It’s Monday, so time to start the week out right with Jess’s Participation Positives!

• I ordered the greatest jewelry from Tango Moon and Dragonfly Lane and am having so much fun wearing it
• I got the greatest robe at Victoria's Secret on sale
• Dell finally agreed to send a technician out so my CD-RW will be fixed
• I'm having fun watching my stock
• I'm doing better with my money this month than I thought I was
• I drank all my water today (Go, me!)
• I'm happy that I put more tunes up for download (look in the Music Selections section of the sidebar for them)
• I leveled up Ibocea, my EverQuest character another level and got to play with a friend's nephew which was fun
• I've had pretty easy days at work lately
• It's about time to make our Vegas plans for this year
• I love and am loved

.: 150 words at 10:15 PM in Participation Positives, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

Thanks to NewzCrawler I just caught up on about eighty blogs that I hadn't read this week. Man, I love RSS!

.: 21 words at 01:37 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I finally got around to buying all my stocks this weekend over at BlogShares, and now I'm number 29 on the top 100 list. I'm sure it will change, but go buy some Neurotic Fishbowl stock and make me richer.

.: 42 words at 01:09 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

Dear Dell Tech Support,

The reason I bought an extended warranty on my computer is because I don't want to have to open it up and fuck around with things inside. I was more than patient trying cable connections a few times, but after a while, it's ridiculous.

The CD-RW does not even have a light coming on. The drive is obviously bad as we determined when you had me move the power supply and ribbon cables about five times. When you start wanting me to move pins around (whatever the hell those are), that's when I draw the line. Send somebody the fuck out here to fix my computer. I hate mucking around in the box and please explain to me why it's a good idea to have customers fucking around in there anyway.

I have a pretty good idea what I'm doing, but I would assume that most people would be uncomfortable with messing around in there; I know I am. Having me unplug and plug things in four or five times is obviously not going to fix something. If I had wanted to be a technician, I would have choosen that field. Instead I want you to come fix it for me. Thanks for finally understanding that an hour into our experience together.

I do think I will be sending a nasty letter to you, especially since the guy who I spent the most time with on the phone thought I was talking about an added DVD drive, though I must have said a million times that these drives came with it when I bought it.

To sum up, I don't mind doing troubleshooting with you, but when it comes to a hardware problem that can't be fixed without opening the box, that means send out a technican.

Sincerely,

Kymberlie the girl with the headache after fucking around with you all afternoon

.: 315 words at 09:07 PM in Rants, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

Today is the birthday of that wonderful and talented guy, PromoGuy. Promo is a sweetie, so go give him so birthday lovin'! *smooch*

.: 24 words at 03:52 PM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

I just got some spam offering to help me "Earn full time imcome while working part time." You know, nothing says "I'm incompetent!" like misspelling the most important word in your title!

.: 32 words at 03:13 AM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Inspired by the luscious and talented Joelle's ever-changing mp3 downloads, I decided to add more than just one download to the site. If you look down the sidebar to the Music Selections, you can see what's up for grabs right now. Yes, I know most of the music is probably considered really geeky, but I don't care so there.

Btw, the Calexico tune is highly recommended. It's great - very 70s action movie like. Excellent for a Friday afternoon.

.: 79 words at 11:58 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

Thanks to Christine, I found out today that you can buy Neurotic Fishbowl stock (well, buy it in a game; not for real). I haven't had a chance to mess around with the site yet, but I guess it works under the same principal of those celebrity stock markets, only with blogs.

Since the only time I bought stock ($100 worth of PSI), the company went out of business, this should be a lot more fun and a lot less strain on the wallet.

.: 85 words at 06:59 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (2) :: All the Voices Say... (6) :.

Show comments here »

I've been meaning to post about seeing Allegria with Jeanna last week, but I just haven't gotten around to it, so I'm going to do so now.

I left work a little early last Thursday and met Jeanna in Humble at the mall. We did a bit of shopping and then got in her cute little PT Cruiser. She gave me my birthday gifts - Pride and Prejudice on DVD and a book called How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!! (which I can always use) - and we were off.

