Remember the truth. It's all that matters.

I think that that quote, "Remember the truth. It's all that matters." is a very powerful one. It's even in James Frey's book, "A Million Little Pieces" that has recently gone under fire by the media. In case you haven't heard, it's under fire because it is billed as a memoir, but the most important parts of the book were fabricated. The most important parts of the book, the parts that leave the reader speechless, are made up, lies!

This story doesn't really have anything to do with Oprah. I mean it does, because the book got popular because of her endorsement, but the fact that the book is based on lies is James Frey's fault and his alone.

I bought "A Million Little Pieces" as an impulse purchase. I was at the bookstore, looking for new and interesting things to read, and came across a pile by the check out of this book. I saw that it had Oprah's 'seal of approval' on it (I've read and enjoyed many books that Oprah has recommended), read the back and decided to buy the book. I read the book and thought it was very well written, and was shocked that it was a true story. Now, I doubted small portions of the book while I was reading, but had no reason to think that it was a lie.

Now on to the specifics. If you haven' t read the book and plan to, you should probably stop reading this post right now. You've been warned...

First, not too far into the book, just after James has arrived at the treatment center, he is taken to the dentist to have his front four teeth repaired. The dentist caps the two to the sides of the front ones, but has to do a root canal on the front two teeth, but says he can't use novocain. James writes for several pages the pain and agony of having these two root canals. After he makes it through the root canals as a reader you think, wow, this man has just had two root canals with no novocain, he can do anything! It sets the stage for cheering him on through his small victories throughout the book. Well here's the truth: James now doubts that he had the root canals without novocain. In his interview with Oprah, when asked whether he had novocain or not at the dentist he replies, "I honestly have no idea."

So, as if the dentist lie wasn't bad enough, here's the real kicker. Throughout the book James makes a friendship with a girl named Lily. She is also in treatment, and the two of them help each other through their recovery, and plan to continue to see each other after they are released from the center. After leaving the treatment center, James writes that he must spend three months in jail, then after his jail term, James promises to go find Lily, who plans a stay at a halfway house in Chicago after her release from the center. James finishes the memoir telling us these plans, then includes a page at the back of the book giving us a glimpse of the future. He lists each of the people/friends/enemies he encountered at the treatment center, and what happened to them after being released. Many of them fell back into their old habits of addiction and alcoholism. Some ended up being killed, some died, and just a few actually recovered and are living productive lives. Then there's Lily. James tells us that Lily hung herself just hours before he was released from jail and before he could get to her.

The truth? Not really. James was only in jail for a few hours, not three months (just a minor detail there, huh?) and while Lily still committed suicide, she cut her wrists, and did not hang herself. The tragedy is still there, Lily died, but why change that detail of how she died? What's the big deal James? And, if James was only in jail for a few hours, what was he doing in the time between being released from jail and going to meet Lily? Here's his answer to that, "I went through Ohio. I was there briefly, [then] I went down to North Carolina where I was living at the time. And I was closing up my life there." What the hell does that mean?!

I have just a few final comments. First, when going to publishers, James first tried to get the book published as a novel. No publisher would take the book. Then he tried the same manuscript as a memoir, and Doubleday & Anchor Books (a division of random house) agreed to publish the book. Second, throughout the interview James refers to the people in the book as "characters." To me, "characters" sounds like a made up person.

James, I think you are a dishonest and deceitful person. I think there is a lot of good in this book, it's an encouraging story of going thru hell and coming out of it a better person. But, I don't know if James is a better person now. Maybe a richer person, but not a better person.

For a full transcript of the Oprah interview with James Frey from Thursday, January 26, click here.

Dish Network vs. Lifetime

So Dish Network replaced Lifetime and the Lifetime Movie Network with other women's tv channels today. I guess this means the negotioations are at a standstill. All I have to say is that it doesn't matter who is wrong, just get my freaking Lifetime back on tv!

In honor of the new year...

We get a lot of forwarded email from friends throughout the year, and sometimes they just need to be passed on. In honor of the new year, read the below and think about it.

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Acheivements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

Happy New Year (Resolutions)!

Happy New Year! I can't believe that it is already 2006! The past year went by so fast!

First, a recap of 2005 (in no particular order):

• Graudated from UMSL with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
• Traveled 4,000 miles from St. Louis to San Diego and Back (the most awesome trip ever!)
• Got ENGAGED on said trip
• Got an awesome job at infuz

I think it'll be hard to top 2005 but here are my resolutions to start 2006 off right.

