Then I actually went to sign up for classes.

First, I went to Enrollment Services and was told that I had to pop across the hall to records because they had the wrong phone number on file for me. No biggie, that took about 30 seconds to change. Back at Enrollment Services, there's a problem...my student profile is marked as 'Withdrawn' because I was on hiatus for the past two semesters. I had assumed this wouldn't be a big deal to switch...little did I know.

Enrollment Services sends me upstairs to Admissions to switch me to 'Active' status. I get up there...and they can't access my record. I'm told the reason is because I'm an employee and a student, which means that my records as an employee are protected due to the university's privacy policy. So they hand me an 'Application for Re-Admission' form and tell me to contact the MIS Office on the Teaneck campus for a privacy form of some sort so I can get my status switched.

I call the MIS Office...and the person I was referred to was "too busy to help" me. Nice service, FDU. They bounced me to another office at which I spoke to a person whose English was spotty at best and didn't seem to understand what I was telling her, despite my explaining it in very clear and basic terms. She put me on hold for about 5 minutes...and tells me that I can get the form from Human Resources.

I go to Human Resources on our campus...and it turns out that most of the HR staff is out at some conference today. Lovely. Thankfully, there were a couple people there who attempted to assist (and shared my disdain for the dreadful operating state of this university) and referred me to someone in HR on the Teaneck campus - coincidentally enough, the man who is responsible for getting me my employee tuition grants. He was actually probably the most helpful person I had encountered thus far...but was unable to actually fix my particular predicament. He referred me to someone else in HR on the Teaneck campus. He basically told me that the person in Admissions who had initially attempted to bring up my record didn't have the proper permissions on her account, but someone else in Admissions should.

Okay...so I'm back to calling Admissions. I call a guy there that I'm familiar with through doing Instructional Media stuff and explain to him the whole ordeal and the conclusion of proper permissions. He takes my number, calls me back and tells me to call up University Systems and Security.

And that's where I'm at right now. I had the extension number up on my desktop computer screen, but had to go take care of some work...and when I returned, the network was down and the number was inaccessible. Argh.

So, let's review... Enrollment Services -> Records -> Enrollment Services -> Admissions -> MIS, Teaneck -> MIS, Teaneck #2 -> HR, Madison -> HR, Teaneck -> HR, Teaneck #2 -> Admissions -> University Systems and Security.

That's 11 steps...and I'm still not fucking registered. I've been bounced ten times...and I'm still not fucking registered. Someone tell me again if this diploma will actually be worth the paper it'll be printed on?

And now the network is finally back up...will my call to University Systems and Security produce results? Stay tuned...