We went to this great little Italian Restaurant, Mia Bella on Main Street. I ordered the margherita pizza which was quite yummy and a vodka tonic. Jeanna got the Gnocchi di Ricotta and had red wine. I wasn't as impressed with the food as Jeanna was, but I loved the atmosphere. We sat by the window and could watch people coming and going outside, which I love to do. The whole restaurant just had this cozy, romantic air about it.

After eating we headed off to the show, but didn't know how to get their from where we were. Luckily there was a cop outside who gave us directions ("Just head straight down until you run into the ballpark and turn right."). Unfortunately, when we got to the end of the street, it was one way - left. Jeanna and I had a good laugh about the cop misdirecting us and did some circling around until we finally found the place. We got there just as they were opening the doors, did some shopping, and went and sat down.

On a side note, we used the portapotties outside before going in and didn't notice until we came out that they were for guys only. Who's ever seen sex-segregated portapotties?

The show itself was great. We loved the aloof bird-girls that sat on the stage looking disdainful. I loved the tumbler part when part of the floor became trampolines a good deal. I also really enjoyed the girl with the ribbon and hula hoops. The clown that looked like Sting was incredible when he hung his coat up and pretended that it was a different person. It looked so real. My favorite part of the whole show, though, was the Russian bars.

Russian bars are these long bars that two people suspend on their shoulders. The bars are padded and bouncy, so a person in the middle can do acrobatic tricks like being flipped into the air and land on the bar again. It was almost scary watching them knowing that if the holders didn't move with them correctly, they could fall and really hurt themselves. One guy did a landing, but couldn't keep his balance, and fell off. Luckily he landed on his feet and wasn't hurt.

All in all, it was a great show, but I don't think it was near as good as "O" simply because the water and the stage add so much. I also felt that "O"'s music was better. If you ever go to Vegas, it is a must-see.

Seriously, though, if you are presented with the chance to see any Cirque de Soleil show, I highly suggest you go. These shows are pure magic.

.: 547 words at 06:11 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

Since popular opinion appears to support the return of "It's a Group Thing", I'll do a term today since I forgot yesterday. Look here next Wednesday for another term as well as Reasons For Love (I'd love it if you participated!).

It's starting to get warmer here in Texas (79 degrees according to WeatherBug), so today's "It's a Group Thing" term is:

A Peel of Sunbathers

.: 68 words at 04:33 PM in It's a Group Thing, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I haven't posted any new It's a Group Thing terms in the last couple of weeks. My question is - does anyone even miss them? Did anyone even read them? I'm just curious if I should still continue to post them or not.

.: 43 words at 10:24 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

Show comments here »

Every Wednesday those who are involved in a relationship with somebody share a few (simple but significant) reasons for their love. Please keep in mind that this does not have to be a romantic relationship. It can be about a parent, a sibling, a friend, a co-worker, your kid, your dog, whatever.

Stop in here to join the notify list, see who else has left their reasons, and to be added to the blogroll. Also, feel free to save the button below to your server and link it to http://www.neuroticfishbowl.com/reasons.html

I love Steven because...

• He gives me a hug whenever I want one
• He gave me the best gift ever - my spa day
• He's so cute when he practices his golf swing down by the garage
• He's good to snuggle with
• He always peels and cuts me apples and brings them to me

.: 218 words at 10:11 PM in Reasons For Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

Joelle's post reminded me that I haven't bitched on here about my new least favorite people on Earth - those idiots that have bought the monstrosity known as the Hummer 2.

I see these things all over the place and I can't figure out what the fuck you need one of these for in Houston. It's not like this is jungle terrain with huge mountains and treacherous hazards. Hummer 2s don't fit in a parking space and they barely fit in a normal lane on the road. I hate SUVs anyway, but the size of this excessive gas guzzler (gets a whooping 8 to 10 miles per gallon) drives me insane. I can't see around them, I can't park next to them, and people that drive them always tend to be assholes who think the rules don't apply to them.

I was heading towards The Galleria and was stopped in a long line of traffic to get onto the feeder which always happens around rush hour. This fucker in a Hummer decides that his time is too precious to wait, so he drives his car off the highway, over the little grassy hill, and on to the feeder bypassing like fifteen cars. What the fuck made you so special that you don't have to wait like everyone else?

