"I Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It... The Taste of Her Cherry Chapstick!" ...

Hmmm... if I were 2 kiss a girl...???...

...Ummm... I dunno...I would have to think on that one.

However, I heard this awesome new song the other day: "I Kissed a Girl"--KATY PERRY...(ohhh so good! ;)

Annnddd...it got me to thinking......what would my chick-type be? (If I were so inclined, that is! ;)

I have got to say, that my tastes have never run towards the gals...just the guys who LOOK like gals! LOL! ;) ...You know...the pretty rocker boys with the shaggy hair...always has been my weakness...but..YUM! ;)

So...if I were to have a chick- "type"...what would it be?

Well, I definitely would NOT go for the large, ugly, MANLY gals...*shudder*...no thanks!

Then, there are the lipstick-lesbians...hmmm...would not go for the too-girly type...definitely would NOT want to date someone like me! LOL! ;)

Hmmm...let's see...I guess it would probably be someone like Jackie Warner, the owner of "Sky Sport" in Beverly Hills...and the star of Bravo's reality show "Work Out".

She is attractive, yet a bit on the tough side too...and she would not be stealing my clothes and glitter... ~eye-roll~ ;) Hee-hee

The totally hysterical part is, the other night I Googled the video for this song, and Boomer was in the kitchen with me. I was singing to the song, and he was all like, "Huh? Kissed a girl? What?" :O

So, I had to explain the whole deal to him...that I was NOT headed in that direction, but...'ya know...I wasn't exactly OPPOSED to the idea, either! ;)

So, I pulled-up a pic of Jackie Warner on the Internet, and explained to him that she would probably be my type...if I were so inclined...

And...OMG!...It was sooo funny! When I looked at him, and then back at the pic of her...I burst out with, "Holy shit! She looks like YOU!" :O

OMG...and in a way, she really did... LOL! Too funny...apparently my tastes run towards the tall, thin, lean, strong blondes...with killer arms! ;)

He said that he had thought they looked alike, as well...but was not going to say anything until I did.

Hilarious...well, at least I am secure in my heterosexuality! ......as long as the chicks look like hot guys...er...or as long as the guys look like strong, masculine, beautiful women! LOL!

XO!

" 'Heard You Were Freaky From A Friend of Mine! " ... ;)

So, apparently Corona makes me get down with my bad-self!...

LOL!...YUP.;)

God, it was so GREAT to get out tonight and "shake my groove thang"! LOL! ;)

Oh yes...the girls and I painted the town a veritable kaleidoscope of colors.:)

My drink of the evening was Corona Light... with 2 limes, 1 lemon, and just a touch of salt...until that effervescent, golden liquid bubbles-up that lovely clear "neck"...and right @ the moment when it appears as if it is going to over-flow...THAT is when you take your first "sip"...mmm...icy-cold...slightly tart...slightly tangy...and damn good! ... ;o}

...ESPECIALLY, after gettin' my swerve on, out on the dance floor.;)

So, yes...it was a blast. And, oooohhhhh, how I dig a groovy, thumpin', pulsating base-line!

That is the conducive elixir which makes the hips grind and roll, don'tcha know!

One of the more memorable, bass-thumpin' tunes of the night happened to be one which I have heard numerous times before...yet never quite appreciated it the way I did tonight.

The song is "Shake That"-- EMINEM with NATE DOGG.

Yeah, yeah...I KNOW! Me??? RAP??? What-the-hell??? :O ... Holy-crap! LOL! ;)

However, it was quite the thumpin' little hip-grinder, i'twas! ;)

It was my ability to lose myself in this song, close my eyes, and just let my body answer the rhythm of the dance...And WOW, was I ever SURPRISED when I got home and went to add that song to my MySpace profile...for I also Googled the lyrics...and...HOLY SHIT!

Uh, yeah...NO...I sooo did not realize exactly what the words were to this song! WAY raunchy! OMG! :O

It TOTALLY makes sense that such an erotically driven song is powered by disgusting lyrics...however... me?...had to laugh-out-loud at that fact...because it is such a killer dance tune...in its OWN WAY...NOT something I usually choose to dance to. Still...great vibe goin' on there.;)

See what Corona (and, maybe a FEW shots ;) does to me??? Makes me all "flippy", apparently...

*SIGH*...well, it HAS been quite some time since I have been a "customer"...(well, except for that whole Cinco de Mayo scene...LOL!...Me...Patron Cadillac Margaritas...dancing on-stage...singing with the band... :)

Oooohhhh...I am having such a great time...being baaaaadddddd! ...('Guess I had better enjoy this brief respite until I am back behind the bar next week!)

Look out! Because Friday night is about to get FREAKY! ;)

XOXO!!!

It's the "SUMMER OF SNOW!!!" ;) ...

(You know...like on SEINFELD, when George had: "The Summer of George!" ? )

Um, yeah...you see that dime lying down there on the ground by your feet?...

Well, my life just freaking turned on it! ;)

Woooo-FREAKING-Hoooo!!!

HOT DAMN, I am back-in-business!

I have just found the 'BEAT" to end all "BEATS"!

I have just nailed and landed the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg! ;)

Yup, that's me...watch me work it.:)

So, the largest and glitziest casino around here (and there are about 7 casinos around the St. Louis area)...is only a mile down the road from where I used to slave.

I have basically always thought it would be a stellar gig to land a bartending position at the concert club there. It is an amazing room, resplendent with crystal chandeliers suspended over head, an amazing stage, and a beautifully appointed room...just a 1st-class set-up all the way.

However, it is virtually impossible to get in the door there...someone basically has to keel over, before a position opens-up...and even then, they promote from within. NO ONE "rides for free"!

Well, say hello to the chick who cracked the system! (As a good friend of mine titled one of his songs, I : "SHOOK THE CAGE, AND RATTLED THE BONES!" ;)

I got it, baby! Bloody hell, I am SOOOO IN!!!!

Freaking monumental!

OMG...I get to work in a first-class establishment...one of the hoppin'-est clubs around...they are always packed! And, to me, the most important part is the fact that: **I GET TO WORK WITH BANDS AGAIN!!**

THAT was one of my prereq's for my job-search: GOTTA' have live bands...and GOOD bands, too...not these schmuck's who all play the same lame-ass song-lists...BADLY, might I add!... with "Mustang Sally" as their "piece de la resistance"! Uggghhhh!!!...How I DESPISE that song!

And, if I hear one more shitty-ass lead guitar player stroke himself on-stage with a 20 minute screeching, make-my-ears-bleed solo, as he gets his own rocks off during a Stevie Ray Vaughn song, I will seriously lose my mind!

And, don't even get me started on "Free Bird" or "Stairway to Heaven"! Ughhh...!!! Yes, all great songs...BACK IN THE DAY!

