Well, I’m posting again.

And sorry, today is a bit boring.

A few weeks ago I started a writers group I’m calling The Pittsburgh Writers Group. (Or I may call it Pittsburgh Writers Association, I haven’t decided yet.)

The first meeting wasn’t bad at all. There was me and two other folks, Chuck and Jean. They’ve been there since the beginning…well through all 3 of the meetings we’ve had. lol.

This last meeting, our 3rd, was a HUGE success.

I honestly never thought I’d have more than 4 or 5 people show up. Ever. I was wholly expecting my group to be a complete failure. How wrong was I! The meeting had about 10 people. 10! I was thrilled. Sure, the meeting was a bit chaotic and I was a scatter brain, but it was a success. Everybody got along so well, I left so motivated and I’m anxious for the next meeting.

I have not written a word book wise. Nope, not a single word. It’s frustrating. I’m motivated I know what I want to write, just not HOW to write it. Yes, I don’t know how to write it. I’ve written and rewritten a million times. I trashed the entire novel, after it was finished, to rewrite it. Now, I’m stuck. I’m in that dreaded rut many of us land in. There is wall in front of me and here I am without a bird to knock it down.

I honestly don’t know how to break this one.

The story premise is good. I absolutely LOVE it. I just wasn’t happy with the original. At all. But it was as though once I trashed the old copy, things just came to a screeching halt.

BAH!

Today, I’m just pissed at the Obama’s like 90% of America.

Why? Well, because apparently we can’t make our own decisions about what to eat.

I love chocolate. I really do. Occasionally I will indulge in a king sized candy bar.

Not anymore. Apparently Mr. Obama’s asshole wife decided that they’re not good for you, so she’s banned them. SHE BANNED F*CKING CANDY BARS.

I’m a registered Republican. Yes, I AM A REPUBLICAN. Well, registered. But more libertarian. Since there is no “libertarian” party…Republican was the better of two evils. I believe that the smaller the government, the better. I believe the government needs to stay out of our lives and run the government…not what we f*cking eat. I like salt, I like candy, I like fattening foods. What makes these  assholes in the White House think they can control what I put in my body?

I can honestly say I am anxiously awaiting November. I will be at the ballots in November to vote. Can you guess who I am NOT voting for?

Honestly, Obama is the biggest mistake America has ever made. (No, I did not vote for him.) He’s spent more money in the past 3 1/2 years than any other president did in their entire term. He’s been an embarrassment and has gone WAY over what a president should. Him AND his nosy wife.

Come November, let those pathetic excuses for Americans (The Obama’s) know that we are SICK and TIRED of them intruding in our lives. We’re SICK and TIRED of them controlling what we eat. Let them know we are SICK and TIRED of them trying to turn our country into a socialist society.

WE ARE NOT SOCIALIST. CAPITALISM IS GOOD. (No, I’m not rich, but I also don’t think it’s fair to punish the rich for working their butts off to get what they have.)

I know a lot of people won’t agree with me and believe that whole b.s. of share the wealth is a good idea, but seriously it’s not. Think about it, if you were the one who worked hard all your life to get that money and then had some guy (who is also making tons of money and not giving it away) tell you to give it away, how would you feel?

Do you want more money and better things? Then go out and work for it! Go to college, get a degree, get a better job and quit expecting hand outs.

That’s the great thing about America, you have the opportunity to make a better life for yourself. You have that opportunity to either work your way up to a position where you are making a lot of money or starting your own business. Stop expecting things to be handed to you. Stop thinking that you are owed something. Because guess what, you’re not. Nobody is owed a single thing.

Stop with the excuses on why you can’t do something. The only thing standing in your way, is yourself. And now the government.

Our founding fathers are probably rolling in their graves because of the state of our country.

The country is heading towards Demolition Man. Never seen the movie? Go watch it. That’s what America is going to end up like if shit keeps going the way it is. I don’t want a world like that. It will suck. Seriously…it really suck.

Okay, so this may not be a “government mandate” yet, but it doesn’t change the fact this woman has gone WAY over the line when it comes to her anti-obesity campaign. She needs to stop.

And also, last time I checked we did still live in America. I’m allowed to have my own opinion whether someone agrees with it or not. If you don’t agree, well, oh well. I don’t like the Obama’s and I am keeping my fingers crossed he’s voted out of office.

Also, sorry for the asterisked f bombs. I tend to get a little testy when someone messes with my chocolate.

AND I WANT MY KING SIZED CANDY BARS BACK DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rant over.

After my post was made public I received an email from the owner Bubba Snider inviting me to take a tour and judge the place for myself.

So that is what I did this past Friday.

I had told Bubba that I would be at the bar at 7:30 pm. I decided to show up a little earlier and just do a quick scan of the dining area and bar.

