Category: Amuse Me

Last week, I had my annual “chick check” appointment. I would like to remind everyone that annual exams are very, very important. However, that’s not the point of this post.

After my exam, I needed to go to the lab to have some bloodwork drawn. It was lunchtime though, and I knew that the line at the lab would be long – so I decided to grab a bite at Pappa’s BBQ first. While there, I finally started to read “Why Girls are Weird” by Pamela Ribon, aka Pamie. Kathy had picked up a copy for me in July when Pamela was in town for a book signing. Having a signed book that says “Hey Christine – you’re hot! Call me!” makes me happy. Very happy, in a good giggly way. (I missed the book signing because I was at a baseball game with my family – Walgreen’s had a night out at the ballpark, and I couldn’t miss it.)

So, I start reading the book. The title and cover alone are amusing, but the real charm of this book for me is that it is written as if it was a journal or a blog. (A blournal? No, that’s just wrong.) Instead of chapters, it is divided in to sections with numbers – 000001, etc. It’s great. Absolutely wonderful to anyone who has blogged.

I was anxious to dig in, and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The very first “entry” was about Anna K., the book’s main character, and her perverted Barbie clan. I laughed so hard I had to put the book down so that I could breath again. Seriously. I could relate to every word.

I used to have a Malibu Barbie – she had a tan body with painted on tan lines where her swimsuit was. I got creative and scratched off the paint where she should have had nipples and pubic hair. (Granted, Barbie may may go for the Brazilian Wax these days, but back then – she had pubic hair.) I though it was ridiculous that Barbie didn’t have nipples and pubic hair. Come on, if we’re going to be realistic and give her tan lines, let’s give her the rest of the package too.

I also had the Donny Osmond Barbie, just like Anna K. I preferred men with dark hair, and Ken was just a bit too blond for my taste. I traded with a friend of mine – she liked Ken, so I got her Donny. He has a hole in his hand for the microphone, which is a bit odd – but I dealt with it. Donny liked to get it on with the hot Malibu Barbie chick. Oh yeah…

Once I regained my composure and stopped reminiscing about my perverted Barbies (including puberty Skipper that grew boobs if you twisted her arm), I read some more and finished my lunch – without choking, which was quite a feat from all the laughter. As I stood up to leave, the women at the table across from me stopped me to ask what book I was reading. They said that they could tell I was really enjoying it a lot, and they wanted to get it too.

So that’s my trick for Pamela to sell more books. Just plant people around the country and have them read the book in public places, and their roar of laughter will get others to ask about it. Meanwhile, if you have blogged for any amount of time at all, I highly recommend you get this book. If you have blogged for a long time, you’ve gone through the different stages of blogging just like Anna K. – and you will appreciate it even more.

It left me thinking a lot about my site, the blogging world, the drama, the laughter, the tears. There are many good things about having a public site – and at times, there are bad. In the end, we grow, we change, and hopefully we become better because of it all.

Now, go get a copy of “Why Girls are Weird” and laugh yourself silly, just like I did. I love a good book – and this is one of them. I didn’t want to put it down, I dreaded it when I reached the end. Fortunately, I can still get a taste of Pamela’s writing by reading her journal and her blog. I just hope that a sequel comes out to the book – I just have to know what happens to Anna K!

And really, it’s ok to admit it – you know you did perverted stuff with your Barbie’s too. Come on, there is no reason to be ashamed…

This Craigslist post made me smile in a sad melancholy way: Take a step that is new… room for rent. [via Leonard]

Acocdrnig to an elgnsih unviesitry sutdy the oredr of letetrs in a wrod dosen’t mttaer, the olny thnig thta’s iopmrantt is that the frsit and lsat ltteer of eevry wrod is in the corerct ptoision. The rset can be jmbueld and one is stlil able to raed the txet wiohtut dclftfuiiy.

Did it wrok for you?

[via, or rather lifted from, BlogDaddy]

I have to lend a hand when a friend resorts to shameless begging. Zuly pointed to a little poll over at Tracy’s site that she is determined to win. Go and vote for Zuly right now. Put a little check in that “Other” box, and type in Zuly. Please? You may be tempted to vote for someone else for the “2003 Drama Queen of the Blogosphere,” but I promise you – you should vote for Zuly. Why? Because Zuly knows drama. Well, that and because she is donating the prize to a good cause. Plus she starts her new job tomorrow, and winning this would just be icing on the cake for her. Seriously. Come on, give it up for Zuly! Please pass the link loving on!

Note: This blog is still a drama free zone. I would not have posted about this if I was not asked. But why are you reading this small text? Go vote for Zuly!

As I passed a U-Haul truck on the highway, I noticed something odd. On the side of the U-Haul trucks are pictures for the “Venture Across America” campaign, with pictures for the different states. Sometimes they are kitschy, like an old postcard. This one was just strange. It was a Doppler radar map, with a huge storm, lots of red and orange, along with a large green wireframe drawing of a tornado. It said “Oklahoma” in large letters across the top.

What? Go to Oklahoma, where you can experience really bad storms and lots of tornados? What were they thinking? That does not make me want to visit Oklahoma. In fact, it makes me want to avoid Oklahoma at all costs. I had to deal with a storm that was yellow, orange and red on the Doppler radar last week, and that was not fun. There is no way I would intentionally seek that out.

As I passed the truck, I noticed that in smaller letters it said, “Center for Weather Research, Forecasting and Education”. I don’t think that really softened the blow. It was as if they said that the weather there is so bad, they have a lot of opportunities to research it. Again, not something that makes me want to rent a U-Haul and head to Oklahoma any time soon.

I think someone in marketing needs to rethink Oklahoma’s representation in this campaign. Or maybe Oklahoma needs to send an ambassador to U-Haul and set them straight. I wonder if Promo’s up for the task?

I think I saw an “advertisement” once for Hawaii too. Odd, I don’t think you can drive a U-Haul to Hawaii, can you? Nice that they were represented, but it still seems strange.

Update: Maybe U-Haul has revamped all of the images, going for the freaky instead of kitschy? Because look at the one for Texas – what are those green blobs? How about Hawaii? That spider thing with the screaming smiley alien face is just scary. And it says “Alien Battlefield at Hawaii Volcanos Nat’l Park”. Uhm, ok. I think they need to drop the “Modern Graphics” campaign and switch back to the “Classic Graphics“. Fast. The classic Oklahoma graphic will get me there a lot faster then that freaky giant tornado!