However, none of you have had to listen to various shitty-ass bands wail-away on the same crap every weekend...(because said shitty-ass bands have all pilfered their song lists from each other's websites, and are all too damn lazy to learn anything new, or even REMOTELY CURRENT!! )

~~Um...SIDE NOTE: Except for "METROPOLIS"...they totally blaze the new stuff...sometimes even better than the ACTUAL BAND does! No shit. Hey, *I* don't hang with schmucks, FYI !! ;) ~~

.

Yeah...when I had started buying ear-plugs to wear at work for select bands, I knew there was a problem! I don't mind even the moldy, old crap when it is played WELL...and on decent equipment, with a competent Sound Guy.

.

...However, none of those prerequisites were usually met. So, then it was time to either jam the ear-plugs in...or start pounding back a few shots. Oy-Vey! :O

.

So, NOW...I get to work amongst the GOOD BANDS! During the week we have the hottest local acts on-stage...and they always pack the house. Then, on the weekends, the touring National acts come thru. (Example: that is where I saw Vince Neil perform with his killer new drummer a couple months ago.)

ANNNNNDDDDDDD...the "Golden Egg" part of this all is that IT IS FREAKING "CORPORATE"!!! ...Hence: JOB SECURITY! That damned casino is not going ANYWHERE!

Plus, no more paying for my own health insurance...Which was flippin' BURYING my ass! Ughhh...horrendously so.

Yeek...you know you are "growing up", when one of your main concerns is "paid benefits"! YIKES! *SIGH*...well, at least I am going to FINALLY be getting them.:)

PLUS! ... 401-K matching, tuition reimbursement, paid vacations, and an ACTUAL, rather DECENT hourly rate!...Plus the tips!

Um, yeah..."Goose"..."Golden Egg"...nice to meet'cha!

So, you all KNOW that I just gotta' change my song-of-the-day in honor of the occasion!

~~(Go check out SALIVA'S -"Click, Click...BOOM!" on MySpace music...KILLER STUFF!! ;) ~~

*I HAVE FINALLY FOUND MY "BEAT", PEOPLE!!!"