It kills me how people buy these things and spout about how safe they are. Yes, safe for you, but you're going to kill anyone you hit, even in a relatively minor crash. Crashes between an SUV, particularly one of this size, become exponentially more dangerous for the other driver.

For the love of god, people, get rid of these over-priced, dangerous, ecological nightmares and drive a sensible car.

.: 288 words at 01:59 AM in Rants, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (12) :.

Show comments here »

I watched The Ring a few weeks ago and keep meaning to post my thoughts about it, but I never quite gotten around to it until now. I'll put everything in the "Read More" section so nothing gets ruined if you haven't seen the movie yet. For those who want my opinion withouth the spoilers - good movie, especially if you like the genre, but not as scary as it could have been.

.: 465 words at 06:52 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Kind of funny, but three of the items in my Amazon.com Gold Box Offers were wine-related. Shame I don't drink the stuff!

.: Calphalon Commercial Hard Anodized 3-1/2-Quart Windsor Saucepan with Lid: I'm pretty sure I've checked with Steven on saucepans before and he never expressed any interest in getting one. Good price, though.

.: 309 words at 06:09 PM in The Gold Box, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

I haven't been in a posting mood, though I have lots to say. I'll just start with a weekend update, though not a lot of exciting things were done.

Friday night, after my day spa day, we went to Hido for dinner. My brother and his girlfriend have never been to a hibachi girl, so I was excited to take them for their first time. They really enjoyed the whole spin-the-knives-in-the-air, catch-the-egg-on-the-spatula thing and Russell just devoured his food. I hope we can all go there again soon.

Saturday Steven got a wild hair and decided to cook a recipe out of a book I got him some time ago - The Naked Chef Takes Off by Jaime Oliver. He made pot stickers which are basically these little Asian dumplings. As often as we go to Hido and Chinese Cafe, I'm not really a big fan of Asian food - they just happen to have a few dishes that I really love. It was quite a surprise when I actually really liked them. When I told my mom about it today she said, "You really ate them? I am so surprised!" Maybe my palate is getting more sophisticated after all.

Sunday I sat on the couch all day and watched movies because I didn't feel like being online. I finally saw Glory (sad, but really good). I also watched HBO's Normal which was about a man, married to his wife for twenty-five years in a small mid-western town, who announces one day that he's a woman trapped in a man's body and wants a sex change operation. It was all about the relationships we're involved in and what needs to change and what can stay the same when something so fundamental in a relationship suddenly is different.

Today was back to work and exercising (though I StairMastered this weekend after being off so long while sick). I've still got a ton of stuff that I want to talk about, but it's late and I'm tired, so I am off to bed. Good night, all.

.: 346 words at 02:31 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

Since the Oscars were yesterday, I just had to share this piece of trivia that I came across today.

To prevent movie stars and their heirs from auctioning off their Oscars, in 1950 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created the rule that before selling their statuettes, winners have to first offer them to the academy for $1.

.: 60 words at 10:00 AM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Due to some weird DNS issues, I haven't been able to get to the Name That Blog site to view the new Best Known Blogs List until today.

Turns out that Neurotic Fishbowl (eleventh last time) has shot up the list and is now number four, behind only Scripty Goddess, Feeny's Funhouse, and Robyn. Not bad, not bad at all!

.: 63 words at 04:30 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Played around with the Recent Comments section and now each comment shows how many that person has made. I know it's geeky, but everytime I leave a comment at someone's site with a comment count, I wonder how many I've made. Now you can know.

.: 45 words at 07:47 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (8) :.

Show comments here »

Today was quite possibly the best day I have ever had. I got up at about 9:30, had some blueberry pop-tarts (yummy!), and went to the spa sans make-up and wearing glasses. It's kind of oddly liberating not to have to worry about any of that stuff - to just put on a t-shirt and some shorts and go.

I arrived at the spa, changed into my gown and robe, and was lead to my first treatment - an hour full-body massage. Let me tell you, if I ever become suddenly rich, I am going to start every day off with a massage. Needless to say, the massage was great.

