Okay, so I am typing this at Gia's house, so I will make it short. I have been super busy lately, but I have the next four days off. Yes, you read that right, I have four days in a row off! Amazing. But, I have to work both Christmas eve and Christmas Day. Yuck! Oh Well. The things I do for money. Anyway, Nate and I need to find a new place to live so we can get a dog, so if any of you folks know of either a condo or an apartment in the universal area that allows pets, let me know.
I finally sent out my holiday cards, so you all should be getting them soon. I am gonna go drink beer and play video games now. Bye!

I need medical insurance. I am not sick or anything. And I am only one one prescription, which I don't take very often. But when I do take it, Whoa is that some crazy stuff. I am on Ambien to help me sleep. One of the possible side effects is hallucinations. Yep, I thought there were garden gnomes living in my closet. I wasn't paranoid or scared or anything, but Nate sure found it funny when I was having a conversation with the closet and when he asked who I was talking to I replied "Tony. The garden gnome in our closet" like it was the most normal thing in the world. Now, I am sure I should inform my doctor that Ambien makes me hallucinate, but since I don't have insurance or anything, I can't afford to go to the doctor. Oh well. I don't take it very often, only when my schedule changes and I have trouble sleeping. But wow, if I had less ethics, I could probably make some good money selling this stuff. Anyway, today was opening day for both Grinchmas and Macy's Parade at work. It was kind of rainy, but everything went well. But, I got a busy weekend so Goodnight. Sweet Dreams! (or prescription-induced hallucinations, whatever)

I hate sending out mass emails, but there are alot of poeple I don't have addresses for to send out xmas cards. Oh well. I probalby won't be writng much over the next few weeks. Grinchmas will probably keep me pretty busy. As it is, this week sucks. Nate works days, and I have rehearsal at night. He gets home in time to drive me to work, then by the time I get home he is asleep. So, even though we live together, we never get to see each other. Oh well. It won't last forever. Once I get back to working days, things should get better. I hope everyone out there is doing well. I have been so out of touch with everyone. I never see anyone here in Orlando except Nate and the folks at work, and I rarely talk to anyone on tour except for the occasional drunk phone calls from folks on the road (Thanks Micah and the rest of D-20). Nate asked me what I want for xmas, but I don't know what to tell him. I hate the fact that my birthday is so close to xmas. I already got stuff, I would rather spread out the gifts. Oh well. I need new speakers for my computer, so I guess I will tell him that. I thought of asking for a necklace or bracelet to go with the ring he just gave me, but really, where the hell would I wear it? I am just not girly enough for much jewlery. Anyway, i will write when I can.

Well, for my birthday Nate and I went to the cheesecake factory. He gave me a beautiful ring. It is Tanzanite with diamonds and set in white gold. Today we went to ICE! at Gaylord Palms. It was cool (9 degrees actually), and quite impressive, plus where else in Florida can you slide down an ice slide or see an entire life-size Nativity scene carved out of ice? Plus, it gave us a great opportunity to get a xmas card picture. (So hey, for any of you folks out there who read my blog, if you want me to send you a xmas card then email me your snail mail address).
Tonight we are going to see "War of the Worlds" at CityWalk. It should be neat seeing the old black and white on a big screen.
Got to go get ready for the movie. Bye.

So, tomorrow is my birthday. And I have to work. Yuck. But, then I get to go somewhere and do something. But I don't know what. Nate won't tell me. It is a suprise. I figure it has got to be better then last year when I spent my birthday loading in my tour in Minneapolis. That sucked. Worked a 16hour day and it was too cold to do anything anyway. Hopefully what ever Nate has planned I will like, and if not, I can fake it (we girls are good at that).
I will let you all know what happens .

How come everyone else gets a long weekend for thanksgiving and I don't? Lighting, audio, all the other depatments have friday off but Pyro is scheduled to work? Oh well, I could use the money. Just sucks though.
Anyway, here is my summary of the weekend thus far:
Friday night once I got off work Nate and I went to city walk to see the Incredibles. It was funny, but not really my type of movie (I went cause I had a free ticket). Afterward we went to Cigarz for drinks and smokes. I think it is really odd that Universal employees don't get a discount on alchohal, but we do get a discount on cigars. I found out that the movie theatre at City Walk is going to be showing the original, black and white WAR OF THE WORLDS on December 3,4,5, and 9 at midnight. Everyone should go cause, c'mon when else are you going to get to see it on the big screen?
Yesterday we went shopping at all the vintage stores. Nate got a cool shirt. I didn't get anything. I am too picky, and stuff never fits me right. Oh well. I need to find something cool to wear before the Turkey Run next week in Daytona.
Tonight I am going to Amy's Birthday Party. I am looking foward to seeing Amy, cause we both work so much we don't get alot of opportunities to hang out, but there will be people from highschool there that I really have no desire to see. I hate having to make small talk and pretend I actually give a damn about these peoples lives. Oh well.
In case I don't get a chance to write before then, everyone have a good Thanksgiving. I will be going to Universal Studios (but not to work, I am taking Mom for the day) then I will be eating my free turkey (they gave them to employees at work) that Nate will be cooking (cuz I can't cook anything that doesn't go in the microwave). Give thanks, get stuffed on Turkey, enjoy a long weekend for all you folks getting Friday off (damn you!damn you all!). Oh, and stay away from the malls on black friday if you know what's good for you!