TIME TO DANCE IT-OUT!

~~~Welcome to: **THE SUMMER OF SNOW!!!** ~~~

ROCK WITH ME!!! ;)

XOXO!

I Just Wanna Dance!!! ...

Okay, time for a song change...

No big, long, tedious, blithering, drawn-out story to wrap up this one in a nice sparkly pink bow.

Like the tag-line said:

***I JUST WANNA DANCE!!!!!!***

I want to not only HEAR the music, I want to FEEL the music...

.

...pulsing thru me, making my chest pound and vibrate...

.

having the music rise up off the floor and envelop me in its waves of rhythm.

.

Music cannot just linger around on the floor, or only ebb and flow up the lower half of your body.

.

Great dance music has to RISE and COVER you within the crest of the wave...

.

...where you are surfing the tube of the wave of sound...and hanging-ten off the edge of your board, melding your body in-time with the rhythm, losing yourself within the beat...and climaxing just as the wave of sound crests and then crashes over you.

.

THAT-- TO ME -- is what dancing is all about!

.

I have to FEEL IT...it has to be such a strong pull to go out onto the dance floor, that I am hypnotically propelled and pulled-along, as my hips are already shimmy-ing to the beat!

.

Right now, there IS NO "beat".

.

Nothing.

.

I have GOT to find a "beat"!

.

This is the first weekend of my bar being closed...and I am losing my ever-lovin' MIND!

.

*SIGH*...Okay, okay, maybe I am going to blither just a little bit here...bear with me.

.

So, Boom's killer band--METROPOLIS, was booked this weekend @ my bar...which they did not

play...because it is no longer "my bar"...

.

...hell, it is no longer a bar at all!

.

CLOSED...LOCKED...SO SORRY! ...

.

...and BTW, Snow and the band: you are shit-outta'-luck.

.

Too bad, so sad, screw-off! ;(

.

Okay, so anyway...yeah...my weekend was SUPPOSED to have consisted of having an awesome time slinging drinks like a mad-woman...with my co-bartender / "work-husband", Kevin...

.

...making killer cash, throwing the party, and going out to dance with my friends towards the end

of the 4th set...when the songs which I just HAAAAVVVVEEEE to dance to are cranked-out by

"my" band...

.

**a little KID ROCK--"BAWITDABA"...

**a bit 'O SAMMY--"Mas Tequila"...

**throw in some COWBOY MOUTH--"Jenny Says"...

**add a touch of BREAKING BENJAMIN--"So Cold"...

**then mix it all up with a dash of GREEN DAY-- "Longview" ...

.

RESULT??? .. Snow is a crazy, head-bangin', sweaty-ass mess afterward!

.

But it is sooo much fun!

.

OH---MY---GOD. YES.:)

.

And, then...the next day I am crawling to my sister's to have her adjust me, because I have

danced myself into a severe case of whiplash.

.

*SIGH*...such is the burden of getting older...and being just as stupid as you were when you

were younger! LOL!

.

But, hey...WHAT GOOD IS long hair if you cannot whip it around for effect once in a while...hmmm??? ;)

.

Thank God I have my sister-chiropractor on-call 24/7 for just such emergencies!

.

Lordy, it is close to 3:30am, and we would all definitely still be there (even though we closed at 1:30am)...we never got out of there until around 4am usually...and then, ON TO DENNY'S!

.

CRAP! I have got to find a new gig...SOON!

.

This whole no dancing, no doing shots with my friends, no making money, no joking around with Kevin--while we made fun of both our boss, as well as the derelict customers--is killing me!

.

Then, compound that with the whole NO "DENNY'S" thing...it is just TOO MUCH!!! ;(

.

The "beat" is the key...I have to find my "beat"! ;)

.

I am off to go key-up a little KID ROCK and "Bawitdaba"...maybe THAT will help get me outta' this funk. ;(

.

My doggies are going to just LOVE seeing me "Dance-Fever"-it-up in the living room here in a bit...as soon as I get things a-rockin'! LOL!

"I've Screamed My Heart Out...But How I Love It! ... That's Rock and Roll!" ;) ...

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There is something to be said about SATIN JUMPSUITS! :O ...

I vividly recall my very first concert EVER!

I was a little girl, and it was April 2nd, 1978...@ the "CHECKER DOME" in St. Louis.

~~SIDE NOTE: The CHECKER DOME (owned by Ralston Purina, at that time), was this ENORMOUS indoor arena--home of St. Louis Blues Hockey-- and it's giant domed roof was painted like a huge blue and white checkerboard...hence the name.

It was later renamed the "ARENA" when Ralston sold off it's interests, and the roof was painted over. The building was later imploded in the late '90's, and sold off for scrap and souvenirs, to make way for a boring-ass office building...STILL a sore spot among St.Louisans! ;( ~~~~~

Okay...so!...My aunt Kim (the "cool" aunt...whom I hope *I* emulate NOW, in terms of relative aunt-coolness! ;)...took my sister and I to see our first concert...and it was a monumentous event in my life...O...M...G! :O

We had Floor seats...31st Row, Section C ...I still have my concert ticket-stub!

I was all ready with my new little 110-Camera which my mom had FINALLY bought for me...my first camera, too! ;)

The stadium was packed! ...SOLD OUT! ...It was amazing!

I had to stand on my metal folding chair the entire time to even be able to see over the sea of people.

My little camera was clicking-away the entire time! I had to keep stopping every once in a while to change the flash-bar out. (You remember "flash bars", right?? There WAS a time when we did not have digital cameras! I am NOT a dinosaur, dammit! ...Hrmppphhh!)

OH!...You're asking me...WHO DID I SEE??? ...WHO WAS THE PERFORMER AT THIS SUPER-FANTASTIC CONCERT EVENT???

OMG...'yer just gonna DIE!

It was none other than the first man I ever "fell" for!...Shaun-freaking-Cassidy!!!!!! LOL! ;)

Yes, yes, it was Shaun Cassidy, dammit! NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!

It WAS 1978, after all...and he was BIG!

Okay, so...I will never forget...he was wearing this blue satin jumpsuit...sooo cool! I have an entire photo album (still!) of a plethora of little 3 1/2 X 5 matte-finish photos of a bunch of people's heads in front of me, with a little blue shiny blob off in the distance on the stage! LOL!

Actually, one or two of the pix did not turn out too shabbily. The guy next to us let me sit on his shoulders for those!

There was a point in the concert where Shaun tossed out dozens of long-stemmed, red roses into the audience. I was DYING to catch one of those roses! However, being back in the 31st row, that was highly unlikely. Sooo not gonna happen! ...Drats!

After the show, when we were walking back thru the passageways to head out of the building and to my aunt's 1974 olive green Ford Maverick ... (seriously...olive green...MAVERICK...blechhh!)

Anyway...as we were leaving, we passed this young girl and her family...and she was holding one of those much-coveted roses! :O

I stopped and shyly asked her if I could have a petal from her rose.

It was apparent she did NOT want to give me ANYTHING, but finally she grudgingly pulled off one rather anemic looking green leaf, and handed it to me like she was giving me the Holy Grail!

Hrmppp...I said "PETAL"...not "LEAF"! However, beggars cannot be choosers, and I cradled that leaf in my hand like it WAS the Holy Grail!

When I got home, I pressed it securely in my scrap-book...and IT IS STILL THERE!

Hmmm...I wonder if that OTHER little girl still has HER ROSE??? :O

DOUBT IT!!!

Anyway...that brings us to the "WHY SATIN JUMPSUITS ARE SO KILLER" part of our program! ;) ...

Sure, these days the satin jumpsuit may not be all that "IN"...and any self-respecting rock star (and I am NOT saying that Shaun Cassidy was a rock star!)...would not be caught dead in one.

However, THEN it was an entirely different matter. Satin jumpsuits were all over the place! And they were definitely SUPER-FLY! ;)

Also, it took a special breed of rocker to be able to pull that look off.

Not just ANYONE had the ability to rock the coliseums in style and flash...cranking the music out, whipping the girls into a frenzy, and making the guys wish THEY were the ones on-stage all bedecked in satin, and such...wielding the mic-stand like they were flair-baton-twirlers.