After that, it was off for my facial. I'm not sure what was done exactly, but it involved a lot of nice rubbing on my face (though I found it had to breathe when she concentrated on the areas around my nose). After a little while the lady doing my facial said, "Kymberlie, you need to take a little nap now while the treatment sets in and then when you get up, your lunch will be ready." How I long to hear words like this every day! I must take a nap and my lunch will be ready for me. How great is that? She came back a little while later, finished doing whatever it was that she was doing, and then lead me to my lunch.

They had a menu to choose from when you first arrive with various things like quiche, sandwiches, and salads and while I could have choosen more, I opted for only a raspberry vinegrette grilled chicken salad that was beyond delicious.

After eating, it was off to my manicure and pedicure. I've gone so long between refills that I was a bit worried that the lady was going to hurt me removing the polish (when there's that much space between my cuticles and the fake nail, taking the polish off usually puts pressure on my nails and it can hurt), but I had the absolute best refill. The lady did a great job painting my nails and I now have Nicole's Virtuous Violet on my fingernails and toenails and I adore the color.

The pedicure involved this product I've never heard of before called Pedi Ice which is this gel that's made of menthol and eucalyptus. It feels cool, like how a peppermint does when you suck on it. Putting that on your feet and then putting them in the warm water felt so so good. I'm going to have to buy some of that stuff to use at home when my feet hurt.

After five hours at the spa, it was time to go next door to Victoria's Secret and get some new bras. I ended up loving the new Angels collection, so I got some of those bras and I couldn't resist the new cotton panties in the spring colors. They're gorgeous. They didn't have all of the colors in the bras that I wanted so I'm probably going to place an order online, even if shipping is $15.

So, that was my day. There's something so decadent about spending most of the day in a robe being pampered by total strangers. A girl could really get used to that. Many many thanks to my boy for getting me such a great gift for Valentine's Day!

.: 564 words at 11:18 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (7) :.

Show comments here »

Thanks to Kristine's simple instructions over at Scripty Goddess, I made a few queries in my PHPMyAdmin and combined e-mail address for a few people in my comments. This results in accurate data for the comment leader board in my sidebar. If you've changed your e-mail address from one you've commented with in the past, leave me the old one and the new one and I'll change them up.

.: 69 words at 05:47 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I'm off to the spa for my Get Away Day (five delicious hours of treatment). More when I get back, including how much fun Jeanna and I had last night at Allegria. Ciao!

.: 33 words at 09:50 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (7) :.

Show comments here »

I was exhausted yesterday (still fighting the strep off maybe?), so I came home and took a three hour nap after work and then woke up to war news, so I didn't really get a chance to thank everyone for all of the wonderful birthday wishes, comments, e-mails, cards, and even a book appropriately titled Fishbowl from a couple of wonderful people. This was truly one of the best birthdays that I've ever had and all of you had a lot to do with that. I can't remember the last time I felt so special and so loved. Thank you all so very, very much! You all rock!

.: 109 words at 11:02 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Thanks to Lisa posting her WAP template, you can now read all my blogs (except for Picture Fish) on your mobile device. Here's the links for Nuerotic Fishbowl, BiblioBlog, and Changes - Turning a New Leaf.

Once you create your own, you can go here and view it with an emulator. Pretty spiffy.

I added the link to the WAP version, the XML feed, and the RDF feed off to the side along with the ever-present PDA version. Feel free to take whatever flavor you fancy.

.: 91 words at 12:32 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

I don't really know how to say what I want about the war that we have just started. I don't think I agree with all the reasons that we have given, but I do think that we have to get Hussein out of power. I am the one that always signs petitions to save women who live in countries were they can be killed for giving birth outside of marriage. I am the one that wants equality for people everywhere. Saddam Hussein is a murdering dictator who cares not at all for his people. I pray that casualties are minimal for both us and for the innocent people under his reign. Please let this be swift and decisive and let us be able to make life better for those in Iraq.

.: 131 words at 11:00 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

I completely forgot, but today is Pariah's birthday as well. Go send him some lovin'! Happy birthday, Pariah! (And thanks to Ginadpooh for the reminder!)