It looked a typical Pittsburgh bar. The floors were clean, the bar clean, employees shuffling about and the dreaded karaoke was getting started. Yes, they have karaoke every Friday night. The guy they have there is SUPER nice and I admit, I am one of those folks who enjoy sitting back and watching others make complete asses out of themselves. So, not so dreaded I suppose.  I sat down and ordered my drink while waiting for 7:30. The bartender was so super pleasant and friendly. Which is nice. I can’t tell you how many places I’ve been in where I’m either ignored or the employee is so rude I want to b*tch slap rolling eyes out of their head.

The price of my drink sucked though. $5 for a Smirnoff. The Friday night beer special made up for it though. Every Friday from 5-7 pm they have .99 beers. Yes, you read that right. 99 CENTS for a beer. Not all beers. Just one specific kind of beer. It rotates. I actually had to ask Eric  twice if that was right. That is by far the best happy hour price I’ve ever heard of. It’s just too bad that I hate beer. (Except Leinenkugel. That stuff is f*ing amazing.)

 Once the time hit I asked for Bubba. Unfortunately he was not there. So, I met with his night manager, Eric, instead and the tour commenced. That place is not what I expected. In the 12 years I’ve been working, I’ve worked in many restaurants and bars. Some clean…some not so much. Mullen’s on the North Shore, yeah, it’s clean. I don’t know what it looked like prior to the health inspection, but I’m telling you now. It is immaculate. In the dry stock area, cooler and freezers everything is up off the floor and away from the wall, nothing on the floors, properly sealed and dated. Coolers and freezers are within the appropriate temperature range, the kitchen is clean and floors are not sticky. Which sticky bar floors are one of my biggest pet peeves. I HATE STICKY BAR FLOORS!!!!!

 I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw. In fact, when the man and I go out for our next date night, I think we’re heading to Mullen’s. I haven’t tried the food out so that will be the next mission. It did smell amazing. Seriously, it smelled really good.

 I’m also happy to say that they DO NOT have Lobster Zone anymore. If you have never heard of that disgusting game, it’s like the crane game only with live lobsters. There is a tank and for $2 you can “win” a lobster. It’s cruel and inhumane. I’m glad they got rid of it.

On Saturday’s they are hosting a sort of comedy club upstairs in their VIP room. They are partnering with Wolfie’s Comedy to have another room in Pittsburgh for comedians. Which, we definitely do not have enough of. I’ve been to the Funny Bone a few times and…meh. Sometimes funny, other times…meh. This past Saturday, February 18, they hosted Jesse Joyce from New York who has been on the Tonight Show, Last Comic Standing and is the head writer for the Comedy Central Roasts. They actually sold out of tickets. 

So, I retract my last post. I will be going to Mullen’s and I am actually looking forward to it. While it may not be a Pittsburgh based bar (Mullen’s originated in Chicago) it has acclimated well to our little city. It seems to have adapted to what we like and what we ‘burgers enjoy. (FYI other bars that are looking to settle in our area…ACCLIMATE TO US!!! Don’t try to make us fit into your bar. You fit us.) We love our sports, we love our beers, we love our greasy food. That is what we want. Sports, food and beer. We don’t need NY style clubs, we don’t need/want half-naked Scottish hookers running around. Give us friendly waiters/bartenders, alcohol and music and we are happy.

So Mullen’s, good job. I look forward to visiting you and fully enjoying myself when I have longer than an hour or two

Public transportation sucks. I’ve ranted about it before. It’s over crowded, people are rude and you never know who you’re going to end up next to.

You’ve all seen zombie movies right? You’ve seen how someone may appear a little sick, then starts moaning, looks at the person and then just eats them.

Kind of like….this…

I wouldn’t really mind becoming a zombie, except for one thing. It would hurt like f*cking hell. Seriously, think about it. In order to be turned you have to be bitten by someone who is already a zombie. That zombie is a mindless eating machine. They have no self-control. All zombies want to do is eat your flesh and organs. How can you trust that the zombie will stop after one bit?

Not to mention being bitten hurts. My 3-year-olds bite me all the time, little bites, and they hurt like hell. I don’t want some full-grown zombie taking a chunk out of my ass. No thanks.

So, back to public transportation.

I was sitting on the bus this morning on my way to work when this woman I was sitting next to just starts wheezing and moaning. I freaked out. I stood and got off at the next stop. Luckily it was the one I needed. The first thing that popped into my head was this woman was either going to start a pandemic on the overly crowded bus and Pittsburgh would become ground zero for some major quarantine (I’ve watched contagion and the crazies in the past week…sorry.) or she was a muda fudgin zombie who was going to bite my ass.