I have GOT to say that probably my favorite Shaun Cassidy song of all-time would have to be: "That's Rock and Roll"! ;)

I hope you all have fond memories of the "Days of Satin"... or at the very least...have a very memorable 1st concert memory!

XOXO!!!

"I Hate Myself For Loving You!" ... ;)

I am restless and reckless...

...after the implosion of my little universe yesterday, today I face the world with a new insight, anger, drive, determination, and expectancy......and anticipation of the unknown...it all changes for me now......it is terrifying as well as exciting.

I have been thru this before...I have closed every damn nightclub I have ever worked at...because I do not quit...I hang on till the bloody end...and Riverside was just the most recent on the list in the past 13 years.

My first nightclub, the one which corrupted me into the crazy, wonderful, awful, deranged world of the night, was "BAJA BEACH CLUB"...and we were a national chain.

I worked at the 2 in St. Louis, opened the club in Myrtle Beach, and went on to work with and travel with a couple other nightclub chains.

Truly one of the best times of my life. Hell, I was in my early 20's, lived at home, still in college, no bills, no strings, no attachments, (other than my animals!)...and had the glittery and exciting nightlife at my fingertips...a heady-ass feeling!

I began working @ BAJA when I managed to convince Dad to sign for my new PINK! Mustang...my Supra was falling-apart, and one day I drove past the Ford dealership, saw MY pink car rotating high up on a turning display stand...

...the Heavens opened-up and the Angels sang! ...Damn!

My throat went dry, as I realized that car was MEANT to be mine!

One month later I tooled-off the lot with the top down, leaving Dad shaking his head, wondering how on earth I convinced him to sign for it, when I was supposed to make the payments and insurance, and did not even have a job!

Well, one week later I started cocktailing @ the hottest, newest, most amazing club in town, and started making fast-cash.

Dad was RELIEVED!

I had never really even gone to a bar before that, did NOT know how to drink, and was a total rookie at "ordering etiquette" with the annoyed bartenders.

HOWEVER! I learned quick! I was fast, bright, and did not screw-around at work.

Soon, the bartenders accepted me as part of their extremely crazy family!

There were 5 different bars in the building, with 2- 5 bartenders behind each bar; 11 beer tubs with chicks in bikinis behind them, 6 cocktail waitresses, a door staff of HUGE, body-builder "Life-Guards" (beach theme, don'tcha know!) ...3 managers, and 2 impressive DJs.

The main theme at BAJA was the Island Party! And, the corporation only hired the most dynamic...we threw the biggest and best party in town!

It was part of our job to do "Group Dynamics" on the bar every hour, with the entire staff stopping to get on the bar-tops, the tops of the beer-tubs, and the stage, to perform choreographed routines and dances...and they were phenomenal!

Think: "Coyote Ugly"...only waaay before that place was even invented, and sooo much more dynamically done!

Also, after 9pm, select staff members were scheduled to perform "personal dynamics" on-stage every hour...at the bottom of the hour.

We would have "Dynamics Parties" every few months, on Mondays, when we were closed...perform our newly made-up Dynamics for each other...drinking and eating for free, and having a contest for major cash prizes, to see who had the BEST!

The winners were then the ones who performed in the club.

Well, after a couple months there, and at my first Dynamics party, I WON!!!

NO ONE could believe that I had come out of my shell, taken down my pony-tail and taken off my retro, black and rhinestone, cat-eye glasses (which I ALWAYS WORE both!...ALWAYS!)

When it was time for me to perform on-stage, I had gotten ready in the bathroom...so no one saw me.

When I got up onto the darkened-stage, and the lights went up for the first time, as I started to sing and strut in my skin-tight leathers and skimpy black, lacy bra and high-heeled boots...totally rockin' the big hair, and no glasses...OMG! They all FREAKED!

One of the bartenders had actually thought they had hired a new girl! No one could BELIEVE that was shy little me! LOL!

And the song???...

JOAN JETT-- "I Hate Myself For Loving You!" ;)

TOTALLY KILLER! ;)

I rocked their socks off that night and won the big-prize! Wooo-Hooo! What a complete and total RUSH! :O

I performed my dynamic on-stage that next Wednesday (Ladies Nite)...and that weekend...and on after that. It was a huge crowd-pleaser!

There were later more parties and more dynamics...and more fun than I can ever remember having in my life.

Then I began traveling with the company, bartending and managing...and having the time-of-my-life!

That club...more than ANY OTHER I have ever worked at, was my "home".

The staff was phenomenal; we were thick-as-thieves. I totally changed after working there...came out of my shell, and blossomed! LOL! I became as evil as the rest of them! ;)

OMG...I was GREEN when I started!

Our manager, Bob Karliner, was the BEST man I have ever know in my life, outside of my dad and grandfathers...he was a true mentor to me...an exemplary human in all regards...and I learned most of what I know about the nightclub business from him.

When he moved on to a new location, I went where he went...and he NEVER betrayed me like my most recent boss has.

Bob was like a father to me, and his family like my own...his entire staff adored him, and respected him above all. He earned it...he was amazing.

When I married in 2000, he flew back to speak at my wedding...and most of our past BAJA family attended as well. Ours is a bond that has always been honored among that staff...and we will continue to support each other, no matter the distance.

So now, in-honor of the club which veered my life in a totally unexpected direction, the people who worked there...

...all of the customers I have befriended over the years, the man who NEVER, EVER treated me with nothing but complete HONOR, FRIENDSHIP, AND GENUINE HUMAN COMPASSION...my former boss, and life-time friend, Bob, and the song which allowed me to "find my wings and fly!"...

...I dedicate that song!"I Hate Myself For Loving You!"

I do not dedicate it a "bad" way...but as a tribute to the inner-strength I draw from it. ;)

That song has always made me sing at the top of my lungs in my car and the shower...and has never ceased to evoke feelings of joy and TRIUMPH!

Strength which I now will utilize as I start this new, unknown, and exciting phase of my life!... ;)

OH! ALSO!!!..

I dedicate it to my former boss and bar which he just sold! ...

...For it was a place which I *SHOULD* have left YEARS ago!

I was an idiot to stay...to waste 5 years of my life on a losing venture, just because I had misplaced feelings of loyalty, and unreciprocated feelings of honor and family.

That man was NOT Bob, and that bar was NOT "BAJA BEACH CLUB".

I was blind to treat it as if it were.

*CHEERS!*...

~~XOXO!!!~~

The End of An Era... ;(

Well, isn't THIS just frickin' WONDERFUL!!! ;( ...

...IN A HORRIBLE SORT OF WAY!

SO...yeah...after 5 hell-filled years of twists and turns and ups and downs...

...after having dedicated my life to the bar I have worked at for the past 5 years...

...after spending most of my time with the eccentric and eclectic customers at that place...a place which was a lot like "Cheers"...yet with live rock bands!....

...where I made those people my FAMILY...

...the small, unusual staff; often babysitting the owner's little girl, and giving Mother's Days gifts to the owner's mom...

...the bizarre, the unique, the ho-hum, and the hum-drum customers...

...the crazy-ass bands which ran the gamut of incredible to completely awful.

I organized Christmas parties...threw birthday parties for staff members as well as the owner...brought frozen pizzas to make after work on Saturdays for our 4am pizza-bashes with the band "Metropolis"...

