:: Always the Freak ::

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"
:: welcome to Always the Freak CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW BLOG HOME: ATF v2.0 | | ?WHO IS JENN? |

Taste of San Diego, 9/2006
At the yummalicious Dussini in the Gaslamp.




[::..archive..::]
:: ARCHIVES
[::..ABOUT ME..::]
Just Watched:
Reading:
[::..Dailies..::]
:: A Work In Progress::
:: Bacon & Ehs::
:: ectophensis ::(Taco Shop Psychic)
:: Geese-A-Plenty::
:: Grillboy.net ::
:: Insignificant Thoughts ::
:: Crazy Island ::
:: Leftbanker ::
:: Outhouse Rag::
:: Tyler ::
:: xxcentrik ::
[::..Sometimes..::]
:: Six Different Ways ::
:: Sam-I-Am ::
:: Freak Girl ::
:: Easily Amused::
:: Badmouth::
:: Picnic, Lightning::
:: In Passing ::
:: Home Brew Adventures ::
:: KAYMC ::
[::..JenBoggles..::]
:: The Jencyclopaedia ::
:: Jenn Blogs ::
:: All Things Jen(nifer)::
:: Jen Bennett ::
:: Jenny Apple ::
:: Jen Speaks ::
:: Piehole ::
:: SnarkSpot ::
:: Very Big Blog ::
:: The Working Mom ::
:: Welcome to Jennville ::
:: What's Brewing ::
Listed on BlogShares
[::..Funny as Hell..::]
:: Stocker Mentality ::
:: Interesting Google Searches ::
:: PEEP Research ::
:: Cockeyed Science ::
:: Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About ::
:: Nude Carrot Man ::
:: Something Awful ::
[::..NASCAR..::]
:: NASCAR.com ::
:: Jimmie Johnson Fan Club ::
:: Lowe's Racing ::
:: Hendricks Motorsports ::
:: Jimmie Rules 2 ::
[::..Stuff I Like..::]
:: Pinball Promo Plastics::
:: Fellow Jeopardy Junkies, CLICK HERE! (This is Jennings)::
:: Found Magazine ::
:: My Wishlist ::
:: Jersey Girl Diary ::
:: Placebo Productions ::
:: Nick's NTN Site ::
:: News Askew ::
:: Honeyslide ::
:: Neil Gaiman ::
:: RoadsideAmerica ::
:: Everquest.com ::
:: Bored.com ::
:: WalMart Watch ::
:: My stupid personality test results ::
[::..Audiobooks..::]
11/07/2006
7 ~ The Innocent Man,
John Grisham
09/30/2006
8 ~ The Lovely Bones,
Alice Seebold
09/26/2006
6.5 ~ Rage,
Jonathan Kellerman
09/22/2006
8 ~ Girls in Pants,
Ann Brashares
09/15/2006
9 ~ Twelve Sharp,
Janet Evanovich
09/06/2006
7 ~ The Icon,
Neil Olson
08/20/2006
10 ~ Daughter of Fortune,
Isabel Allende
04/15/2005 7.5 ~ Envy,
Sandra Brown
04/12/2005
7.5 ~ The Crush,
Sandra Brown
04/13/2005
6.5 ~ The Conspiracy Club,
Jonathan Kellerman
03/08/2005
4 ~ Double Homicide,
The Kellermans
01/26/2005
5 ~ Courting Trouble,
L Scottoline
01/25/2005
1 ~ Full House,
J Evanovich
12/02/2004
10 ~ Small Town,
L Block
12/02/2004
3 ~ Darkly Dreaming Dexter,
J Lindsay
11/08/2004
5 ~ Cold Case,
S White
11/08/2004
8 ~ Four to Score,
J Evanovich
09/27/2004
9 ~ The Last Juror,
J Grisham
09/09/2004
0 ~ The Taking,
D Koontz
09/02/2004
7 ~ The Last Girls,
L Smith
08/31/2004
7 ~ Brave New World,
A Huxley
08/31/2004
4 ~ The Virgin Blue,
T Chevalier
08/31/2004
7 ~ Therapy,
J Kellerman
08/12/2004
3 ~ Good Faith,
J Smiley
08/12/2004
8 ~ The Survivor's Club,
L Gardner
06/29/2004
6.5 ~ The Second Summer of the Sisterhood,