Either way I wasn’t taking any chances.

Oh…by the way…today…I feel like shit. So that woman probably was sick and that wheezing and moaning spread her infectious germs to me. Great.

My big, fat, lazy cat.

Well, I have proof just how fat and lazy she is.

Yes, that is a real cat. That is my Venus. She sat there like that for a good 15 minutes having her neck scratched. And yes, she is as evil and fat as she looks.

That cat is ridiculous.

What did I do?
I trashed it.

Yes, I trashed the 30k words I had already written and I am starting over.

Completely over.

Same concept…all new story. Since restarting I’ve run into this horrendous writers block. So bad that I can’t even write the first damn chapter. Hell with the chapter, I can’t get the first damned line out.

I know exactly what I want to write. I have the entire story in my head…I just can not find the words. Which is rare for me. I usually always know what to write.

So this is what I’ve been doing. pounding furiously on the netbook. Then…delete, delete, delete. Tippity, tappity, delete, delete, tippity, tap. Curse words, curse words, curse words, bottle of wine, curse words.

That has been my process.

I’m about to upgrade to some stronger alcohol.

F*CK YOU WRITERS BLOCK!!!!!!!!!!

A good number of them were when I was just a kid. Why on earth would a child end up at the scene of an accident?

Because, my mother was an EMT for many years and if I was with her when a call came through, I went with her. It was educational and exciting for a 10-year-old to watch mommy save someones life. I always had such respect for my mother. She was an EMT, only making maybe $8/hour (remember this was 16 years ago.) saving lives. She was my hero and such an amazing woman.

That is why this news story just pissed me off. I have so little respect for people anymore.

In Hampstead, Canada there was a pretty nasty vehicle accident involving a truck and a van. The van was carrying 13 migrant workers and the truck slammed into the back of it. 10 of those workers and the truck driver were killed.

One gentleman, who had first aid training, (I believe everyone should have some form of first aid training) got out of his vehicle to help as many people as he could. He performed CPR and other life saving techniques on people until rescue crews were able to get to the scene.

As he stood back and let the professionals take over, he looked around and noticed a small gathering of people off to the side. What were these disgusting excuses of human beings doing? VIDEO TAPING THE CARNAGE!

That’s right. Instead of offering help they just took video of the wreck and the dying people on their cell phones.

Has the world become so disconnected with being kind to each other that now it’s no big deal to just stand by and watch people die?

As a person who does love her cell phone, netbook and kindle I can say it was disturbing reading that story. There are two accidents I really remember that happened only a few years ago, after I was able to drive on my own. One happened the same night I was in an accident, a couple driving in front of me spun out and flipped over an embankment during a snow storm. Did I stop? Yes. Did I get out of my vehicle? Yes. Did I video tape their screams of pain?
HELL NO! I got my cell phone and I called for help. Then I ran to their vehicle to make sure they were okay. Luckily they were.

The second happened after I was done getting my nails done. As I drove back into Pittsburgh, heading home I saw two cars collide and then slam into the barrier of the road in front of me. Did I stop? Yup. Did I get out? Yup. Did I video tape the woman who was scrambling to get her child (who was unharmed aside from a bump on her head) out of the mangled wreckage of the car? HELL NO! I got out my cell phone and called for help. Then went over to help and make sure everyone was okay.

I suppose gone are the days of helping out another person when they are in need of assistance. Gone are the days of caring about each other. Now it’s just get video as fast as possible and post it to Youtube and Facebook for the world to see!!! Hurry…that’s what’s most important! Not the people who are trapped in vehicles, dying or crying for help. Nope, getting that video footage is.

If you ever happen upon an accident, please don’t worry about getting footage of the carnage offer assistance to those who need it. Try bringing out your inner human and caring.

I also have to say I have a high regard for EMTs, paramedics, nurses, cops, firefighters, flight nurses and those doctors who do care about their patients. It’s a tough job and I’ve admitted a few times I could never do it. Not for my lack of caring but because I don’t have the stomach for it. I really don’t. Blood and bodily fluids completely gross me out. Even my own kids vomit and other bodily functions just make me gag. So kudos to those of you who do it for a living.

Far from it really.

There are a lot of days when I feel like this…

Today was one of those days. The kids were up late last night…as usual and decided 11 am was a good wake up time. Which is fine, except as the came stomping down the stairs I could hear them fighting. Yes, they fought as they came downstairs.

All I could do is groan because I already knew what my day had in store.

Let me tell you everything with them has been one gigantic fight after another. As my crab asses sat down at the table I asked what they wanted to eat. They wanted to eat different things. No big deal in the morning, well…for them it was. I guess to them, the other had to eat the same thing as his brother.