I was trying to make cheesecake when I realized that I don't have an electric mixer. So, Genius that he is, Nate made one out of a whisk and a cordless drill. Voila! Let them eat (cheese)Cake!
For those of you on tour who know Marcus and Michelle, they have put up pictures of their new baby. Just click
here or go to the "Nathan Robert" MSN group.
So Disney called and offered me a job today. Haven't accepted it yet though. I would like to stay at Universal. Not sure what I will do yet. Oh well. Have to give it some thought.
Anyway, LOST is on, so I have got to go. Bye!

Alright, just a quick note before I go to work (I am on days this week, so I have to wake up early and take the bus to work). Anyway, not much going on here to talk about. Last weekend I went to the Festival of the Masters at Disney. The sidewalk chalk art was absolutely amazing. But the best thing about going to Disney was getting to eat at Bongo's (I love cuban food). I also saw Rocky Horror at City Walk, their cast, the "Rich Wierdos" is pretty good. Needs some work, but not bad at all. Since Nate was a "Virgin" (meaning he had never seen the movie in a theater with a cast) I figured we should go. This week I have to work all week. But the cool thing about working in decor instead of pyro is that I have been having weekends off. But, decor is so not my thing, I'd rather blow stuff up than set stuff up. Guess I should be going if I want to scarf down some breakfast before work. Bye all!

It's not even Thanksgiving and I am already sick of Christmas. I've been on third shift all week at work. So I have spent all night, every night setting up Christmas decorations for the Grinch. After decorating all of Suess Island, the last thing I am going to want to do is decorate my apartment. Oh well, Nate was on tour so long he is lloking foward to setting up for xmas, so I will let him do it all. Tomorrow night I am going to to see Rocky Horro (they show it at City Walk now, with a cast and everything). Nate has never seen the movie in a theatre so we are going to go to that. So, if any of you folks make it out to Rocky on Saturday, be sure to say Hi!

I want this shirt. TShirt Hell has the best tees (well, there are a few that are even too offensive for me, but in general).

Alright, I know I haven't written anything since the election. But just thinking about it makes me angry and depressed. But, tonight I am going out to see "Rocky Horror" at Theatre Downtown, so hopefully that will lift my spirits. Also, since I had all week off of work (I have to go back next week for Grinch Install) I have taught myself to knit. NOt very good yet, but I am getting better. I can do basic stitches, just none of the fancy stuff. So I am making a scarf, I am sure it will be hideous. But, oh well. Practice makes perfect. Anyway, less then a month till my birthday. Not sure what I am doing though, Nate says it is a suprise. But I hope it involves a cake from Cold Stone! (hint, hint)

Well, today I had another interview with the Mouse House. I should get a call later this week with an offer. The position is full time with benefits, so now it is just a question of how much. But, should be comparable with what I make now at the rival park. I am so glad Halloween Horror Nights is over. It was alot of fun, I worked with great people, but I am so glad not to have to deal with Drunk guests and Horny actrors anymore (I swear our storm trooper humped anything that moved backstage). Oh well. I have this week off, have to go back next week to start setting up for xmas. Nothing else really going on. My birthday is in a month, but I don't know what I am going to do yet. Nate says he has something up his sleeve, so I guess I am in for a suprise.
Anyway, tomorrow is election day, so don't forget to vote.

Well, the red sox won the series. (Mark, wipe that grin off your face!) Good for them. They played some great games. And it has been like 80 years or so since they have done this. But next year, it's go time. Yankees will take them down.
I got a haircut yesterday, just below my shoulders. And I dyed my hair back to dark brown (have to look normal for jobs and stuff, how boring).But anyway, I had another job interview at that theme park with the Rat. Two down only one more to go. I have to go back next week for my third interview (this sure is a long process). Not sure how I am going to get there, but I will find a way (if any of you central florida folks don't have plans tuesday and want to volunteer to drive me it would be much appreciated).
Don't forget to vote on Tuesday (unless you are planning on voting for Bush, in which case forget it if you want). I am planning on voting early, since I had to reregister in a new county since I moved and I want to go early in case there are any problems.
Oh well, I need to go. I am actually going to be a goodgirlfriend for a change and do the dishes before Nate gets home from work. He cooks, I clean. That is the deal (and that way nobody ends up with food poisoning). Bye everyone. Oh and I took pictures at work, so I will post them when I get the chance for those of you who can't make it to Halloween Horror Nights.

So, as Mark and Nate and Scott and Tanya and everyone else I know from the Boston area keep reminding me, the Red Sox won. Now I am a Yankee fan, have been my whole life, and thus I despise the Sox. It totally sucks that New York lost. However, I now have a newfound respect for the Red Sox. While I still love the Yankees (and thus hate Boston), the Sox were amazing. That comeback was incredible. I am just glad the pennant race is now over and maybe I can get some sleep. Great games, but way too many extra innings. And as for you Mark (and everyone else), they may have won this time, but Babe's curse is still on the Red Sox, so the World Series? Ha, fat chance. Yankees will be back next season with a vengance.
On a lighter note, tonight Mom and I went to see "Measure for Measure" at Orlando Shakespeare Festival. It was very good. I recommend seeing it to any of you in the area with the time. While I prefer the Bard's tragedies to his comedies, the production was quite good. The actress playing Isabella was wonderful, and Tim Williams (who I worked with on "Much Ado...") was hilarious as Lucio. Plus, who doesn't love seeing actresses billed as "Whore 1" and "Whore 2" in the program. Especially when said "Whores" come give lapdances to the elderly gentlemen in the audience. HaHa. Mom and I have season tickets to the festival and I look foward to seeing many wonderful productions in the future.
Anyway, tomorrow starts another crazy weekend at work (I swear, they should rename it "Halloween Drunk Nights" judging by our audiences. Although the laughs do get better throughout the night as the crowd gets more intoxicated.)