...where I first met Boomer and my best friend, Bille.

Where I was the first one to ever dance on that marble-topped bar...and where I sang with the bands..."99 Red Balloons" and "Bitch!" ...never sounded better! LOL!...

Where I created and sold ZILLIONS of shots! I am the freaking "SHOT QUEEN"!..."SNOW WHITE APPLES" are the BEST!!! (Yes, yes...I named that shot after myself! LOL!...It is yummy, though!)

HOWEVER!... Now...after 5 years of dedicating my life to that place, to the complete *^^%%#%^%**-IDIOT of a boss...after an entire week spent at death's door and not able to work......I learned that my boss sold not only the bar, but the entire freaking BUILDING this morning at 7:30 am!!! :O

Well, isn't that just damn, bloody dandy!?!?!?!?

Yup...I have spent the last couple hours crying hysterically, feeling sorry for myself, and mourning the death of the last 5 years of my life.

So...onward and upward, huh? I am now in the midst of re-evaluating and revamping ...anyone out there have any ideas?

Hello?...Anyone?...Anyone?...Bueller?...Bueller???...???

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So, what sucks is that this is so stupidly hard!...I get so emotionally involved...way too much for my own good. I always believe in the best of those around me...and give my total all to my friends and family...and to those who I THINK are my friends!

I end up staying way longer after the fat lady has sung...determined to go down with the ship...while at the same time, the captain is sneaking off in his life boat!

It really just breaks my heart. I have given so much, and given UP so much for that place, the people, and most of all to Wade, my FORMER boss/owner.

I have endured emotional abuse at this hands, dealt with his crying and sobbing hysterics when his dad died, the anniversary of his dad's death, and for MONTHS after his girlfriend finally left his sorry ass, and took their 5 yr old daughter with her!

He cried for months, and we had to have a friend of his come and remove all of his hunting guns from his apartment upstairs...he WAS going to blow his miserable brains out...no doubt about it.

Boomer and I were the only ones who were there every step of the way...suffering right along with him. I am the only one who has ever consistently given that man b-day and X-mas gifts...he has no friends, and his family is sick of him. His mom was the only one always there on Fridays...and that is because she was keeping an eye on her investment!

I fought with Boomer INCESSANTLY when he and Wade had their actual physical fight...when Wade attacked Boomer and broke his hand...Boomer wanted me to quit, was really upset that he thought I was not standing by him...and continued to go in to work.

I was determined to keep my job, not wanting to become entwined in their drama...even though I know now that it was the wrong choice.

Wade never gave me or my future a second thought, much less even ONE thought! He totally dumped me out in the cold and left me for dead.

Boomer is the only one here to pick up the pieces! (And my mommy...and YOU all!)

Hanging on-line and hearing all of the kinds words from my friends today has really helped me thru the loneliness and helplessness.

Thanks to all of you!!! :)

XOXO...

SNOW*

"Kick-Start My Heart, Baby!!!" ... ;)

Man-oh-man...do I luv a drummer who can...

...TWIRL!!! ;) OMG! Can that BE any hotter???!!! :O

HOWEVER, they have to also know how to play a MEAN set of drums! Nothing quite like the roll off a double set of bass drums...or when the drummer has the aptitude to create that thrilling, climaxing rhythm with only the ONE bass drum...and one very talented foot!

Holeeee--schmoleeeee!!!

But, to compound technical ability and hard-driving finesse, with the flair and sexy-as-hell, blazingly fast twirls and spins...what more can a gal ask for?! ;)

Yes, we all know how amazing the drummers from TOOL, DREAM THEATRE, RUSH, DISTURBED, AND NICKELBACK are...friggin' AWESOME!

And, I can NEVER forget to pay homage to my ferocious and spectacular TOMMY LEE on the drums! Especially back-in-the-day, when he was pre-tatted-up, and pre-shorn-locks...he was a SIGHT OF GLORY TO BEHOLD with the stix!

OHHHHH-----MYYYYYYYYY-----GODDDDDDDDD!!!

And he's still got it! Even playing upside-down, hung suspended from the rafters with his Jagermeister pack duct-taped to his back, and IV-dripped into his mouth!...EVEN THEN...waaayyyy frickin' keeewwwwlll!

DUDE! :O

And, then there is the new drummer for Vince Neil's band. I saw Vince recently at the "Bottle Neck Blues Bar" @ the local AMERISTAR CASINO...and...DAMN!...

...Vince was pretty good, but this new drummer he has is AMAZING! Holy-schmoley, Batman!

He is a non-stop powerhouse of style, flair, technical ability, heart, and flat-out freaking awesomeness...no lie.

And I am super-critical of drummers...I am dating one of the ABSOLUTE BEST, after all! LOL! (Um, yeah...no lie there either, people! ;)

Anyway...this guy just inspired jaw-dropping AWE. O---M---G.

His name is: *ZOLTAN CHANEY* ...and it is just insane the power, deftness, and skill he exudes thruout the entire set...must be the mark of youth...or some "chemical-enhancement"...or whatever!

The guy is practically BIONIC, it is so ridiculous. However, he IS only playing for like a 40-minute set...MAYBE an hour, tops.

Local bands play four 45-min to an hour sets...and THAT is grueling to do at a pace like this guy plays...I have SEEN the sweat pour off MY guy thruout the nite...afterward he looks like he has played goalie for the Blues all nite. Keeps him skinny, and his arms hella-toned though! ;)

Anyway...the anthem which always runs thru my head when I think of an awesome drummer, and an equally awesome drum-SONG to go right along with that, is:

MOTLEY CRUE'S "Kick-Start My Heart"! ;)

OMG!...You GO!, Tommy! ;)

So, to honor not only all the hot drummers out there...but the groupie-girls who luv them, I dedicate that song. :)

My Mother's Day Surprises from the Fur-Balls! :O ...

Ah, "Mother's Day"!...

The day we all pay tribute to our Mommies! And, have tribute paid to US, if we are mommies as well. :)

Sooo...*I* am Mommy to a plethora of doggies and kitties...and this is just a little snippet of how MY Mother's Day unfolded... ;)

Hmmm...well, MY "babies" gave me several different tokens of THEIR love!...

1) It rained so hard all weekend, that Skittle would not go outside, and had to "potty" INSIDE! However, it was on her little "doggie-pad", so it was not too drastic of an ordeal.
...
2) Beuford DID go outside, but managed to scoot his little hiney on that retarded white carpeting we have. So...one nice landing-strip 4' across the living room!...Boom was NOT pleased.
...
3) Maya went out and traipsed all the hell over the mud-puddles...and then when Boomer let her back inside, she managed to zip past him, before he could wipe her paws off... (with the towel we keep by the backdoor, for just such purposes.)

She proceeded to then track muddy-ass dog prints all the hell over the white ceramic tiles...and THEN all over that retarded white carpeting! Again, Boom not happy. ;(
...
4) Truffle...totally perfect in every way...yet a humongous scaredy-cat baby...cannot stand the rain or thunderstorms...(Skittle cannot either)...and they stayed plastered to me the entire weekend while we suffered the deluge!

The doggie-Valium helped a bit...but also gave them...ah...er..."gastro-intestinal issues"--ICK...and I was constantly wiping and cleaning asses all weekend.

-----Hmmm...seems to be my theme lately...asses, puke, butts, and poop! Ughhh...-----
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5) Changed and hosed-out 5 litter boxes...brushed almost an entire cat's-worth of fur off of 3 of the fur-balls...and I am STILL picking fur out of my nose!
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6) Sam...Boomer's retarded cat...(no, really...the cat is totally cool...but just so damned ODD..like, NOTHING ever bothers him...he just LAYS there. There could be a pack of wolves in the room, hungrily leering at him, or we could be having a big-ass party, and that cat will just sleep thru it all.)