• Work out and eat healthy (so that the wedding dress still fits when I wear it on June 3, 2006 - just 6 and 2 days away!) I plan to work out at least once a week after work - hopfully with JBear a lot cause it's much more fun with a friend. Of course there's other ways to workout besides just the gym once it gets warm - biking and walking around the neighborhood in the evenings.
  
• Finish work on the house (at least finish both bathrooms, and the three bedrooms - including new paint, flooring and baseboard/crown molding) and some work on the basement to create a workout room for Gimlet.
• Get the yard looking nice. Right now there's lots of patches with no grass, so in the spring I'm going to do some seeding in those areas. The backyard also needs some work. We might plant a garden in that space that has been mostly full of weeds the past 2 years, and also clean out some of that back area that just collects water.
• Spend more time with Tom doing fun stuff together as opposed to sitting in the bedroom watching chinchillas destroy our belongings...
• And probably more things...I'll add them as I think of them!
  

Fancy Parking

Do you fancy park? Do you know what fancy parking is? I've just been enlightened by this website: fancyparking.com. Aparently fancy parking is when you park in a parking spot with the front of your car facing out instead of the back. Basically backing into a spot or doing a pull-thru (my personal favorite way to park). The website also shows you other ways to achieve a fancy parking job. Check it out - it'll at least give you a laugh!

Christmas

Christmas was quite enjoyable this year. But to understand you have to know that every year my entire life my family would travel to Chicago and Peoria to see my grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins for Christmas. This normally meant driving 8 hours from Columbia, MO to Chicago, in the cold December weather, while squished into the back seat of a small compact car and 2 other siblings. Only once in my life did I not travel for Christmas - when I was 7, my little brother was born 9 days before Christmas so we did not travel.

Anyway, this year Tom and I opted for a relaxing Christmas. We had dinner and opened presents with Tom's parents and grandma on Christmas Eve (and opened lots of cool presents including warm, fuzzy pajamas, vertical horizon cd, gift certificate for target, and a new alarm clock (the lovely chinchillas chewed up the cord of my old one). The chinchillas got some chew treats/toys. After a quiet and relaxing evening Tom and I attended midnight mass at St. Joeseph in Manchester church, and then decided to go ahead and open our presents to each other at 1:30 am on Christmas morning when we got home. From Tom and the chinchillas I got the Rob Thomas cd, 101.1 the river cd, and the Trans-siberian Orchestra cd, Mario Party 7 for gamecube, the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, the Simpsons season 6, and an adopted polar bear from the St. Louis Zoo (well the Polar Bear has to stay at the zoo...but I'm his adopted mother).

And there's still more to come...this weekend we are visiting my family in Columbia to exchange gifts with them!

What's in YOUR stocking?

What's in YOUR stocking?

Dusty Fipsy

Dusty Fipsy!

snow snow snow

Well we got thru the first snow of the year. Snow used to be fun when we got out of school for it, and could just go outside and build a snowman and go sledding. We didn't have to worry about driving 45 minutes to work in the snow, dodging bad drivers, or shoveling the driveway. Basically I hate winter, snow, ice, cold....

On another note, Gimlet and I decorated our house for Christmas yesterday. :)

Life Teen apparently founded to "get teens"

Myself like many of my friends participated in Life Teen at the Catholic church when we were in high school. Life Teen was founded by Monsignor Dale Fushek in Arizona. The Mission of Life Teen reads: "LIFE TEEN is an international Catholic ministry that serves the Church and leads all teens closer to Christ by providing resources and training that encourage vibrant Eucharistic celebrations and opportunities for teens to grow in their faith." (from lifeteen.org)

However it has recently hit the new media that the founder of Life Teen, Fr. Fushek who is credited with numerous good things for the church - bringing America's young Catholics back to the church, and basically running the pope's youth rally visits to Tempe in 1987 and to St. Louis in 1999, also molested and abused boys who attended Life Teen at his church.

With all the boys who have come forward, there is reported to be a "pattern of recruitment and seduction of teenage boys spanning at least a decade." (from phoenixnewtimes.com)

This is shocking seeing as Life Teen has become such a national program. How many other teenagers have been abused at other parishes relating to Life Teen? I know there are many good priests out there who run parishes, but it is just shocking to realize how many "bad" priests were hidden and moved around the country. Sad too.