Congratulations Marcus and Michelle on your new baby!
So, Nate is now a godfather. Lil' Nate (Nathan Robert) was welcomed into the world on Friday October 15 at 5:30pm weighing in at 8lbs. 7oz. Hopefully Nate and I will be able to make it up to Tennessee to visit his namesake soon.

Anyway, nothing much else going on down here. Nate and I are considering looking at other apartments so when our lease here is up we can move. Not that we don't like this apartment, it's great, but it doesn't allow pets and we want to get a dog. My mom is a cat person so I have never had a puppy, all we had were cats when I was growing up. Frisky (my cat) still lives at my mom's house. But now I want a pet who will be thrilled to see me when I get home and who I can take for walks and play with. All my cat ever does is sleep and look at me with that superior feline look.
Nate started his new job. It seems to be going really well. He likes what he does, and he gets overtime and medical coverage and all that other good stuff. If only I could be so lucky. I love my job (who doesn't like to blow stuff up?) But I don't get any benefits. However I do have an interview next week with the OTHER big theme park in town (you know, the one with the Rat). I have already had one interview that went really well, so hopefully this one will too.
I have alot of friends who are looking foward to the Last Star Wars movie coming out next year. And while I intend to go see the movie, I am looking foward to seeing the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" film a whole lot more. It comes out only a week or two before Star Wars, but it has more going for it in my book. Mainly being a cast including John Malkovitch, Sam Rockwell, and Warwick Davis (you know, from Willow) as Marvin. Can't picture Mos Def as Ford Prefect, but should be interesting nonetheless.
Goodnight everybody! Sweet dreams.

take the which femme are you? test!

What kind of girl are you? I'm a "rebel without a cause".
Take the quiz yourself to find out who you are.

Everyone reading my blog go to the Breast Cancer Site and click to fund free mammograms, for the month of October, your clicks are doubled.

I went and saw 12 Monkeys on Sunday. I know the movie is old, but for some unknown reason, City Walk was showing a midnight showing of it (they are showing it again on thursday if any of you missed it). Other than that, all I have been doing is working. Halloween Horror Nights has begun, so we are doing seven shows a night. The later shows always do better (drunk people laugh more). Also, I dyed my hair red. Figured that since I work for Universal now instead of Disney I should take advantage of the freedoms.

Anyway, it is getting late and tomorrow is my last day off this week, so lots to do.

So I just sent off my paperwork to change my voting district. It has to be sent off at least 29 days before the election. So for everyone out there who isn't registered (and for those of you on tour who need absentee ballots) GET OFF YOUR ASS! Everyone in this country need to vote in this election. Make your voice heard. I realize that many people, myself included, do not like either of the two major parties political candidates, but you still need to vote. Choose the lesser of two evils (as I will) or vote for a third party. Go to RocktheVote.com and register. Tell your friends, family, coworkers, and anyone who will listen to vote on November 2nd.
And, for all you gals out there who feel alienated by all the male candidates, read the following facts, then get off your ass and be heard!
* Fact: If unmarried women voted at the same rate as married women, over six million more voters would have gone to the polls in 2000.
* Fact: 22 Million unmarried women who were eligible to vote did not cast ballots in the election in 2000.
* Fact: 16 million unmarried women were not registered to vote in 2000.
* Fact: 56% of all women not registered to vote are unmarried.
* Fact: 46% of all voting-age women are unmarried.

U.S. Census data and a nationwide survey reveal the following about unmarried women:

1. Unmarried women comprise the largest group of unregistered and nonvoting citizens in the United States.
2. More than any other demographic group, unmarried women describe themselves as progressive, and desire a government that responds to their concerns, specifically about jobs, health care, education, and a woman’s right to choose.
3. Unmarried women overwhelmingly believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction—and don’t think politicians will do anything about it.
4. Unmarried women who are not registered or who do not vote share similar values and priorities to their voting counterparts.

Women on their own can transform American politics.

Well, we made it through the hurricane. And we lost power for less then a day. It went out around 6am and was back by ten pm. Without electricity we were pretty bored. Just sat around listening to the radio, eating the ice cream in the freezer before it could melt. Read alot. And had a cookout on our new grill. No major damage. Lots of branches came down, and one of the cars in the parking lot had a tree limb fall on it and take out a headlight, but that was all. We have gotton off quite lucky considering how many hurricanes have hit florida this season. Anyway, I have got to go back to work tomorrow, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we are okay.

Well, Hurricane Jeanne is coming, so Nate and I are getting ready to "hunker down". I was supposed to work tonite, but Universal closed for the storm, so now I have the weekend off. Next weekend Halloween Horror Nights starts, so work will get all crazy. Anyway, I am going to make some cookies and stuff before we lose electricity ( got to have snacks for the hurricane). And Nate just got a grill, so now at least we will still be able to eat after the 'cane passes.
Hunker down everyone! Stock up on batteries and water, and I will talk to you after the storm.

Orlando, FL...Well I have moved into my new apartment. And I have a few job interviews lined up at some of the local theme parks. Wish me luck everyone! And tomorrow I am going to see "Finding Nemo" on ice. Give me a chance to say hi to everyone on that show. I will write a review up this weekend of it. Anyway, I have to get up early. Sweet dreams everyone!

Oh, and for everyone from tour that is waiting for me to post more pics, I will as soon as I get the internet access set up in the new apartment. Sorry about the wait everyone.