BTW...he is NOT deaf or anything, either. Just seems perpetually-STONED! Annndddd...as Boom's cat...hmmm...not surprised!

...Well, Sam has his OWN little digestive issues at times...he always eats his can of food up on the counter when Boom feeds him and Maya at 5pm everyday...while Maya eats on the floor...

Well, Sam sometimes has a problem of eating his food, and then freaking projectile vomiting it all the hell over the place!

(There is no rhyme nor reason to when and if he gets sick...Boomer makes sure that he only buys the certain flavors of food which do not make Sam sick, and I have taken him to the vet and had him checked-out...he appears to be pretty healthy...he just barfs occasionally.)

Now, this is totally Boom's deal...that cat pukes, then he cleans it up. He is usually standing there by him when he eats anyway.

However...unfortunately, he also keeps his lap-top on the counter next to where Sam eats. Sooo...when Sam barfs, his lap-top is directly in the line-of-fire...and yesterday it sooo was! :O

Annndddd... Boom had left his lap-top open...even thought he was not even using it...sooo...when Sam spewed his entire can of Ocean Whitefish all over hell, it splatted directly all over Boom's keyboard :O

RESULT: Boomer is sooo SCREWED! AND PISSED!!! He cannot make his keyboard work AT ALL...he has even taken all of the keys off and cleaned it out...still nothing.

(Actually, that poor cat puked his guts up all over the house yesterday...sooo gross...I could not believe all that came out of that small cat... Yikes.) Bleeeccchhh..... ;(

And then there were my OWN "kitty-issues" on Mother's Day, as well ... (Oy-Vey!)...

You know those big, plastic lids which you put on the storage tote-bins? Well, I have to put those under all the litter boxes, because one of my Persians, "Shasta", has decided that her little paws are much too delicate to actually deign to step foot IN the litter box, itself (even when it is totally spick-and-span-clean!)

Nooo...she derives much more enjoyment from kinda squatting by the edge of the box, and kinda hanging her little furry butt over the edge, and onto the tote-lid! OMG...it is such a mess!

However, I gotta' keep those lids under the litter boxes (all FIVE of them!)...because if I do not, she will just pee on the floor NEXT TO the litter boxes. :O

When I change the litter boxes, I have to completely hose out and wash down everything with "Clorox bathroom cleaner"...it is NOT an easy task...messy, messy, messy! The UNDERSIDES of the boxes are all plastered to the lids underneath with tons of cat pee...sooo gross!

And then, that night I was changing the trash can liner in the master bathroom...the trash can is this cutesy little decorative number all lined in mirrors. Well, it sits up on the step which leads up into our big garden tub with the jacuzzi jets...

...When I pulled the old liner up and out of the trash can, it was a soggy mess, and there were about 4 inches of cat pee in the bottom of the trash can, that had seeped out of the liner!!! Eeeeewwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!

I could not BELIEVE IT! That little shit had been squatting up on the edge of the tub and peeing right into the trash can! UNBELIEVABLE! She was incredibly accurate, too! Not one drop on the outside of the can, or on the retarded white carpeting, either! (Yes, there are MILES of that white carpeting in our house....it is RIDICULOUS!!!)

...
So, THAT was the culmination of My Mother's Day festivities. ;) And, I would not trade any of my precious babies for the world! :)

(And YES...I DID go over to my Mommy's house to see her on this such joyous occasion...bearing an abundance of gifts... blooming plants of every type imaginable. Mommy just LOVES to dig in the dirt!...

...Hmmm...she must have been a CAT in a former life! Probably from whence we have acquired our feline-affinity! ;)

"Muhammad- Al-Snow*!" ;) ...

So, it was 6th grade, and...

My one-time nemesis freakin' TORMENTED me for months...with her flippin' posse' of 6th-grade heathens!

I have zero clue precisely WHY, though...and then one night I was completely fed-up...so what else was there for me to do???

Well, I told my daddy, what else??? ;)

WELL THEN! That pretty much DID IT! He taught me how to throw a mean-wik'd punch that night...LOL!

OMG...he told me that if I took down the "ring-leader", then the rest would scatter like roaches. ;)

So, for 4 HOURS that night Dad and I practiced...I was sooo not a fighter...used to get my ass kicked on a semi-regular basis by my older sister. ;(

Well, that night, I learned how to box! ...Well...kinda. However, it was enough of a lesson to ensure that I would "clean her clock", as Daddy put it! LOL! ;)

YUP...my dad was not your average father...he was NOT going to let his little girl be bullied! We do not just get mad in our family...we get bloody-well damned mad and deliciously EVEN! LOL!

No, I never forgot those boxing lessons...guard your face with your left, punch with your right...and follow thru with your entire elbow & shoulder! (Oh yeah...and do definitely do NOT tuck your thumb in...LOL!...Sure-fire way to break your thumb. ;)

Dad said the key was to break this chick's nose with one solid shot...and that would make the girl immediately go down...and make her minions flee.

Well, I was definitely on-board with THAT! I was all about her "going down", and gleefully anticipated all that "fleeing of the minions", and all. Things were definitely about to get verrryyyy interesting. ;)

Okay...so, the next day at gym-class, we all had to line-up and sit under our "numbers" which were painted on the wall, for the sake of doing "roll-call".

OMG...so there I was, all pumped and ready to kill this girl, but scared to death, as well!

I would surely get my butt thrown out of school for a week for this one! ...and I was an honor roll girl! :O

So, I saw her approach me from her place on the wall...the gym teacher had not come out of the locker room yet...and I felt my heart race like mad, all I could hear was my dad's instructions in my head...

I was never more ready to flatten someone in my life! THIS WAS IT! :O

HOLEEE-SSCHMOLEEE!!!

When she stood over me and looked down at where I was sitting, I knew I had to stand up and not give her the advantage...so, up I sprang!

We were then facing eye-to-eye...and I was sooo about to break this chick's nose...when she had the supreme audacity to announce to me, "I just want to apologize to you...I don't want to fight with you anymore, and I think we should be friends." :O

WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?????!!!!!!!!!!

She was freaking KIDDING ME, RIGHT??? :O

OMG!!! I had definitely not accounted for THIS turn 'O events!

Well, I had to still my racing heart, for I was all bloody pumped with adrenaline...

I said, "okay" ...and then reached out to shake the hand which she offered to me.

OMG...MONUMENTAL!

No one could BELIEVE it!

I never knew why she decided to turn nice on me all-of-a-sudden...I had not told anyone of my plans to wipe the gym floor with her face. LOL! ;)

After that we were friends for YEARS...thick-as-thieves!...Until she finally moved away...now we still talk and email, though.

I DID tell her what was going to happen if she had not RUINED my buzz by turning all freaky nice...we still laugh over that!

THANK GOD I did not have to actually DO IT! I WAS SCARED TO DEATH, TOO! ;) LOL!

So, the moral of this story is:

1) I AM SOOO *NOT* condoning violence...however, kids SHOULD be prepared...and be able to defend themselves.

...

2) Kids who are sworn-enemies will more than likely be best friends one day...it's the ones who are so much alike that tend to be all oil-and-water with each other at first.
...

3) If another kid at school is making a child's life utterly miserable...then they should definitely tell their parents.

...