A Brashares
06/29/2004
7 ~ Portrait in Sepia,
I Allende
03/29/2004
6.5 ~ Thr3E,
T Dekker
03/22/2004
6.5 ~ Blue Highways,
W Least Heat Moon
03/05/2004
8.5 ~ The Face,
D Koontz
03/05/2004
6.5 ~ Eyre Affair,
J Fforde
01/12/2004
8 ~ The Murder Book,
J Kellerman
01/12/2004
7 ~ A Cold Heart,
J Kellerman
01/02/2004
7 ~ Ambush at Fort Bragg,
T Wolfe
12/12/2004
5 ~ The Beach House,
J Patterson
12/12/2003
10 ~ The Bonfire of the Vanities,
T Wolfe
11/12/2003
10 ~ To Kill A Mockingbird,
H Lee
11/04/2003
6 ~ The Brethren
J Grisham
11/03/2003
5 ~ Hemlock Bay,
C Coulter
10/21/2003
8.5 ~ Jonathan Livingston Seagull,
R Bach
10/21/2003
6 ~ The Old Curiosity Shop,
C Dickens
10/14/2003
7.5 ~ The Sisterhood..
Traveling Pants,
A Brashares
10/01/2003
1 ~ Isle of Dogs,
P Cornwell
10/01/2003
9 ~ The All True Travels...Lidie Newton,
J Smiley
[::..Movie Grades..::]
10/2006
5 ~ Crash
09/2006
9 ~ Rent
09/2006
7.5 ~ Little Miss Sunshine
08/2006
10 ~ Talladega Nights
07/2006
9 ~ Cars
12/02/2004
0 ~ The Grudge
12/02/2004
7 ~ The Incredibles
12/02/2004
4 ~ Ray
12/02/2004
8.5 ~ National Treasure
12/01/2003
7.5 ~ Timeline
12/01/2003
4 ~ Haunted Mansion
11/03/2003
2 ~ The Hulk
10/12/2003
7 ~ Kill Bill, Part One
07/08/2003
7 ~ Terminator 3
07/08/2003
6.5 ~ Bruce Almighty
06/03/2003
6.5 ~ Amelie
06/03/2003
8.5 ~ The Italian Job
06/10/2003
6.5 ~ Matrix Reloaded
04/29/2003
6.5 ~ Identity
04/29/2003
6.5 ~ Anger Management
04/01/2003
6.5 ~ Dreamcatcher
03/25/2003
4 ~ The Banger Sisters
03/18/2003
4 ~ Bringing Down the House
03/18/2003
6 ~ Tears of the Sun
02/25/2003
5 ~ Daredevil
02/09/2003
7 ~ How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
01/24/2003
8 ~ Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets
01/10/2003
2 ~ Mr. Deeds
01/10/2003
5.5 ~ Lord of the Rings: TTT
01/10/2003
7 ~ Star Trek: Nemesis
11/12/2002
1 ~ The Transporter
10/29/2002
6 ~ One Hour Photo
09/04/2002
6 ~ Goldmember
08/27/2002
8.5 ~ Signs
08/13/2002
6.5 ~ Bloodwork
08/13/2002
5.5 ~ Vanilla Sky
08/13/2002
5.5 ~ Monster's Ball
08/7/2002
7.5 ~ Interstate 60
08/7/2002
7.5 ~ Escape From New York
08/7/2002
4.5 ~ Elvira's Haunted Hills
07/30/2002
4 ~ K19
07/17/2002
6 ~ The Bourne Identity
07/17/2002
5 ~ Halloween (8?)
07/8/2002
7 ~ Men In Black 2
06/25/2002
8 ~ Minority Report
06/18/2002
6 ~ Scooby Doo
06/11/2002
4 ~ Undercover Brother
06/11/2002
7 ~ The Sum of All Fears
05/28/2002
8 ~ Insomnia
05/21/2002
7 ~ Star Wars, Episode II - Attack of the Clones
05/14/2002
9 ~ Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
05/14/2002
4 ~ Snow Dogs
05/14/2002
1 ~ Gosford Park
05/06/2002
6 ~ Spiderman
05/06/2002
6 ~ Jason X
04/30/02
3.5 ~ Murder by Numbers
04/16/02
7 ~ Panic Room
04/09/02
7 ~ Van Wilder
03/26/02
5 ~ Ice Age
03/12/02
4.5 ~ The Time Machine
03/05/02
2 ~ We Were Soldiers
02/28/02
7.5 ~ Blackhawk Down
02/19/02
7 ~ A Beautiful Mind
02/19/02
5 ~ Hart's War
02/12/02
4 ~ Collateral Damage
02/12/02
2 ~ Mothman Prophecies
02/12/02
7 ~ I Am Sam

:: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 ::

Soooo Weird

I had a half a second to browse some blogs tonight and it just feels so weird! I hit my faves and found some moved, some have new layouts. It's so strange. I feel so out of the loop not having time to surf. Bleh. This time thing is making me a little nuts. I feel overwhelmed by everything I need to do and there isn't enough time to get to everything. Oh well... I guess that's real life. I'm still getting over the whole real life thing. You'd think that after a couple of years I would have adjusted, but I still miss the days of living at my mom's with no real responsibilities and weekends spent lounging around a pool, *SIGH* I hate being a grown up sometimes.

On a nice note, I've lost 5 pounds in the last two weeks! Doing pretty good. For dieters out there I have some good info. If you love rice like we do, make the switch from Rice-A-Roni to Zatarain's. First of all the Zatarain's Caribbean is absolutely delicious (and the others are great, too)! Second, skip the optional butter and there's virtually no fat in a one cup serving. Only 3 Weight Watcher's Points, too! And, a cup of rice is actually quite a bit of food. Oh, this does not apply to you Atkins freaks... lots of carbs, still! Anyway, that's my weight loss tip of the day.

There was something else I wanted to write, but I seem to have forgotten.

Oh, but check out this website I found over at Bacon & Eh's... it cracked me up!
.

:: Jenn 8:23 PM [+]

::
...
A Good Start

I rarely get online in the mornings. It was unusual to do it today, since I am up a little late after last night's Nine Inch Nails concert (which was great by the way!). But, after checking the weather I decided to do a quick check of my email and got a hate letter from an Amazon member!!! hahaha I've gotten a couple of emails from people who have LIKED my reviews, but never a nasty email, so I thought I would share the email with you, and my response.

Matthew Miracle wrote:
I read your review on amazon, and let me say I usually don’t write emails to people who write reviews. I also have a number of signed first editions, and I never talk trash. However you eluded that, “This book sucks!” when you have never read the book. Also your list of other reviews, not including the Last Juror, seem a bit parochial. You might want to read any of the Left behind books before you start on “Bad books”. And please keep your comments about “Books” to yourself unless you actually read the book.

Unless your IQ is well below 100 you should know that books on CD/TAPE are not the same as a book you read, thus the movement in authors to restrict certain publishing houses to put their books on CD/TAPE, some authors even rewrite the book for the CD/TAPE version.


Have a nice day


My response... okay, I know I should ignore him, but I am incapable fo this feat!!!

Actually, there are abridged editions that ARE re-written, however if you have any knowledge of audiobooks, you would know that the unabridged version of a book is the same book as the written books, particularly those that are craeated by the company "Books On Tape". SInce I don't have the luxury of sitting around all day reading, I read the best way I can... during my three hour daily commute.

If you don't like my reviews, don't read them, but just like anyone else, I have a an opinion, which is the whole point of Amazon reviews. If you liked that ridiculous book, well, gosh, I guess you are just that much brighter than the rest of us who enjoy books with a well-written plot, rounded characters, and a little thought put into it rather than "what would be the quickest way to get my idea out to the masses".

*I* am not a novelist. I do not claim to be a fabulous writer. I'm just a person who reads/listens to at least two books a week and if one particulary makes me feel good or bad, I share that opinion on Amazon. I'll make it easy for you. If you see my name on a review, don't read it, so you won't be offended. The fact that you read all of my reviews is funny... kind of like the Christian who can't stop looking at the naked picture in the bathroom, eh?


So, at least I started my morning with a chickle, but I better get my ass out the door!!!
.

:: Jenn 5:46 AM [+]

::
...
:: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 ::
Wishes wishes...

I wish I had the time to make real posts. Really. But, I thought I'd at least pop in and say hello. I'm doing great on my Weight Watchers and have lost 4 pounds since last Monday. I'm very happy with that, although I'm hungry at the moment! haha But I have some yummy home made pasta in the fridge for lunch. Anyway, I'm working on my company's budget this week, so more busy busy time for me. I'll try to do some more posting in a couple of days!

In the meantime, as far as audiobooks go, I HIGHLY do NOT recommend Carrie Fisher's book, The Best Awful. Mostly it's JUST awful in general. This is one time I was happy to have an abridged version, but what the hell? What do I want for five bucks, anyway, right?

So I've got one last thing to say. Go out and dance and have sex... life is too short to watch too much tv! Just a thought I was having (of course it's easy to say that now that all of my show's seasons just ended, huh? hahahaha)
.

:: Jenn 12:11 PM [+]

::
...
:: Monday, May 23, 2005 ::
I'm alive!

I know I haven't been able to post much lately. It's a bummer, but again, I gotta find the time to do it at home and there just ISN'T any time!