Well, the hurricane may be huge, but it is very slow. Originally it was expected to make landfall Friday afternoon, but now Francis is only moving at about 4 miles per hour. So, it won't be here till early Sunday morning. But, that has given us more time to get things done. Nate and I found an apartment in Orlando, but of course we won't be moving in until Tuesday at the earliest depending on the hurricane. So now we just have to wait out Francis. But, we stocked up on food and we've got books and games and lots of batteries for the radio and the mini tv, so it shouldn't be too bad. As long as we can keep my mom from talking about politics or Dr Who, we won't go stir crazy.

Lake Mary, FL... Well, another hurricane is coming. And they say this one is bigger and stronger then the last one. How is it that a hurricane hasn't hit Central Florida in my lifetime, and then now we have two Class4 Hurricanes in less then a month? Oh well. And of course it has to hit this weekend when I had plans. Nate and I were going to go find an apartment. Can't stay with Mom forever (especially since Nate comes back from refurb tonite). Oh well. Maybe we will luck out and the hurricane will turn, it has been known to happen. But if it does hit, I will write again once I can, but if it is as bad as Charley was, then Francis will knock the power out for awhile. But this is the chance we take living in Florida. Now I have to go stock up on ice and water and batteries and stuff. Stay safe everyone, watch out for yourselves, your neighbors, and your pets (Frisky will be in the house with me once the 'cane hits).

The worst part about living in Florida, the hurricanes! I have been home for about a week now, but due to Charley sweeping through here, we had no electricity for 5 days and the phone line was out for a whole week. So, this is the first chance I have hide to write anything. But, I do consider myself lucky. We were quite fortunate not to have any major damage. We did lose some trees, but no damage was done to the house. The worst part of the whole experience wasn't even the hurricane, it was having no air conditioning in August. You ever tried to sleep in Florida without AC? I do not reccomend it. But the showers were so cold they could have waked the dead.
Anyway, now that electricity is back on for most of the state, stores are open again and I was finally able to take my ibook into the apple store to be fixed. Hope fully I will have it back in a week or so (thank god for extended warrenties!) I just hope that I don't lose anything off the hard drive when they fix it. I can't exactly replace all my south americ pictures (I'm not likely to be in Ecuador again any time soon). Also, while my imac is cute (purple) it is old and slow. I can't even listen to a cd while playing a game or it works in slow motion.
Oh well. To all of you in Florida, email me please and let me know if you survived Charley's wrath. For everyone else, damn you lucky folks. Anyway, I need to find a job and an apartment now for me and Nate, so wish me luck!

Long Island, NY...Well, I know I haven't updated this blog in a while (as Amy keeps reminding me), but I was stuck in Guayaquil Ecuador without any internet access. And now I am at my grandparents house where to go online I have to tie up there phone line. So I have to make this quick. Just wanted to say that I am back in the USA, home of Starbuck's and cell phones (both of which I have been addicted to since the moment I got back). Our South America tour is finally over. It was alot of work, but alot of fun. And I even learned some spanish. Thanks to all my translators (Romeo, Cris, etc.) for all your help. And now I am done with Disney on Ice. No more twelve hour load-outs with no meals or overtime. No more travel day as my only day off. And no more skater bulls**t. But now I am unemployed. But in two weeks I will be back in Florida and I will find something. Nate and I are moving to Orlando, we will see everyone once we get there (we are driving down next week). Sunday I have to go to Nate's cousins wedding, which means I will be meeting most of his family, I don't remember the last time I was this nervous to meet someone. Especially since all they know about me is that I am the girl who got Nate to move across the country from everyone he knows. Oh well. Anyway, Nate, if you are reading this, I miss you. To everyone else, don't complain about the heat in the states, cuz trust me, nothing compares to El Salvadore in July. Have a good summer. I will see you all around and I will try to write later in the week (I am supposed to see Farenheit 911 with my Grandmother tomorrow). Bye.

Quito, Ecuador...this weekend is going to suck. Three shows today, three shows tomorrow, then a ten hour load-out. And ten hours is being optimistic. Our load-outs in Guatemala and El Salvadore were each at least twelve hours. Yuck. I will be spending all day Monday sleeping. Recuperating. Then tuesday is our last day here, we leave Wednesday for our next city (also here in Ecuador). The shows have been selling out here, the building is packed every day. The security is really funny though. People keep trying to sell illegal copies of the Disney films our show is based on. Yesterday I got to see security chase down a man with "Lilo y Stitch" DVDs. They were jumping over seats and climbing over audience members. It was pretty funny. In the next city are evaluations. But, since it is also my last week with the company, I am not too concerned. After that, I am done and don't have to listen to Disney music anymore. (And yes, the Disney music is EVEN MORE ANNOYING in spanish!)

Quito, Ecuador...well, last night was opening night. We were sold out. They have been promoting this show like crazy down here. We have 13 shows this week and they are all going to be packed. Then we have a week off before we open in Guayaquil. I should be going home on the 29th or 30th of this month. (anybody want to volunteer to pick me up at the orlando airport?). We went to the Ecuator a few days ago. It was interesting. A big line was on the ground, but it turns out when they painted it, they put it in the wrong place. So it wasn't until GPS came out that they realized that the ecuator is actually a little walk away. On the real ecuator though, you can balance an egg on a nail, and you way a little less. (Too bad the skaters can't hold their weigh-ins there). Any way, when we are in Guayaquil we are supposed to have a big party, cuase we are the first show to play Ecuador, which is the 50th country Disney on Ice has played. So that is pretty cool. I haven't been able to put up the surfing pictures, cause I don't have good internet access at this hotel (but they have a great fondue restaurant which makes up for it). Hopefully next week the hotel will have better internet. Nate and I bought a chess board for our house, one side is Conquistadors, and the other side is Indians. I don't know how to play chess, but I figure at least it looks cool. I also have souveniers for everyone back home, so expect a visit from me when I get back to the states.