4) However, if that other kid still wants to fight, the picked-on kid needs to make sure that they know HOW to fight to WIN...with the least possible effort!
...
5) So, therefore...getting in the first blow is crucial. And, like Dad always said, "GUARD THE NOSE! It is the first thing they will go for!"
...

6) And, kids should keep their best friends around them...there is safety in numbers! ;)

Snow*..."Animal Crusader Extraordinnaire!" ;) ...

If you ever see someone running helter-skelter down the side of the highway and thru snake-infested grassy ditches, just yell, "Hey, Snow!" out the window, because that will probably be ME...trying to save some stray or hurt animal somewhere!

Holy-schmoley!...The stories I could tell you...insane...all of them....

***There was the 3-legged cat which had once been caught in a trap--and had gotten out of on its own--which I had to slam an empty laundry basket over it, in order to manage to catch it.

I was in college, and driving home for the weekend...with all of my dirty laundry for poor Mommy to wash...lol! I ended-up with my underwear strewn all down the sides of the highway! ;)

Yet, I managed to save that poor little cat...and had to have it's poor leg fully amputated...found it a home with a newspaper photog for the STL Post...he named her "Tri-Pod"! ;)

***Hmmm...the beautiful white cat I found as a Senior in HS...drove past it on the road in a remote area, I stopped to shush her off the road, and she just sat there and looked at me...not scared at all...sooo not normal for a cat!

So, the logical solution was to open my car door and have her hop in! She immediately fell asleep on my front seat! Again...not normal.

She had rabies tags, but it was Friday, and I could not call Animal Control until Monday.

So, I snuck her in the house and kept her in my bedroom all weekend. Dad did not know, but Mom always knew EVERYTHING! She was my total partner-in-crime...thank God! ;)

That Saturday morning, my dad opened my bedroom door to wake me up, and I just FROZE! That cat was sleeping peacefully as could be at my feet...and Dad talked to me for a few minutes before he left...that cat never did move, and Dad never did see her!

I thought that maybe he thought it was MY cat...my Silver Persian...and the covers were white...so maybe that cat was camouflaged...???

I totally could not believe I was getting away with it!

I later had to vacuum my room, and thought for sure she would freak at the vacuum...she never even woke up or batted a whisker...Okay...HMMMM.....SOMETHING was definitely going-on here!

I started snapping my fingers by her ears as she slept...NOTHING! THAT CAT WAS DEAF! OMG! NOW IT ALL MADE SENSE!

So, that Monday I called Animal Control, got the # of her "parents", and called them.

Her name was "Ivory"...she was born deaf...(they also had a black cat named "Ebony" ;)...she always wore a collar with a bell, yet she got out and lost her collar, and she could not hear when they called for her...and she could not find her way home.

They were ECSTATIC to have her returned to them!

***Then, there was the verrryyyy pregnant Bichon-mix I had found...she was definitely dumped on the side of the road...another find on my drive home from college from the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks! ;)

That poor little dog was so matted and starved...although sooo entirely fat!

Dad was the first one to figure out she was pregnant...and OMG...2 days later she had 12 puppies! Yes, 12! They were all healthy, too!

Yes, we found homes for them all...even the momma! There was no way we could keep any of them...we had a ton of animals of our own, already.

Geez...I found A LOT of animals coming home from school...my dad finally told me to stay there! ;) He knew I would always be dragging some new stray home.

That is, until I hauled my new boyfriend home, and Dad took one look at his long hair and guitar, and then he changed his tune! Dad didn't want me to go back, then! LOL!

***One time I was driving down a main road in my town, in my brand-new Mustang...which I still have, and love dearly...and I saw a cat lying in the middle of the road...it was dark, so I could barely tell what it was.

Well, I stopped my car in front of her...kinda turning my car side-ways to block the road, and hesitantly walked-up to her. I was wary of strays, especially hurt ones...you never know how they are going to react.

I had no regard for my new car...it almost got plowed-into...yet I was determined to protect her from being hit again...for that is definitely what had happened already.

She was huge and all-black...just beautiful...I could not really tell what her injuries were in the dark...so I gently scooped her up and carefully brought her back to my car...she lay in my lap while I raced to the 24-hour ER vet, 20-min away...which I got to in about 8!

I called the clinic on my cell...I had their # on speed-dial, that it is how much I am there! :O

As I drove, I could feel her warm blood seep into me, and then she started to release her bladder...OMG...I knew that was NOT good!

When finally at the vet, I quickly explained to them that she was NOT my cat, I definitely did NOT hit her, and that I would pay whatever it cost to save her...money was not an issue.

(I did not really have much money, but I knew my mom would help...I come by my craziness honestly...it's inherited!)

So, while the vet and techs struggled to save her life, I sat there on the hand-me-down church pew in the waiting area, praying my head off, and crying uncontrollably.

I was already imagining what it would be like if they saved her, and I could take her home......I would call her "Robbin", because I had found her in-front of the "Baskin Robbins" Ice Cream Parlor.

When the receptionist came out to get more information from me, she informed me that "Robbin" was poly-dactyl...6-toed...well, I had never heard of that! Her paws were HUGE, though.

(Later, I learned all about Ernest Hemingway, and his hundreds of poly-dactyl cats...he actually willed his estate in Florida to his cats when he died! They are still cared for there, even today. Interesting stuff.)

...

Well, after a few hours of the vets struggling with keeping her alive, she did not make it in the end. Her lungs were punctured, and was losing O2 faster than they could pump it into her...and she suffered internal bleeding, as well.

...

So, Robbin is now buried in my parents backyard, and the vet bill was almost $1000...the vets thought I was nuts, and Mom was not too thrilled to pay for the half which I could not afford...however, she DID understand.

You would have thought that the vet could have given me even a 10% discount! SHEESH!

Okay, well...THOUSANDS of other stories! You would not even believe! However, I will spare you all at the moment.

With everything I have been thru with animals since I was just a wee-sprite, I should be an honorary vet by now!

So, are ya'all still out there with me? Have you been able to plow thru all my "stchuff" without having to take a bathroom break, or trot off to grab a Diet Coke and a few ropes of Strawberry Twizzlers???

Yeah, I tend to run-on, but I talk fast, think even faster... and luckily, I can type like-the-wind!

My Orange Sherbet Summer! ...VROOOOOOOOM!!! ;)

So, when I was 16..

...my first job was as an ICE-CREAM GIRL! ;)

I worked at the local grocery store..."Dierbergs"...which is a high-end, super-grocery store...one step down from a "Whole Foods" kinda place.

Anyway, that summer--as a courtesy to the customers--the store set up an ice cream booth!

The booth was right inside the store...across from the courtesy counter, and right past the shopping carts...so, the natural progression was: 1) get cart...2) get ice cream!

Which then led the people directly to me! ;)

The booth was rather small...room for just one or two girls to work behind. We had 12 yummy flavors of hard-scoop ice cream, and a soda fountain.

The ice cream was only 35-cents per scoop...that was 37-cents with tax!