.: 25 words at 12:42 PM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

At 11:00 Steven comes over to me and goes, "At midnight it's your birthday, so you could open your present if you wanted to." He was so cute, so I knew he must be really proud of what he got me. I was blogging along when he showed up behind me at 12:01 with a present behind his back and a card. He handed them to me, so I read the card, and then opened the box.

I could tell from the size that it was more than likely a bracelet and I was not disappointed when I opened the box because inside was a beautiful ruby bracelet with the coolest circle links and tiny diamonds. I was very happy and couldn't believe it when he pulled another box out from behind him. It looked like it would probably have earrings in it so I literally gasped when I opened the box and saw this ring (click for bigger size):

He really outdid himself this year and I still have dinner at The Old San Francisco Steakhouse with a girl on a swing and blocks of cheese to look forward to. Happy birthday to me!

.: 195 words at 12:52 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (12) :: All the Voices Say... (68) :.

Show comments here »

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day!

.: 11 words at 09:22 PM in Love Notes, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Today is Jana's birthday, another Pisces who got a ton of fish for her birthday! What more could a girl want? Happy birthday, Jana!

.: 25 words at 09:05 PM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

It’s Monday, so time to start the week out right with Jess’s Participation Positives!

• Tomorrow's my birthday!
• I got a lot of errands done today - returning make-up, getting gas and a car wash, and finally getting my phonebook transferred from my old cell to my new one
• Steven and I are having dinner with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend and Lupe Tortilla's in an hour
• Jeanna and I are going to Cirque du Soleil's Allegria on Thursday and we're going to get to have dinner before hand
• Friday's my Get Away Day at the day spa (and they let me get a refill on my nails instead of a manicure)
• The purse I got on eBay came in today and I am really happy with it (I had this bag before, but Coach quit making them)
• Steven and I should be planning our annual trip to Vegas pretty soon
• Jeff, one of the tech guys, is working on my TiVo for me, so hopefully it will be working perfectly again soon
• I got some great make-up on sale at Ulta today
• I'm going to go by some new bras after my day spa day at the Victoria's Secret right next door (their underwear always makes me happy)
• Did I mention my birthday is tomorrow?
• I love and am loved

.: 223 words at 06:05 PM in Participation Positives, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

I want a Cherry Coke. Anyone want to run one over? Please? (Also testing Jason's new Blogrolling pinger.)

.: 18 words at 11:36 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

I guess I've still got a little bit of strep going on because I've been exhausted again this weekend.

Last night at about 9:00 we were going to get ready to go get some Red Lobster. I told Steven I needed to sit for a minute and he graciously offered to go get pizza so I wouldn't have to get ready. Needless to say, I took him up on the offer.

I slept late again today (as I always do on the weekends) and after being up for just a few hours I had to go lay on the couch. I made it through one story in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection, but after that, I feel asleep.

I've been up for about an hour and a half and I am still tired. I was hoping to be better by my birthday, but it's not looking so good. I really hope I start feeling better soon!

.: 161 words at 07:57 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

At the urging of a couple people, I updated my index.xml page here, at Picture Fish, Changes - Turning a New Leaf, and BiblioBlog. You can do the same by going here and copying the template and replacing your old index.xml page. Leave me a note if you do so I can add you to my Newz Crawler!

.: 62 words at 01:00 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Today is Tasha's birthday, so head over there and give a fellow Pisces some lovin'! Happy birthday, girl!

.: 18 words at 04:10 PM in Love Notes, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

I've had a wonderful Friday so far. The day at work was rather stress-free and laid back (good, because after working from home for a few days, don't think I could have handled a hard one) and Mom met me for lunch and we went to Hido, a Japanese hibachi restaurant.

The food was great (Mmmmm - hibachi shrimp and friend rice!) and it was good to get to talk to Mom. She also gave me my birthday gift from her and my brother - cash. I can now go get the Radeon 9700 video card that I have been drooling over.

Also the bracelet that I ordered from Tango Moon (Autumn Braid) came in and I love it, love it, love it, so I had to order some more jewelry (Green Ju Jubes bracelet and Square Tears and Secret Passage necklaces).