SO, we went to Laughlin to celebrate our first anniversary. Can you believe it's been a YEAR!?! I have a little trouble with that, it's gone by so fast! But we had a fantastic time. Better than the BIG vacation! I think that was because it was all about relaxing and just hanging out having fun. We took our jet ski and jet ski'd in the river which was a lot of fun. I wasn't having the best luck in the gambling department until we got free entries into a slot tournament and not only did I qualify with the highest score, but I WON!!!! I could NOT believe I could get that lucky as I am not usually a particularly lucky person, but it's true - I won $2500!!! I'm still in shock!

I'd like to spend it on a bunch of wonderful things, but the truth is, I am going to use it to get rid of a credit card debt. How boring =( But SMART!

We had some trouble with the jet ski trailer, unfortunatley, and being SUnday not much was open. So we spent all yesterday afternoon runnign around from auto parts store to auto parts store and back and forth to and from a jet ski place trying to get it repaired. We got it jimmie-rigged enough and made it home, but we got home late last night and were BEAT! So, now I'm in recovery from all the late nights.

Oh, and of course, I paid no mind to dieting of any kind while I was gone! haha But, I figure when it's your first anniversary, that's all good. Back to the Weight Watchers, now, though. I'm actually really good at this Weight Watchers stuff once I get it in my mind to DO it. I expect to lose 8-12 lbs per month. I'll see how I do, though... I'm getting older and weight is harder to get off as you age. That's why I gotta do it NOW!

Oh, and my anniversary present? He finally picked up on all of my hints and begging and got me the one thing I TRULY wanted. We're taking ballroom dancing lessons!!! It's only a 4 week class, but I'm sure that we'll have so much fun that we can go back and take more of them once we get started. It was a matter of getting Mr. San Diego to go for it. YEA!!!! I am Soooooooooooooooo excited! Oh, I got him Nine Inch Nails tickets for Memorial Day in San Diego. He was pretty happy, himself!
.

:: Jenn 9:13 PM [+]

::
...
:: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 ::
Honey, I'm Home!

It is sooo hard to get online time. We got home late Friday night and I would have blogged this weekend, but was so busy. The vacation was mostly good. We did a road trip up California, hitting 7 National Parks, Monuments, and Historic Sites as usual. Our National Parks Pass expires the end of this month, so we wanted to get some use out of it! We spent a couple of days in San Francisco, finally saw ALcatraz and stopped at Hearst Castle on our way home. Oh! I forgot... we also saw the World's Largest Artichoke in Castroville and the Pez Museum in Burlingame, not forgetting the Clown cemetery in the Cemetery town of Colma, CA (17 cemeteries and a population of only 1280 live residents!).

Yup, it was busy and lots of driving, but we saw some cool things.

Now that I'm back home, I'm really busy at work and I've kind of decided to limit my internet use while at work - There have been some problems wtih some of my staff and I just feel wrong getting on other people to properly use company computers, if I'm not following the same rules, ya know? This will seriously impact my ability to blog though! But, I will try to get on during lunch time sometimes when I find a way to not WORK while I'm eating like I usually do.

I gotta go pack now... I'm staying with the mommy tomorrow night and then we're headed off to Laughlin for a long weekend to celebrate our one year anniversary! So, next post will be next week.

One thought before I part. Today I spun out in the Number One lane (that's the fast lane if you live in California) on the freeway on my way home when some yahoo decided to merge into me. I avoided being hit and even though I panicked and handled the spin all wrong (you'd think I would learn SOMETHING from Nascar...geez!) both myself and my car came out unscathed. I fell really fortunate at what a GREAT ride home it was. I'm in one piece and no one hit me. Life does not get much better than that, right?

Nightynight.
.

:: Jenn 8:55 PM [+]

::
...
:: Monday, May 02, 2005 ::
Dang Dang Dang

I have so many things that I want to write about and I have been so overwhelmed both at work and at home that I haven't had the time. We're also leaving on vacation on Thursday and I'm trying to prepare for that.

One of the main things I wanted to talk about (which I still don't have the time to REALLY go over) is the book called State of Fear by Michael Crichton. Has anyone out there read this book? Crichton is known for doing excellent research and spreading his messages and I have to say, with this book, he has me convinced that the whole "global warming" scare is BS. Okay, maybe not CONVINCED, but it definitely makes you not only think, but makes you realize you NEED TO THINK! I can't say that I thought the book itself was fabulous. Sort of trite in some ways and some of the characters were stupid and parts of the story were just too simple, but the idea was one that I liked and it's really got me thinking. Anyone out there read this book? Anyone have any thoughts on his side of the story? I'd really love to hear what people have to say. If you ahven't read it, please go read it so we can talk about it. OKAY!?! It's sort of long, but you should have it done by the time I get back from vacation on the 15th.
.

:: Jenn 1:59 PM [+]

::
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