OMG...it was the best job! I totally loved it...and hey, for a 16 year old...it was an awesome gig! However, that first week--ESPECIALLY that first DAY!--was TORTURE! My wrist was sooo sore and swollen from scooping millions of scoops of ice cream!

We had to actually leave the lift-up, plexi-glass doors which covered the 2 coolers OPEN, to help soften the ice cream...I thought my wrist was going to fall off!

(Hrmppphhh...and these whiners these days complain about "carpal tunnel syndrome"...WHATEVER! I scooped ice cream all summer, and went on to become a "checker" for a few years afterward...no wrist problems here!)

Anyway...one major bonus from all that scooping was how strong it made my right wrist and forearm.

I play volleyball...and when practice started that fall...about a month before school actually began...my serve and spike had improved DRAMATICALLY! OMG!

My coach wanted to know what I had been doing all summer to become that much stronger...and I told him: "I owe it all to the ice cream!" LOL! ;)

Yes, I scooped MILLIONS of scoops that summer! Especially on Saturdays...YIKES! :O At 35-cents a scoop...and I scooped HUGE servings!...the Dierbergs ice cream booth was the hottest ticket in town...well, as far as ice cream was concerned, anyway!

We only sold it at cost, to lure the shoppers away from the other grocery stores...and it totally worked! (That Dierbergs location was relatively a new store...at that time it was open for its 2nd year.)

I met so many people that summer...customers, and co-workers alike. At the time I was a relatively shy girl, and dealing with the public on such a grand scale, and working with a staff of literally hundreds of employees, it really brought me out of my shell.

Suddenly I was part of the community on a larger scale, and met and began dating several boys at the store...(not at the same time! SHEESH! I wasn't a 'ho! ;)

And, OMG...was the Orange Sherbet ever FABULOUS! ;) Lime and Orange Sherbet are my all-time fave flavors...and I savored a cone every day on my precious little 15-minute break! ;)

Okay, so the point to THIS particular ramble, is: there were several songs which, whenever I hear them, immediately take me right back to that summer...and what an AMAZING summer it was!...

I had just started driving...I had the absolute BEST car at school...a black-on-black Toyota Supra, 5-speed stick, V-rated tires (they did not have the Z-rated ones yet!), alloy racing wheels, ground effects, automatic moon-roof, flip-up head-lights, and spoiler!

The Supra was my brother's...he bought it new, and had it for about a year...and then he decided to buy a new Firebird instead...

OMG...I LOOOOVED that car! I was so into the Supra-thing even before my brother bought his! (Yup...I have always been a huge car-freak...for a girl...that was pretty uncommon at that time.)

Well, instead of trading it in on his Firebird, my dad bought it from him and gave it to me! Wooo-Hooo!

So, yeah...not trying to be a snob here...but I absolutely loved that car! It was such an amazing feeling to know that I had the best freaking car in high school!

And, hey, I kept it for almost 10 years...until it rusted apart!

Okay, so...I have established the fact that:

1) It was a fabulous summer,

2) I totally rocked my Supra,

3) I have a definite "soundtrack" to that summer...

The more prevalent songs would be:

1) "I can't wait"...Nu Shooz,

2) "Blondes in Black Cars"...Autograph... (Even though, I was a BRUNETTE in a black car!),

3) "Turn Up the Radio"...Autograph,

4) "Melt With You"...Modern English...(Can anyone ever forget that cine-magical masterpiece: "VALLEY GIRL"??? ...Like, I'M SO SUUURRRREEEEE!!! ;),

5) "Dancing in Berlin"...Berlin... (OMG! I LOOOOVEEEE Berlin!),

Annndddd there is one more obscure little song which TOTALLY LOVE! ;) I heard it on the radio today...while I was driving past the new Dierbergs by my new house! :O ...and it immediately took me back, and made me feel 16 all over again! ...

6) "Heart and Soul", by T'PAU...and it is fabulous! Go and Google it or look it up on MySpace...such a killer tune! ;)

And now, I have a RASPBERRY, METALLIC-PINK! 5-speed Mustang convertible...5.0, V-8 engine, baby! The last of the 5.0's which were produced! Wooo-Hooo!!! :)...

...White top, white leather interior, custom chrome wheels, and dual exhaust! ;) ... (Yes, it's a STOCK COLOR...Only a very few were made...and it's AWESOME!!! I LOVE MY CAR!!!)

Oh yeah...and now I have the Z-rated treads...ZOOOMMMMM! LOL! ;)

(Damn! I now have this overwhelming desire for ICE CREAM! ;)

"Everybody Cut 'FOOTLOOSE'! " ;) ...

~* "FOOTLOOSE" *~ ...

I had my first kiss at this movie in 8th grade... :)

His name was Chuck, he sat behind me in Algebra I...which I almost failed, because I was completely infatuated, and we were always passing notes! ;)

My Dad could not understand why I had to have a tutor in ALgebra, because math had always been my best subject! LOL! OMG, if my daddy only knew his little girl was discovering boys!

Well, Chuck was an adorable little blonde boy, totally looked like a cross between Zack from SAVED BY THE BELL, and Dawson from DAWSON'S CREEK...no kidding.

His mom dropped up off at the $1-show, (yes...it was a DOLLAR! ;) ...he bought a box of Junior Mints, while I chose not to get anything...OMG...who could eat anything at a time like this??? This was my first little date, ever! :O

So, we watched this movie...completely blown-away by it all! He held my hand throughout the entire movie, and I was so nervous when our hands kept sweating together! :O

Finally, towards the end of the movie--during the the Prom-scene--he leaned over and kissed me! I COULD HAVE DIED! I had no idea what I was doing, but I was a quick learner! ;)

We then started "going steady"...and at the end of the school year, we had our own little 8th-grade "Prom"...and the student council decorated the cafeteria with strands and strands of twinkle lights, and hung '45's (records, for all of you who have no clue what a '45 is...SHEESH! )...hung them suspended from the accoustical ceiling tiles with fishing-twine...just like in the movie.

It was fabulous! I snagged one of those '45's for a souvenir that night, and still have it! (Yep, that's me...confirmed pack-rat! ;)

Chuck and I dated into our Freshman year...then broke up. He was ready to do more than just "go steady", while I--being the GOOD GIRL that I am--could not keep up.

We had a lot of classes together for the next 3 years until graduation...Chem I and Chem II, Physics, and Pre-Calculus. We always ended-up sitting near each other, because our last names were by each other in the alphabet!

It was so hard to be so near him, and see him with other girls...but I managed to keep my chin up...which was hard to do for my little high school girl psyche...EVERYTHING seemed to be so extreme and intense! Yikes!

We later went to different colleges, and I had not seen Chuck until recently. He never came back for any of the reunions. I never forgot him, though.

Well, I was tending bar recently, and my friend Jason from high school came in to have a shot with me. Jason said, "I have someone here you may want to say 'hi' to"......

I looked up and behind him, and...OMG! There before me stood Chuck...the first boy I had ever kissed.

My eyes widened, my heart started beating a stacatic rhythm in my chest, and the only thing I could think to say was, "HOLY SHIT!" :O

I was out from behind that bar so fast! Before I even knew what I was doing, really, we were giving each other a big hug!

It was incredible to see him again! He looked a little different...he had "grown up".

However, when I looked into his eyes, he was the same little blonde boy I fell so madly "in love" with at 13!

We have since reconnected in our friendship, regretting the fact that we had drifted so far apart in the past many, many years...and it has been absolutely wonderful having him back in my life.

He and I started out as friends first and foremost, in 8th grade...and now we have continued on that path...knowing we will always have a deeper connection than most.

After all...he WAS my *FIRST KISS*! ;)