And I don't even have any cupcakes.
I am cooking beef brisket in the slow cooker though. With my own doctored up barbecue sauce concoction. I'm going to feed this to my parents later, for our half-assed Father's Day dinner. So it's not cupcakes, but it IS red meat.
So, I just figured I should make a new post since I finally got a job and that last post is now obsolete. I started my new job last week, at an independent insurance agency, smaller than the one I left but larger than the one at which I originally started in the field. I think there are a total of about 15 of us at my new workplace, and I love that. One thing I did learn at my last job is that a larger office is probably not the best place for me. So that's nice to know, I guess. Also, all the other account manager-type people at my new job are hilariously sarcastic and bitter -- not in a bad, negative way, but in a really funny way. Of course I fit right in. And an old friend from high school also works there, which is an added bonus.
Working for most of the week just about frickin' killed me though. I did not realize that it would be such a huge shock to my system after 10 weeks off to get back to work. After all, I was quite bored and irritated by not working. But it damn near exhausted me. I started on a Tuesday and that was fine, but Thursday and Friday got really frighteningly sluggish toward the end of the day. I realized I'd been mostly laying on the couch snoozing through Ellen and Oprah beginning at 3pm for the better part of 10 weeks, and I have to assume my system will adjust once again to using my brain all the way to 5pm (Does the drive home count? Hope not, or we're really in trouble).
I woke at the crack of dawn today, owing to allergies, and have been parked in front of the television ever since, multitasking, watching crap with half an eye while reading literary blogs (meaning blogs that concern themselves with discussion of all things literary). I did take a brief break to put the brisket on, but otherwise, here's what I've watched already this morning:
- VH-1 Top 20 Video Countdown. Confused new Daughtry video with a generic Nickelback song till I actually saw Chris Daughtry in the video. Turns out this is the song he wrote with the lead singer of Nickelback. Just... ew. Also, realized that one only digs Katy Perry while Katy Perry is actually playing; then you just forget about her ten minutes later. I mean, Lady Gaga is totally irritating, but her songs are catchy enough to stick with you and sneak up on you later in the day. Not so with Katy Perry.
- America's Sweethearts (5 minutes). The totally crap movie starring John Cusack, Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Billy Crystal. With that cast, I'm sure the filmmakers assumed it would be awesome. But it's horrible. The problem with a cast loaded with heavy-hitters is that the moviegoer has no idea where to look. You've got John doing his thing, Billy doing his schtick, Catherine playing a bitch, and Julia convincing no one that she's a put-upon wallflower. The whole premise is ludicrous, but only because of the casting. Also, no one really wants to see movies in which Hollywood pretends it understands what's ridiculous about Hollywood.
- Six Pack (beginning about 20 minutes in). This movie, on the other hand, is awesome. Back before Kenny Rogers did that thing to his face, he played a down on his luck race car driver who finds himself saddled with the care of 6 youngsters who miraculously know everything about cars and racing, help him win a bunch of races, and capture his heart along the way. This movie is awesome.
- Mask (final 45 minutes). The 1985 classic starring Cher and Eric Stoltz. And the dad from Prancer. I love this movie but it is pretty depressing. I guess I never noticed before how depressing it is. Also, I didn't know anything about the Grateful Dead the last time I saw this movie, so I only just noticed that Ripple is playing at the end, when Rocky is dead and Cher goes in and finds him. Which makes it sadder. Dude, though, it's totally awesome that she trashes her house. I think I might actually trash my house if anything ever happened to The Pook. I can totally relate to that reaction. Also, this movie no longer makes me cry. I used to sob uncontrollably at the end. No longer. Interesting. Also, "Roll Me Away" by Bob Seger, which plays over the end credits, is still a really killer song.
- Fuse Hit List. This is the video music channel that still plays music videos. Actually, they all still play music videos; you just have to know what time they play them. On the Hit List, they just play whatever's currently a hit. Doesn't matter if it's hip hop or metal or pop or whatever -- they just mix them all up. It's mostly rad with a bit of irritating thrown in. I can usually only stand this for about 45 minutes before I have to change the channel. Rob and I have learned from the Hit List about how Canadian bands can always be identified by their shitty videos that follow some kind of stupid plotline about a kid who's fixing to run away from home because his or her family doesn't understand them. We have also learned that hip hop is more effective when you stay away from "singing" along with AutoTune. We have also learned that the Killers are no substitute for Bruce Springsteen, hard as they may try, and that Paula Abdul did the Rebel Without a Cause video most effectively with Keanu, so no one should bother trying to redo it.
I was hoping for a marathon of Locked Up Abroad on the National Geographic network, but no such luck. And today's Degrassi marathon doesn't even start until 4pm -- what good will that do me??
Now that Rob's awake, we're gonna watch Fanboys on pay per view. Yay!