After 20 minutes of fighting over Eggo waffles and Captain Crunch…I managed to make myself some tea. I really did plan on savoring my tea. I love tea.

I didn’t get to. With my tea mug raised to my lips, I was ready to take a sip…until I hear this ear-piercing screech.

Eli touched Brett’s milk cup. Then Brett touched Eli’s cereal bowl.

Half an hour later, my cold and now disgusting tea was drank. (Or is it drunk?)

That is how my entire day went. Just like that. My two monsters stressed me out so bad that I now have a cold sore. It has been one of our rougher days and I suspect that the boys will be getting showered and going to bed early tonight.

Don’t get me wrong…when my children aren’t acting like the little spawn of Satan they’re great kids. They laugh and play so well together. Unfortunately, most of their day is spent like little hell beasts. I sometimes wonder if, instead of halos, someone secretly attached horns to them when I wasn’t looking.

So, since today was so rough I had to do something that relaxes me. I picked up my big, fat cat and hugged her.

Thank God today is almost over…

I think about 8 months.

A LONG TIME!

Yes, we actually went out. I had planned this big night out. Dinner, drinks, pool and dancing.

I got a babysitter, my mother is awesome, and we got all spiffy up.

Dinner was at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I haven’t been there in YEARS. Not since my dad took me as a teenager…so about 10 years.

It was…okay.

I had the Chicken bow tie Milano while Greg had the Sirloin and spaghetti.

But lets start at the beginning.

We walk through the front doors to a waiting area…which is WAY over decorated, and stand there looking around. No hostess in sight. There were a few waitresses who just ignored us. Stared, but ignored. No hello, no nothing.

A hostess shows up after a few minutes, no smile, no hello. She turns to lead us to a table and is like freaking Speedy Gonzalez. At one point we actually lost her. She, rather rudely, says, “Overrrr heeerreee!”

So we sit and she vanishes. We sit there for about 10 minutes without seeing our waitress. By now I’m in a rather pissy mood. Especially since the parents behind us were cursing at their child who was screaming like a banshee the entire time they were there.

Our waitress FINALLY shows up…and THANK GOD SHE WAS NICE! Super nice actually. I was able to forgive the asshole hostess and her tardiness.

She was able to bring our drinks quickly, which was the best part of the meal. I had a tiramisu martini and the man had a long island.

Our appetizer comes…the scicillian sampler, which had toasted ravioli, cheese frita, stuffed mushrooms and bruchetta.

It wasn’t bad. Kind of bland, but okay. Definitely not worth $9.

Then the entrees come. I started eating and, yup, like the appetizers, it was bland. The chicken was good, the sauce, not so much. Greg’s steak was good. His spaghetti, bland.

I don’t plan on going back.

We had fun talking. I love talking to him,sometimes. You would think with how opposite we are our personalities would clash more. Sometimes they do, but other times, not so much.

After dinner we decided to go to the Southside. The plan was drinks, pool and dancing. Yeah, we didn’t make it that far. We get there, drive around looking for parking and yeah, I was tired. I was tired and I had to be up at 4 am the following morning for work. So, we went home.

What did we do once we got home? We went to bed. Yeah, our night was done by 10 pm.

We’re getting old. *sigh*

I’m not a fan of either team, but I was rooting for the Giants. I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially that big, whiny ass baby Brady.

I’m not a fan of Gisele either. I really do think she’s overrated. What really sealed the deal of what little bit of respect I had for either of them was when the asshole (Gisele) sent this little gem out. Really? Who emails this “disgustingly sappy” “chain mail” to all their friends and family?

You know, it’s one thing to be talking to someone and ask them to just keep in their thoughts and prayers, but to specifically email everyone to pray for Tom Brady for THE SUPERBOWL? *sigh* Fine, she loves her hubby. Even if nobody else does.

Then, yesterday, she came out and said THIS.

In case you don’t want to click and read it there…here I’ll paste it here.

“You (have) to catch the ball when you’re supposed to catch the ball,” she is heard saying. “My husband cannot [expletive] throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times.”

Seriously? If Brady wasn’t overthrowing the ball, they probably could have caught it.

I don’t like Brady for many reasons. One being that he’s an enormous pussy. His “Brady Rule”…I won’t even get started on it. He’s an over-hyped, egotistical jagoff.

I can only imagine how his team is going to feel after reading the shit his wife is spewing. Hopefully Brady’s PR people can quickly cover their asses and maybe there…you know what…I hope there is a LOT of backlash over this. I mean a lot.

It takes a team to win a game and a team to lose it. It wasn’t everyone but Brady’s fault that the Pats lost Sunday’s game. It was the ENTIRE team (including his royal doucheness, Brady).

Rant over. Go Steelers. Suck it Pats.