I would love to be drinking a Pina Colada right now, but some how I don't think that would be a good idea since I'm still getting over the strep. Damn that illness!

Tonight's plans are still up in the air, but they might includeRomano's Pizza (the best pizza in Houston that we've found). Whatever they are, I'm just going to relax and wait for my birthday to get (only four more days!).

.: 215 words at 06:12 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

Today is Einstein's birthday (ever notice how Pisces are always cool?) and the logo at Google today is great. Go have a peek.

(Link courtesy of Susan)

.: 28 words at 10:04 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

Take one chopped beef barbeque sandwich add $100 in TiVo rebates and three workout mix CDs in the mailbox add Survivor on the TiVo and Brotherhood of the Wolf on DVD and finally, add antibiotics so you finally feel human and you have a recipe for happiness, ladies and gentlemen!

.: 50 words at 08:50 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (6) :.

Show comments here »

Every Wednesday those who are involved in a relationship with somebody share a few (simple but significant) reasons for their love. Please keep in mind that this does not have to be a romantic relationship. It can be about a parent, a sibling, a friend, a co-worker, your kid, your dog, whatever.

Stop in here to join the notify list, see who else has left their reasons, and to be added to the blogroll. Also, feel free to save the button below to your server and link it to http://www.neuroticfishbowl.com/reasons.html

I love Steven because...

• He brought the kitty upstairs with him last night so she could sleep with her sick mommy
• When we were getting ready to go to bed last night he got silly and giggly and called me a hedgehog
• He's been really nice to me and concerned while I've been sick
• He bought me Dryer's Fruit Bars because he thought I would like the flavors
• When I got first place in a tournament earlier this week, he was watching and was really excited for me when I made good hands

.: 257 words at 08:28 PM in Reasons For Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (4) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

I can't believe it, but they found Elizabeth Smart alive today after missing for nine months. I had given her up for dead long ago. I guess miracles really do happen.

(Link courtesy of Nancy

.: 36 words at 06:22 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Last week I cleaned up my sidebars a little bit and put the latest comments and pings in a collapse/hide script to save a little real estate. I also added the MTCommentLeaders Plugin so now you can see who comments the most around here.

Christine is currently taking up two spaces since she changed e-mail addresses last year. It also amuses me that Mikey's last comment was on my post titled It's a Giant Beaver!" Ironic, no?

.: 77 words at 04:22 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I forgot to mention today what kind of antibiotics I got and how pleased I was to get them.

The doctor handed me my perscription and it was for Keflex. I love getting a perscription for Keflex because it's what Eddie used to help Roland get better after the lobsterites bite off a few of his fingers in The Drawing of the Three.

I always figure anything that was good enough to bring Roland back from the brink of death ought to be good enough for me!

.: 88 words at 03:03 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

I'm finally back from the doctor's office and his official diagnosis was strep throat. No freaking wonder I've been feeling crappy. I got some antibotics and a note stating that I'm not to go to work until Friday since I'm still highly contagious, so looks like it's back to working from home for a few days. At least this stuff should be cleared up in time for my birthday!

.: 69 words at 01:15 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

Show comments here »

I'd been looking for some kind of feed reader to stay on top of my blog reading when Dave happened to mention one in Robyn's comments called FeedReader.

While the name may not be that original, the program seems like a pretty good one, especially considering it's free. Almost everyone on my Blogroll had an XML feed, so I was able to get most of my reads added pretty quick.

If you're looking for a reader, this one seems like a good one. Anyone happen to know if there's a way to make it autoupdate, though?

.: 98 words at 09:05 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

I've been sitting here with an order ready to be placed at P22 Type Foundry for quite some time now.

As you may remember I joined their Font Club in January which gives me at least twelve of their fonts a year and 20% off of anything I buy from them.

I just got third place in another poker tournament, bringing my account up to slightly over $200. I said I was going to cash out $100 of it when that happened (leaving me enough to keep playing), but I feel kind of silly spending it on fonts.