Here is the article about the abuse allegations on the founder of Life Teen: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1334726

It's not Christmas Yet Folks!

It's not Christmas yet. It's not even the Christmas season yet. Advent doesn't start until next Sunday. Thanksgiving isn't for 3 more days, and yet, as we drove thru our subdivision this evening there were several houses with Christmas lights up already. One business north of hwy 40 between 270 and Woods Mill had lights up reading "Christ the Savior is Born". Excuse me, but I believe that Christ wasn't born until the 25 of December, and it's not even the 25 of November yet.

The Christmas season is a special time of year, but part of what makes it special is that it only happens for a short while each year. If we had Christmas lights up all year long we wouldn't notice them, they wouldn't mean anything to us.

(As a side note, I don't have any problem with people putting up their outdoor lights when it's a nice weekend, just don't turn them on until at least Thanksgiving!)

PETSMART logo

Petsmart changed their logo recently. (The new logo is on the top, the old logo is on the bottom) I just noticed the new logo last night when I got their latest ad out of the mailbox. I don't like the new logo. I think the old logo was neat because the ball was bouncing on the "s" and it makes it seem like it says "Pets Mart" or "Pet Smart". The new logo still does that but the ball isn't interacting with the words as much as it used to. It seems to be acting as an ' now. They changed the shape of the letter forms as well and also changed the colors obviously and even changed the shape of the little white highlight on the ball.

So what do you non-designers (and designers too) think of this new logo. I'm giving it a thumbs down!

Purina Treats

Check out the Purina Treats website! There's a website for each of the Purina Treats brands - Whisker Lickins', Aquari-yums, Beggin', T-Bonz, Busy Bone, Chew-rific, Chew-eez and Appawtizers - and each website has info about that particular brand (obviously) and then it also has horoscopes for cats and dogs, and screensavers and computer desktop wallpapers that you can download (I made those so make sure to check them out!)

Birds & the Bees at the ZOO

What a weekend!

The family (minus Cassy) came in on Saturday afternoon for the Greater St. Louis Band Festival and watched Hickman take fourth place in the silver division (congrats to the HHS band!).

Then on Sunday we went to church at St. Ann's, lunch at IHOP and then drove by the ol' Manhassett Village to see the building torn down. After that we went to the zoo. It is so funny how all animals act similar. We saw the sea lions with the same look as Fipsy waiting for their treats, a chimp sitting at the very highest spot he possibly could (just like the Fipster who has been trying to climb from the castle in the bedroom onto the windowsill because he likes to sit up high. He runs around the room looking up to try to figure out how he can get to the high as he can.)

And last but not least, the black bear was making sure all systems were working, just like Fipsy does on a regular basis. Yes the bear in the picture is doing what you think he's doing!

Six Flags

So I went to Six Flags with Angie yesterday. We spent 10 hours there (minus an hour for dinner) and got on 9 rides: Scrambler, Scooby Doo Ride, Mr. Freeze, The Boss, The Ninga, The Boss (again), Highland Fling, Batman, and the Mine Train.

The place was really crowded, we waited an hour and 25 minutes to get on Batman. Then we waited 45 minutes for the Screaming Eagle, and we were the next in line to get on when they had to close the ride because of a "malfunction".

My two favorite rides at Six Flags St. Louis are Batman and The Boss, so I'm glad that we got to go on both of those. Our Six Flags is such an old park, I wish they'd have fixed up the amusement park part instead of building the waterpark. Or done like Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun and had a separate admission price for each and a discounted price if you bought a ticket for both. That was you're not spending $41+ to get in during the summer and only doing half the park.

Watch Star Purrsonalities in L.A.

The last stop on the Tidy Cat adventure is now posted! Check out Star Purrsonalities in LA! I'm telling you...you don't want to miss this one! Roscoe entertains everyone during rush hour (which is every hour in LA!) and Zinger gets silly!

I love Fipsy!

Fipsy loves his castle!

Gift Registry

Tom and I picked out our china for our wedding gift registry yesterday. We chose the "Aegean Mist" set (see picture). It is so cool, I never thought much about china before but now I really hope that we get it!

Stop Eminent Domain Abuse in Manchester!

If you know anything about Manchester road you know that it is packed with cars, lined with shops and a pain in the butt when you're in a hurry. It has nearly every established chain discount store there is - wal-mart, home depot, sams, lowes, target - as well as many small private individually owned businesses.