Just got back from surfing. A bunch of us spent the last week in Montanita, Ecuador at Casa del Sol taking surfing lessons. Also got to go whale watching and hiking and all sorts of other fun stuff. Although, I didn't learn to surf so much as fall, but I am so unathletic. Everyone else did really good though. We did have one person get stung by a sting ray, but after a few days he was fine. I took lots of pictures, but this hotel in Quito sucks and I can't put them up yet. Anyway, I need to go to the grocery store (I hate grocery shopping here since I don't know enough spanish) Oh well. Later.

Well, we are finally in Quito, Ecuador...we got stuck in ElSalvadore for an extra week. But they did move us to an different hotel. It was on the beach and and we stayed in these little villas. Plus, you could rent golf carts. But they probably expected us to drive around on the golf course, not go off roading and mudding. We killed the golf carts, but it was fun. They will probably never rent to "gringos" again. Anyway, we are now in Quito. We have full kitchens and laundry in our rooms, so that is cool. And sunday we leave for a week of surfing lessons and salsa lessons, whale watching, and all sorts of touristy stuff. Anyway, there is a huge line behind me to use the computer, but I will write more when I can.

Pictures are up from Guatemala! Just click Here or the link at the top of this page that says Central America Tour.

San Salvadore, El Salvadore...Well we should be leave here on thursday (we have load out tuesday night after the show). Then we go to Quito, Ecuador. Nate and I decided to take surfing lessons on our time off, it started out being just the two of us, and now it is a huge group interested and I somehow ended up in charge of planning everything. I hate being in charge. But, I am gonna learn to surf, so that should be cool. After a few weeks off, we have shows in Quito then we have shows in Guayquil, Ecuador. Don't know yet when we are gonna be done and able to go home. Should be either July 20 or 27th depending on when our last performance is. Oh well. Once I get home I got to find a job and a place to live, so I am in no hurry. Although, Nate wants to get a dog once we find jobs and a home, so that should be cool. Never had a dog before, my mom and I always had cats. Anyway, everybody go see the movie FARENHEIT 9/11 when it comes out (I am hoping I will still be able to find it in a theatre at home when I come back to the states).
Anyway, got to go now. I am hungry. El Salvadore is practically the US. They use American money, have burger king, and kentucky fried chicken. Only difference is the language. But otherwise, it is basically America in spanish, with alot of rain, and no air conditioning.

San Salvadore, El Salvadore...Well, haven't really seen much. Since we got in late last night, and had load-in all day today. The money is the same here. American money, and the only place I have been is Burger King where everything was the same. Just in Spanish. Next week sometime we go to Quito, Ecuador. Then we get almost three weeks off, so then I will have time to do all the touristy stuff.
Anyway, Guatemala was good. My locals weren't bad considering most of them had never run a spotlight before. My translator, Romeo, was awesome. So the show went pretty smoothly, even though I had to call cues in english then have them translated over headset. Loadout in Guatemala sucked. It was 11 hours, our longest ever. But we still beat the last Disney on Ice show that was there (it had a 15hour loadout). Turcks just took way to long cuz we could only load one at a time, and everything had to go down a ramp and out a long tunnel to get outside. But this week should go better. And we only have one show on the day of loadout, which is better then last week with six shows and load out in only 2days.
Anyway,
I need some sleep, I have lobby call for work at 7:30 in the morning. Bye.

Guatemala...Fifteen shows in one city is just too damn many. Oh, I did find time to go horseback riding, and rapelling down the side of a monutain, and ziplining through the tree canopy. Went shopping in the market in Antigua, got souveniers for everyone. Hopefully, I will be home is as little as two weeks, but they may be adding cities to our tour, so I may be in South America until August 8. Panama was cancelled, but they may add additional cities in South America. I am getting two and a half weeks off in Ecuador, Nate and I are going to take surfing lessons. Should be a catastrophe waiting to happen. Nate and I have decided this will be our last tour, and we are planning on moving to central florida, so if anyone has advice on jobs or places to live, let me know. I will write more later (probably monday when I get to El Salvadore). Anyway, got to go to work now. Bye. If I ever find highspeed I will put pics up.

Hello Everyone!
Greetings from Miami. Just wanted to let you all know that my plans for the summer may have changed. One of the cities on our tour was cancelled so now we could get done three weeks early, or they might give us a different city/country. I don't know. No decisions have been made. But, I do leave tomorrow for Guatemala. And after two weeks there, I will be going to El Salvadore. But after that, it is all up in the air. Anyway, I will keep everyone informed on what is going on.
Bye.

Okay, so it has been a really busy week. I had to go the chiropractor, and the dentisit. Yuck! Plus Nate is visiting, so we did the tourist thing and went to Islands of Adventure to ride the rollar coasters and went to old town to see the car show (Nate into car stuff). Anyway, I have pics to put up, but I don't have time now, we are driving to Miami today. Tomorrow evening we leave for Guatemala. Supposedly, there is internet access at our hotel there though, so I will still be in touch. Plus, I just installed an airport card in my computer yesterday, so now I can use wifi while I am at bored at the airport. Anyway, gotta go. I will see you all when I come back from tour (sometime after Ecuador, hopefuly around July 13 or so).

"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

So, I am back from my grandmother's house.
And tomorrow night Nate arrives. I am a little nervous about Nate coming down. I mean, on tour everything is great between us, but now he is going to have to meet my mother. And my mother is VERY, VERY Strange. I realize everyone thinks their parents are wierd, but my mother actually is wierd. Who else has the inside of their garage painted to look like the interior of a spaceship (Doctor Who's TARDIS to be exact). And while most mom's have dishes in their china cabinet, the one at my mom's house is filled with quirky sci-fi figurines and wierd movie-tie-in happy meal toys. I have given Nate plenty of warnings about my mother's unusual behavior and strange quirks, I don't think anybody can ever be really prepared to meet her. And that's not even going into the ultra-feminist rants she can go on. "A ring on the finger is a ring through the nose." I am a feminist and all for equality, but my mom tends to take things to far. (Dad, if you are reading this, you know you are partly to blame for her hatred of men. Sorry, but you know it's true.)
Anyway, I have so much packing to do. It is like as soon as I got home, my suitcase exploded all over my room. And now tomorrow I am going to have to rush around and attempt to clean it all up so Nate doesn't think I am a slob. Although, since we live together on tour, he should already know by now that I am a slob. Oh well. I have to start packing for tour anyway. I have no idea what to pack, since I have never been to Guatemala, El Slavadore, Panama, or Ecuador. Should be interesting. And hot (except Ecuador, it will be winter there).

Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar.
--Drew Carey

Oh well, time for bed, I got a lot to do tomorrow.
Sweet dreams all.

Miss you Nate!

Went to the DEROOT concert last night at the Club at Firestone. Here is a pic of me and Amy before the concert last night. I wore my "My Boyfriend is Out of Town Shirt". Heard some cheezy pick-up lines (like, hey baby, need me to keep you company while your boyfriend is gone?) Amy wore something with lots of cleavage (she was broke and hoping to score free drinks). The concert was good, Deroot has come a long way since they used to be be the amateur garage band that played the Fairbanks Inn. Saw the most adorable thing, there were a bunch of kids at the concert, they hung out on stage while their parents got into the mosh pit. I did feel kind of old at the consert, especially when I saw highschool girls in the pit. Or the girl who had to have her mom drop her off outside the concert cause she isn't old enough to drive. (When did I become so old? Oh well, at least I'm not as old as Nate--haha, just kidding babe) It was Rob's (the lead singer) birthday, and his parents and Grandmother were there. As we were leaving, some guy tried to stick his face in Amy's breasts, when Mrs. Mulligan (Rob's mom) walked by and said to creepy breast guy "Don't do that, I know her mother!"

Anyway, going to my grandmother's for mothers day. Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there.

I miss high speed internet access. And cable. And room service. While I love being home and getting to visit my mom and all, living in hotels does have it's good points. Like the fact that I have new tour pics I want to put on the site, but I have to go through dial-up here so it takes way to long. Also, it takes forever to download amy music. Aurgh! How am I supposed to steal from the recording industry if it takes me forty minutes to get one song?
Oh well. I did put some new pics up on my tour pics page (just click above). But I can't put up more cause of the damn phone line. Oh well.
And what is with my mom not having cable? I am so sick of network tv. Commercials suck.

Oh by the way, Nate, if you read this, I miss you!

Changed the template on my site (a few people complained it was confusing). This one is simpler. Updated my links. Check 'em out. Some are for good causes, others are just for cool stuff.

So TShirt Hell has a shirt that with a piture of Bush with the words "I bet you'll vote this time Hippy" on it.
I love this shirt. Definately has to be the next thing I buy.
But you know what? It is still not as cool as my thong that says "If you can read this, I must be drunk". They stopped selling that, too bad really, cause I can think of quite a few people that would be perfect for. Oh well, dr appointment in the morning, got to get to bed.
Sweet Dreams everyone!

You Are A Professional Girlfriend! You are the perfect girlfriend - big surprise! Heaven knows you've had enough practice. That's why you're a total pro. If there was an Emily Post of girlfriends, it would be you. You know how to act in every situation ... to make both you and your guy happy. What Kind Of Girlfriend Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

AAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!
So I am watching Alias tonight (Isabella Rosselini was awesome) when it gets to the end with the previews, and there are clips from the season finale....that will air in three weeks! In three weeks I will be in Guatemala. Damnit! That means I will have to have mom tape it and save it till I come back in the middle of July to watch it. That sucks. Fucking May Sweeps.
Oh well.
Anyway, so tomorrow I have to go to the doctor, just a checkup. I hate doctors. But I am home so rarely that I end up having to schedule all my appointments (dr, dentist, chiropractor, etc.) all in the same week. Yuck!
So Nate flies in Monday to visit for a week before we go back to tour. If anyone has any god suggestions on things to do, feel free to email me (he has never been to Orlando before). I figure Islands of Adventure is always a good choice (I love roller coasters). Epcot is a possibility depending on funds (Nate would like test track). Old Town for a Car Show, since Nate is a car freak. But that won't fill up a whole week. So if anyone has any other suggestions, let me know.
Oh well. I've rambled on long enough now. Bye All.

I am so addicted to the show Alias. Whenever people look through my big book of DVD's the first thing they notice (espicially since I keep my DVDs in alphabetical order) is all the Alias season one and two dvds. And there is a new episode on tonight. In fact, I watch so much Alias (my mom tapes it for me and ships it to me on tour so I don't miss any episodes) that I now have my boyfriend hooked on the show (or maybe he just likes to watch Jennifer Garner dress up in skimpy outfits and beat people up).
Anyway, I just downloaded the new Black Eyed Peas album, Elephunk. It is very awesome.
Speaking of mp3s however, I am very mad at Apple right now. I have always been very much on the Macintosh bandwagon. Until recently, however. I have an imac, an ibook, and an ipod. Never had any problems with any of them. Until my ipod started having audio problems. Turns out the jack that the headphones plugs into was cracked. Then the crack grew, and the plastic disintegrated. So now I cannot listen to my ipod at all (unless I play it through my computer, but that defeats the whole point of having a portable mp3 player). I had thought that my problem was unique for my ipod, till I go online and find out that lots of people have been having this problem. Ipod knew this was an issue on both the 1st and 2nd Gen Ipods, and did they recall them , of course not. In fact, since my warrenty is no longer in effect, Apple says that it will cost more then $200 to get it fixed. I can get a new 20gig ipod for only $299. But I won't buy a new ipod, especially since I may have the same problem. And besides why would I want to give Apple more of my money and reward them for selling me a defective product? So for now, Apple is on my shit list. And if I get a new mp3 player, it will not be an ipod, Apple will not be getting anymore of my money anytime soon.
Well, that is it for now. For those of you with ipods, watch out for these problems.
Bye.

Okay, so I put some pictures of my show up. Just click on "show pic" above. Take into account though that these pictures are not great, since I took them with my digital camera from my spotlight. They aren't too bad though. Anyway, hung out with Amy. Ran into people I haven't seen since highschool. Why do people I haven't seen in ten years, who I was never really that close with in the first place, insist on hugging me? Yuck!
Anyway. Nate flew home today (he has been working on transporting all our shows stuff into containers to ship to central america). So now I can't call him. His house is in the middle of nowhere and there are no cell phone towers there. Oh well. I have his home number, but being as I haven't met his parents, I don't really feel comfortable calling. Oh well. Relationships are great until you have to deal with all the other people.
Anyway, Nate if you read this, I miss you.
For everyone else, sorry about that brief period of sappiness.
Anyway, I have more pictures I need to put up.

Home sweet home....Well the past few weeks were very busy. We had ground support in Savannah, then a split week in South Carolina, then ground support again in West Palm Beach. It is so good to be home. I basically slept for a whole day as soon as I got here. Today I went and saw Jill (I finally got to see pics of her wedding that I missed while on tour, it all looked beautiful). I stopped by Chas' and Heather's the other day. Still need to see Amy, but she works alot.
Nate is coming down on the 10th and then he spends a week here with me before we go back to tour. Wow, the boyfriend meeting the mom. I wonder if he is nervous? He says he is not, but he should be. My mom isn't exactly normal. Oh well.
So for those of you in Central Florida, feel free to give me a call. I will be here until May 17th (when I leave for Central America).
I will write more over the next few days, but I am tired now, and being that I havent been home since last august. I just want to sit and hang out with my Cat.

Hershey, Pennsylvania... Well, everyone keeps emailing me that I need to update my blog. I was trying to wait until we got to a hotel with high speed so I could upload some new pics. But obviously we have been in ghetto hotels that don't believe in the internet (I am going through the phone line to do this). Oh Well. Last week we were in Portland, Maine. Load out took forever. Good locals, but a crappy building where we could only load one truck at a time. At least this week we are in a new building with three loading docks, so it should go pretty quickly. Next week is Savannah, Jenn is coming to visit. After that only, South Carolina then West Palm Beach and I am done. Only problem is, since they moved refurb to August. I now need a ride home from West Palm Beach. If any of you Central Florida Folks reading this are interested, I will pay you to come get me in West Palm Beach (my last show and load out is April 25, I have to check out of the hotel by the 26th). Not only will I pay for your gas and food, but you can see Rats on Ice for free.
Anyway, not too much going on. Last night we had a 3/4 tour party at a loccal bar. Free food, free beer, bad karaoke. Everyone keeps hearing what show they are going to next year. I have heard nothing yet, which means I will probably be on the same show. Whatever, It doesn't really matter to me. Anyway, I just woke up, and since this whole damn town smells like chocolate, I am getting quite hungry.
Bye All.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...Well, I have been online recently. We were in West Virginia, and the hotel charged an arm and a leg for phone calls, then last week we were in Montreal and our show schedule was just crazy, and all the shows were in French. Anyway, not much going on here. Working way too much. Glad to be in Ottawa, cuase the French Canadian Locals in Montreal were really pissing me off. They actually had the nerve to say we should have hired a french translator to call my spot cues. Because "That's what we would have had to do in France" . In France, I could understand that, but I am not in France, I am in Canada. Oh well.
Amy made a quiz on FriendTest.com Guess what...I got a perfect score! Let's see if Alie can beat that...hahaha. Anyway, got to go, I haven't checked my email in two weeks so it is a little piled up. Bye all.

You are Ecstasy!

Contrary to popular belief, you don't want to sex everyone you meet.

You rather hug, dance, hug, suck on some candy, and hug some more.

Side effects include: thinking bad techno sounds good - and finding the creepiest people "pretty"



What Drug Are You?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

Dayton, Ohio, USA...Well, OKay, here is the quick version of what happened last week. TShirt broke up with me, but I deserved so it is okay. He just couldn't trust me anymore, so we were just friends. Then, I made matters much, much worse by doing the worst possible thing I could do in that situation. So now he hates me. I am scum. But, these things happen on tour, and with time, everything will work itself out.
Anyway, I am glad to be in a city without snow. I never thought forty degrees would feel so good.

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...How's it going, eh? Anyway, I am freezing my butt off up here in Winterpeg and even though my cell phone works, but to avoid roaming charges, I am keeping it off this week. We do have high speed internet in the hotel though, so I can be reached through email. Anyway, I just did my taxes (I hate doing taxes on tour...it is just to complicated with all the hotels and road exxpenses) but I am finally done, so now I think it is time for a drink. There is an 'Elephant and Castle' downstairs, and the Sheperd's Pie and a pint are calling my name. Giver.

Oh...almost forgot...everybody please remember to vote. I am not even going to force my opinion on all of you by saying who I think you should vote for. The important thing is that you get out there and make your voice heard.

Still in Green Bay...Well, It has been a busy week. People from Monsters came to visit. Then later in the week, lots of old skaters came to visit. We had a girls pajama party, a bar-b-que in the snow, OJ played 2 sets at the bar across the street. No spotlights broke though, so that was a relief. Anyway, need to go put all my crap on the luggage truck (we go to Winnepeg tomorrow). I did out new pics up though, so check those out.

Well, last week we were in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was cold, but it is always cold on this tour. I had good locals (much better then they had been the past couple of weeks), but the building had crappy spotlight lights (we lost three in one day). But, my locals did get all there cues (even the lost boys...which no one gets).
Anyway, I put the pics from open mic nite up on my tour pictures page. Tonite the skater girls are having a pajama party, so maybe if you guys are lucky, I will take some pics of that. Hehehe. You wish, you pervs.
This week I am in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Cold Again. Free high speed internet though. So, I will surely write again this week.
Bye.

I took a quiz!

You're Israel!

Though a victim in the past, you've learned very little from this and
have encouraged a cycle of violence in your life and the life of many you know.
 You're a little paranoid and somewhat schizophrenic, causing you to promote
both hatred and hope in cycling intervals.  Some of the paranoia is justified, as
a lot of people don't like you, but more people are helping you than you'd ever really
admit to.  At this point, you live on some valuable property and would benefit
greatly from just giving peace a chance.
Take the Country
Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Buffalo, NY...Goddamn it is cold here! But, it has been a fun week. On Monday night we all went to a bar downtown, and Rob, Jason, and OJ performed for open mic night. I got pictures, but there is no high speed internet access, so I can't put them online yet. Anyway, Oj just blew everyone away. We all knew he could sing and play the guitar, but nobody realized that he writes his own music and lyrics. It was pretty impressive. Then, last night was Nate's Birthday (33 years old...the second oldest person on tour) so we all went to a bar to celebrate. I was going to go to Niagara Falls, but it is too cold. Anyway, Mom sent me a bunch of Alias on video this week, so I am going to go watch Jennifer Garner kick some ass. Bye.

Salisbury, Maryland...Well, Load-out in Hartford sucked, cus once we reached the 5 hour mark the local made us all take a one hour dinner break (even though it was midnight and nothing was open) That sucked. Every other local would just have taken the extra money to work through. Oh well. Then we had a really long bus ride in the snow. Seven hours. We didn't get in till almost ten AM. Anyway. Didn't really do much today but sleep. And go to the Grocery Store. I am rooming with TShirt this week. So , luckily since he can cook I actually get to eat some real food.
I get tomorrow off (it is OJs turn to run power). So, I plan on just being lazy. I reccommend the same to all of you. Everyone needs a day to be lazy.

Hartford, NY..Thank god we have load out. I want to get out of here. We go to Maryland next. Not a cool city like Baltimore tho, we go to the middle of nowhere and play Salisbury. Oh well. I need to pack for luggage call. Hopefully, we will have high speed next week, cause going through the phone line this week has sucked.

AURGH! The local union here is driving me crazy. All I wanted to do is go in to work a little early so I can cut some gels for my spotlights. But, to do that, I am required to pay a whole crew of locals to come in with me. Even though I don't need them. But, if I am working, they have to be working. We got hasseled last night after we moved some crates around backstage after the show. The local said we needed to hire locals for that. We have a road crew of a dozen people, and it was just a few crates, it took us five minutes to do; so why do we need locals for that?
Oh well. It is so annoying. I am pro-union, I mean the health care and other benefits that unions work to get is great. But some of these rules we come across on tour are just too extreme. We have to hire a certain number of people, for a minimum of 4 hours each, anytime we are working. Even if we don't need them and we can do the work ourselves. So basically, they get paid to sit around, smoke cigarettes, and eat donuts.
Then there are the locals who try too hard to be helpful. They follow me around, and try to do everything for me. I told my locals to move all the crates off the ice and this One guy at load-in yesterday just follows me around while everyone is working. So I say "Go ahead and help them move these backstage" and he says "They can do that, I am working with you" So I said "No, you are working FOR me. And I want these crates pushed backstage."
Whatever, I also had a guy who wouldn't let me do anything. He would stop whatever he was doing to run across the ice if he saw me pushing or lifting or anything. I finally had to be a bitch about it and tell him that if I wanted his help I would ask for it. If I told him to do something, he should just do what I tell him to do, and if he can't do that, I will transfer him to props (Locals always hate to do props, so it is a good threat)
Anyway, I need to go to the grocery store.
Later.

The worst part about hotels. Room Service. It's good, but expensive. So I now find myself sitting, watching a dvd, and contemplating the dilemma of whether to put on my boots and coat and go walk somewhere and get food, or to just be lazy and order room service. I am lazy, but I am also poor. If T-Shirt were here, I could just send him to get me food (boyfriends are good for things like that) but, he is still in New Hampshire with Nate. Oh well. Maybe I will see if the Sound boys next door want to order a pizza.

So, www.tshirthell.com already has shirts that say "I'm the guy who married Britney".

Anyway, I am in Hartford, CT. Everybody went out last night for Susan's birthday. This week should be fun, there are some cool little bars and stuff here, plus we are within walking distance of the building and downtown and eveything. It is cold, but not too bad. Anyway, gtg dye my hair, it is starting to look kinda bad (too much roots). Bye all.