Here's what I want to buy:

• Artist Signature Font Pack
• Dearest Set
• Victorian Font
• Prehistoric Pals

So, silly or not so silly? It's gambling money anyway and I have drooled over these fonts for quite some time. They'd make lovely early birthday gifts, no?

Update: I couldn't resist and purchased the whole lot of them. Now I am very happy indeed!

.: 160 words at 08:34 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

Show comments here »

I broke down and made an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow morning. Of course now I'm feeling a bit better, so he'll probably be able to find nothing wrong with me and I will waste hours and hours and $20. Ah, such is life!

.: 45 words at 07:29 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

It’s Monday, so time to start the week out right with Jess’s Participation Positives!

• I loved my much-needed nap with Bella after work today
• I changed Picture Fish over to Amy's template, and while it's got one small issue with the right side bar, I really like how it looks
• I played in a poker tournament tonight and got first place with an awesome queens full of sevens boat
• My buttercream candle smells yummy
• Next week is my birthday!
• Next week I get to see Cirque du Soleil's Allegria and I have a day at the day spa!
• I've also got plans next Monday to have dinner with my family to celebrate my birthday
• I mailed off my CDs today for Alison's First Ever Supa-Cool Fitness/Diet Blogger Workout CD Swap and I can't wait to get everyone else's CDs to listen to
• I'm really happy with the newest skin I made based on one of the CSS templates from the CSS Coloring Book
• I had a great time talking to Steven when he came home from work this evening
• I love and am loved

.: 186 words at 11:32 PM in Participation Positives, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I went to work today despite still feeling bad and it wiped me out again. I came home and immediately went to bed and slept for a couple of hours.

I just feel exhausted all the time. When we went to Kaveh Kane's Saturday to watch my brother's band, it took all my energy to go upstairs, shower, go to the garage, and come back up. I literally had to sit down. Also the constant coughing is driving me up the wall. I'm starting to get stopped up sinuses as well.

If it doesn't get better by the end of the week, I'm going to have to go to the doctor. Just in time for my birthday too!

.: 118 words at 10:58 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I just finished addressing the envelopes that my CDs for Alison's First Ever Supa-Cool Fitness/Diet Blogger Workout CD Swap are getting mailed in. On the first pass through all my music, I chose five hours of tunes, so getting everything down to one CD was virtually impossible. Everyone in the two groups I'm in lucked out because I decided to make two CDs instead of just one. The first CD is more upbeat and techno, but I think both of them ought to be good to work out to. If you're curious about what songs I chose, just keep reading.

.: 436 words at 04:55 PM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

The winners have been announced for The Bloggies.

I'd like to congratulate Ernie, Rannie, Mikey, The Scripty Goddesses, Cis, and M on winning their categories. Way to go!

.: 41 words at 04:05 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

I'm downtown at Kaveh Kane's listening to my brother's band and when I saw they had Internet access I couldn't resist coming over here and making a blog entry. The band is really good, so if you're downtown you ought to come on by!

.: 44 words at 09:33 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

I just spent the last two hours laughing my ass off at Eddie Izzard's Dress To Kill. He is just so damn funny. The whole bit about the monster on the moon and "Cake or death?" just make me cry every time. I am ordering you to rush over to Amazon and get a copy. You'll thank me later, I promise.

.: 62 words at 01:43 AM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

For those of us still left in Houston on this SXSW weekend, I wanted to announce that my brother's band is having their first show at Kaveh Kane's (912 Prairie, near Cabo's and the Rice Hotel) on Saturday at 9:00. Feel free to drop by and say hi if you're in the area!

.: 53 words at 07:44 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

After working yesterday, it was pretty apparent when I woke up this morning and could barely talk that I overdid it yesterday. I called and croaked out a message for the boss who, thankfully, agreed to let me work from home. Since we're on an Exchange server and I can access our development server, there really was no problem with me working from here.

My mom called about lunch time to tell me that she was going to The Black-Eyed Pea that is literally like a minute from our place, so she even brought me lunch. Isn't she sweet?

I hope spending the day not talking much (well, I talked to Bella a bit) will have helped my throat out significantly. Now if I could only stay at home ALL the time!