One particular corner, Manchester Rd. and hwy 141, is home to a Saturn car dealer, printing company and photographer. The city of manchester has decided that this isn't a good enough use of the property and want to use eminent domain to force these business owners out in order to give the land to another business owner. How does that make sense? Why is the other business better than the ones that are already established? And why does Manchester Rd. need another big box discount chain?

What can you do? Well for starters you can visit http://www.savemanchester.com/ to find out more about the issue, sign a petition and email the aldermen for the area.

Viva Las Spaces!

You have to sing the subject line when you see it - LOL.

The latest edition of the Tidy Cats adventure is available for your viewing pleasure. This time they've stopped in Las Vegas! Check it Out!

SBC

I received this letter in the mail today from SBC:

"We would like to talk to you about the outstanding balance on your former telephone account. We would also like to offer you the opportunity to regain sBC services after you have paid the outstanding amounts.

We have not received payment in the amount of $81.19. If you have not made your payment, please do so immediately or call us to make satisfactory payment arrangements."

The interesting thing is, I've called and discussed this matter with SBC no less than three (3) times. I moved out of my apartment at the end of July, canceled my SBC telephone line and DSL at that time. I called at the beginning of July, and asked whether I should pay my last bill, and they said no. Then I called at the end of July to cancel my service and the operator said I should get a refund. I looked over the bill and it looked like I should have paid the last one they had sent at the beginning of July, but the woman at SBC told me not to, so I didn't. It was in the amount of $46.

Then I get a bill in the mail for $81.19. I called up SBC and explained that I probably did owe $46 but definately did not owe $81.19. The woman agreed with me after looking over the account and told me to disregard the bill and they would send me a revised one. I forgot about SBC until today when I got this letter. Come on folks, how hard is it!

Now Showing: Gateway to the Best

Check it out, Phoebe, Roscoe and Zinger have made it to St. Louis! Watch their silly adventures on the Tidy Cat® website!

My wedding dress!

I ordered my wedding dress last night from Bridal Connections in Florissant! How crazy is that! Click here if you want to see a picture (Gimlet...don't click the link!) I tried on 42 dresses and this happened to be the second one and it's the one that I went back to and ordered!

Crappy Websites

So in the midst of planning a wedding I have been awakened to the large number of crappy websites out there. Ok, so I already knew there were a lot of crappy websites, but you'd think that in the wedding business, with how competitive it is, and how much people use the web for research etc. regarding their wedding, that businesses would want to stand out in the crowd. But aparently not. Either that or they are in need of a good web designer (and/or QA department!) Here are just a few examples of wedding website problems

• Bridal Shops that hand out fliers at bridal shows that have their website address on them. When you go to that address it says "this domain has expired" or "site coming soon" or my favorite "site no longer exists". Hello! I am going to your website to see what you've got, to see if it's worth my time to visit your store!
• Yesterday I was researching DJs and came across one in town who had their website address on their flier. I went to the website and it hadn't been updated for nearly two years. I went to the "date checker" to see if our date is available and the drop down for year had "2003, 2004, 2005". Maybe you should update your site if you want business!
• Dress designers sites that are so hard to navigate you don't know where to find the dress you're looking for.
• Websites where you fill out a form for more info, click the submit button and it come up with a page that says "sorry your form could not be submitted." Thanks for telling me now after I've spent the time to fill in all the fields! (another DJ's website had this problem. Needless to say, I crossed them off my list!)
  

"This is where we used to live"

I thought of that song by the Barenaked Ladies today called, "The Old Apartment" that goes, "Broke into the old apartment...This is where we used to live..." I drove by the apartments that I used to live in, and by the picture you can see what has happened to it! (by the way, that isn't the exact building that I lived in, mine is still standing across the street, waiting for it's turn to be knocked down, and if the door hadn't been bolted closed I probably would have gone up into my old apartment...)

As I was driving home today, I took hwy 170 to hwy 40 and glanced over from the highway to the apartments I used to live in. I usually look at them when I drive by, because I heard that they were going to tear them down. Well today when I looked I didn't see the corner building. I made a bee-line for the next exit and doubled back to check it out. Wow. It's kinda weird to see a building you used to live in being torn down and destroyed.

Manhassett Village. I lived there for just one year. I didn't even really like living there! The office staff were terrible, it took forever to get maintenance - when they actually took care of it! My ceiling/window leaked and all they offered was to paint over the wall stains, not fix the problem outside. The grounds are not kept up or cleaned, the parking lots are not lit well enough, there was a criminal incident in one of the back parking lots. Yeah, needless to say, I couldn't wait to move.

The thing is that those apartments were the only ones in the area that are affordable to people/students who don't have a ton of money. They are replacing them with 500 condominium units ranging from 2-story town homes, mid-rise buildings and a 15-story high-rise building. I'll bet that these new units aren't going to be affordable!

Time to say good bye to a crap hole of Manhassett Village.

Gas Prices

Gas went up SIXTY (60) cents in one day yesterday. I went to bed Tuesday night with gas at $2.42, the lowest that it had been for awhile. I still had a half a tank so I didn't even think about it. Next morning gas was $2.69. Well, I figured it couldn't go any higher, it already increased thirty cents since the night before so I decided to just get gas on my way home. On my way home gas was $2.99. SHIT thirty more cents in the same day?! I called Gimlet and told him. He was just as shocked as me.

What is in store for the next few days? Gas reaching $4 and $5? According to St. Louis Gas Prices.com, the most expensive gas in the area is $3.39 in Madison, IL. The cheapest, is $2.69 on broadway downtown. And to think, when I got my car three and a half years ago we had some of the lowest gas in recent history. I think there might have been a couple times that I got gas for UNDER $1!*sigh*

Tidy Cats Scoop® Small Spaces™

Check it out, Tidy Cats' latest marketing piece is live! It's a very silly piece about three fictional cats, Rosco, Phoebe and Zinger. They are making a trek across the United States from NY City to Los Angeles. They are traveling in a Mini Cooper which is tiny and promoting the new Tidy Cats Scoop® Small Spaces™ that is designed to neutralize odors in tight places. Check it out now!

So why am I telling you this, as I don't have a cat, and I'm allergic to cats?? Because we at Infuz made the website! I personally didn't do much...most of it was done before I started working there. But I did the beginning and ending slides on the slide show...and the TCSS product page (which isn't live yet but will be soon).

I hate stupid people

I hate stupid people. Why are people stupid? Are they born stupid? Is it genetic? Do their parents instill the value of stupidness in them as a child? For some reason the stupid people seem to be out in full force in the mornings when I'm driving to work.

1) Last week I'm driving up hwy 44 in the morning on my way downtown for work and traffic is moving extremely slow. We pass 270 and finally people start to pick up speed. I'm in the left lane, trying to avoid all the freaks getting onto 270, but the guy behind me decides I'm not going fast enough. Mind you we are on a hill and I'm trying to get my little car up to speed. He lays on his horn, then swerves onto the shoulder to pass me. I look up and he's almost out of sight already. Must have really wanted to get to work huh. Maybe they were going to fire him if he came to work late one more time. Probably deserves it if that was the case.

2) After a few days taking hwy 44 and dealing with the traffic jams at 270 I started taking Big Bend from the house to 44 to avoid that area. So I'm traveling down Big Bend and I'm at a stoplight. I hear a siren and then see an ambulance coming from the other direction on Big Bend. I have a red light and I'm out of the way, but these freaks decide to just try and make a left turn while the ambulance is coming thru the intersection. Come on people! Stop and pull over for an emergency vehicle, even if you have a green light! Someday it could be you in that ambulance and I bet you'd want people to stop for you! It's just common courtesy.

3) Today I was almost downtown with no incident. Then, as I'm passing the left exit for Lafayette Ave. from 44 (right before 44 hits hwy 55) this guy swerves over in front of me from the lane that is exiting. Meanwhile traffic has slowed in front of me so he slams on his brakes, slides a couple feet in the lane and there's white smoke all around him. So I have to slam on the brakes to avoid running into the stupid guy in front of me. He just acts like nothing happened and continues on his way down to Washington Ave. To think...he works on the same street as me...and he got to work 0.3 seconds faster than I did but could have caused a serious accident.

Sorry for the rant, but please don't be stupid on the road. It's not worth it!

Stupid School

Ah yes, my alma mater; they is really good at grammar! Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the statement on the above is not correct grammar. Shouldn't it be "The faculty are really good; they care about you."? The above image is from the homepage of none other than the University of Missouri-St. Louis. They are working hard to improve student recruitment and retention, and apparently they're appealing to those students who ain't got no grammar skills!

LOOK! No Braces!

I got my braces off yesterday! The first picture is the before and the second is the after (obviously). The first picture is so much clearer cause they took that one at the orthodonist office and I took the second one myself.