.: 132 words at 06:34 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

OMG! All I could do was giggle helplessly at the Hidden Humor Of Iconographic Instructions. Please, for the love of god, go study these so you know what to do in case of a terror attack!

(Link courtesy of Firda)

.: 42 words at 12:02 AM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

I've been wanting to use a layout from the CSS Colouring Book for quite some time and I finally found a few minutes to fix the issues that I was having and I now have a new skin. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Oh, yes, before I forget, thanks go to Cis for suggesting that I use that lionfish photo in a skin. I took it at a fish store last July and don't know why using it in a skin never occured to me.

.: 91 words at 12:02 AM in Skinning the Fish, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

Show comments here »

I play in quite a few poker tournaments over at Paradise Poker. They run promotions on and off, but I've never been able to win one.

The one they're running right now is from midnight until 4:00 a.m., approximately every ten minutes, they have a Happy Hour game. The winner of the hand gets $100 and everyone else gets $10. We were down to four people and my table gets dealt a Happy Hour hand. The chip leader bets $200, the guy behind him raises all in with another $150, and I call on the button since I've got small suited cards. The other player calls all in too. The flop comes 7-7-K. The chip leader bets and I have to fold. The turn and the river I can't remember except they were both clubs. Everyone shows and the chip leader hit runner runner clubs to catch a flush. He knocks the other two players out guaranteeing me a second place finish in addition to the $10 I just won for being in the hand. I jokingly asked him if I got to win the tournament now ($15 for second and $25 for first) and he said yes. Despite having a $4,000 lead on me, he folded every hand and let me win.

I ended up $35 up for the game, but I was so happy that the other player was so nice. Color me happy!

.: 237 words at 11:59 PM in In the Cards, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

Grrr. Why am I looking at Duhbya? Where's my Survivor? Guess I need to change the TiVo's options for tonight.

.: 20 words at 07:10 PM in :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

I'm at work today, but I am getting more and more run down every minute I spend here. I am so tired and dealing with client issues seems to take more brain power than I can muster. Hopefully, the day will go really smoothly and I can get out of here at a decent hour so I can go home and sleep.

.: 62 words at 10:53 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

I stayed home from work today and slept, slept, and slept some more. I feel better, but I'm starting to get a headache, so I don't know if this thing is going away or coming back.

Time for more toast, orange juice, and some TiVod programs. I need to do Reasons For Love later, but I think I'm going to veg for a bit first.

.: 65 words at 08:20 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

Did anyone get the name of the truck that hit me? I feel like complete shit.

After being pretty healthy for quite some time and managing to miss most of the flus/virii that are running around, something has latched onto me. I started out the day not feeling so hot and having the urge to put my head down on the desk every five minutes. I drank a lot of orange juice, but had no appetite, and felt worse as the day progressed.

I left a little early, came home, got in bed, snuggled with Bella Kitty for a minute, and have been asleep until now. I certainly hope I feel better in the morning or I may have to dip into that sick time. Yuck.

.: 126 words at 08:10 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (6) :.

Show comments here »

It's Monday, so time to start the week out right with Jess's Participation Positives!

• I got kitty cuddles when I came home from work today. No matter what else happens during the day, that always makes me feel better.
• I've been having lots of relaxing fun playing Zeus and Poseidon
• My copy of Eddie Izzard: Dress To Kill came in
• The roses I bought for my desk last week at work still had a few live ones, so I have pretty roses next to my computer at home
• I got some stuff of my chest this morning to my boss and it felt good
• I love and am loved

.: 110 words at 11:21 PM in Participation Positives, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

After a very emotional, over-wrought Friday, everything was much better after drinking and a nap that night. I decided to just relax and I took it easy all weekend long. I played video games, watched tv, and pet the cat. I played a lot of Zeus and found some strange sense of peace building my little cities and taking care of my citizens. Shame it's already Monday.

.: 67 words at 11:12 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

Steven's mother's church is having a Mardi Gras party, so we're off to St. Basil's Greek Orthodox church to celebrate Mardi Gras Greek style. Have a lovely evening, kiddies!

.: 29 words at 06:44 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »