I took off from work yesterday. Lisa, Audra, and I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We were there for hours and we still didn’t get to see everything. The museum closed at 5 and we drove to the Bubble Tea House. I think their quality has gone downhill. I sent back the order of Sweet Potato Fries because they were cold. Even the warmer ones the waiter returned with weren’t as good as I remembered. Our meter was up in an hour so we took off and went to the movies. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. It wasn’t as good as the first one but it wasn’t bad either. I enjoyed it. All of us did. Hugh Grant’s character had us rolling. As we left the theater, Audra said: “That was truly a girl’s movie.”
“That’s because it satisfies our collective fantasy of marrying up!” I said. The movie is completely unrealistic. As if a man like Mark Darcy would ever have anything to do with a Bridget Jones is a joke. Bridget knows it. That is why she is paranoid he is cheating on her. She knows men never marry down. Unless you count height. Then that is almost always the case.

Anyone have any experience with Maltese dogs? A lady near us is selling Maltese puppies and Lisa is very much interested in adopting one. The pictures show the most adorable little dog in the world. (Excluding Lily, natch!) I just don’t know their temperment.

The last few days I have not wanted to do any work. This is very unusual for me. I am a workaholic and have a very hard time going home at the end of the day. I think it is because I am not in the office and I still have 3 weeks of vacation time that I must use or lose. I put in for Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas and the week after Christmas for vacation. I am thinking I will take every Friday off until the end of the year. That should use up the days.

I may have a date on Saturday with one of my eHarmony matches. He seems like a nice guy. He is bald and in the picture he doesn’t even try to hide it. Talking to him on the phone, I was shocked when he mentioned he was married before and I was very close to saying- Sorry, I’m not interested in a divorcee- but I realized that at my age I really can’t be picky and it is foolish to think that men in the age range I am interested in haven’t already been around the block a few times. So I am keeping an open mind.

Frankie takes a drag!

He holds it in….

Hey Deadhead, you want a hit?

Yippie!

Boys, were you doing something naughty?

And now the chaser!

This will be our little secret! OK, Guys?

Oh my goodness! I caught something I never before noticed in Beach Party. The kids are at Big Daddy’s and Dick Dale and the Deltones are rocking. Frankie, John Ashley and Deadhead (aka Jody McCrea) are sitting together. Frankie takes a puff of what appears to be a JOINT and he passes it to Jody!!!! I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! I will post pictures once I get my new laptop.

Lisa and I went out shopping today. We bought tons of stuff. At Best Buy I picked up 3 DVDs. Bikini Beach, Beach Party, Beach Blanket Bingo, Ski Party, Muscle Beach Party and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. Wait, that’s 6 titles! Two movies per disk– how cool is that?!? I LOVE Beach movies and have seen every single one of them many times over. That is how I wanted life to be– so simple, so innocent. I loved Donna Loren and Dick Dale and Candy Johnson. In fact, watching Candy go-go, I thought she too could make a perfect workout video. I wish I could copy DVDs. Then I could splice all her scenes together and make my very own workout video.

I’ve been shopping around for a new laptop and thought I found the right one for me, the Sony Vaio. At Best Buy, I looked around and found another one that I like MUCH more. The Toshiba Satellite— 17-inch screen! Oh Baby! Mommy LOVES YOU!

The dog show was interesting. What I found is that these people just love to groom anything. If they weren’t grooming their dogs, they were combing their kids’ hair and straightening their collars. Lisa and I saw a ton of dogs although none really struck our fancy. I think I am more of a mutt person… the Hunky-Dago that I am.

Not that this is terribly interesting but watching the Beach movies I noticed something I had never noticed before. When I was younger, there was one beach boy that always stood out to me and I liked him lots. He was just soooooooo cute! Well, upon this viewing, I realized he was not just a nobody surf kid; he was Michael Nader! I checked the credits and indeed I was correct. Looking at his other credits, he also played LaCroix in the pilot movie to my favorite TV series, Forever Knight, Nick Knight. Now it was Nigel Bennett’s portrayal of LaCroix that produced strange stirrings in my utility belt but regardless what a crazy connection!

This last week was spent sitting in CRM demos. Microsoft, Peoplesoft, and Oracle. I really wanted to love Oracle but their offline capabilities were more than a little lacking. An excel worksheet? C’mon! My vote goes to Peoplesoft.

Since ATA declared bankruptcy, I’ve been flying US Airways. It’s the price. I go for the cheapest ticket I can find. The one thing I have noticed is the US Airways pilots are incredible. Much better than the ATA pilots. With ATA, it felt as if we were jumping into the air and then on landing, we would hit the ground with a huge thump. Flying US Airways, I will find myself sitting on the tarmac, reading the newspaper only to look out the window and find we are high in the sky. “When did we take off?” I’ll wonder. On landing, it will be so smooth that I will not even notice that we landed. It is absolutely great!

My exercise routine has once again ground to a halt. I really wanted to Tae Bo and Salsa my way to a better body but I just can’t stick with it. On the plane ride home this morning I was thinking about what kind of exercise video could I follow and look forward to doing. It hit me. I want to exercise to Tina Turner songs and moves. The more I thought about it, I began to envision a 3 video set.
1. Proud Mary Workout! Get yourself in shape the Tina Turner way!
2. Ann-Margret Aerobics! Slap your thighs and wiggle your butt to a great body!
4. It’s a Mod Mod World! Dance in the style of the Laugh-in girls- Judy Carne and Goldie Hawn. Writhe your way to groovy gams!
I think it is a great idea. Jane Fonda, call me!

The strange things you find out about people. The girl I was eating dinner with last night had mentioned that her hair is naturally dark. I replied that I had just assumed she was a natural blonde and couldn’t imagine her with dark hair. “Oh, it’s true; let me show you a picture.” She took out her wallet and removed the plastic album and showed me a picture of herself as a brunette. I then started to look at the other pictures in her mini-album and you know what? THEY WERE ALL OF HER! Every picture in her wallet was of her! How strange is that?

Lisa and I are going to a dog show tomorrow. Lisa so wants a dog and this seemed like a good way to see what the different breeds are like. We shall see.

You’ll never believe where I went to dinner! HOOTERS! A colleague and I decided to eat dinner together. We were walking down the street trying to find a nice restaurant when we walked past the infamous “owl eyes boobies” sign and she says, “Oh, let’s go to Hooters!”
“What?!? Hooters? Can two women go to Hooters for dinner? Is that permissible?”
“Sure why not? I bet there are lots of single men there.”
“Oh, okay then.
This was not my first time eating at Hooters. I took Heiko there many years ago. He loved chicken wings and I thought he would enjoy the wings and the waitresses. (Gosh, I was such a cool girlfriend!) The waitress at this Chicago Hooters was really cool. She wore pearl necklaces and a big shiny antique ring with her tight t-shirt and orange shorts. I complimented her on her choice of jewlrey and she replied: “Honey, I got the ring at H&M for $5.00 and the pearls at Target for $3!” Girl after my own heart!

I was re-reading my last entry and it goes against my latest resolution! “Of course with my luck I would immediately turn into a hawk and annoying Mathew Broderick would show up and ruin everything.” STOP BEING SELF-DEPRECATING. Donna!

Tomorrow I leave early for the airport. I also plan to take the rest of the day off. I can hardly wait!

I’ve been watching Blood of Heroes on Telemundo since I got back from dinner. I really feel like I am going to throw up. Why do I do this to myself? I must gain control! I really like to watch Rutger Hauer speak Spanish. It turns me on BABY!

I am doing really great on eHarmony. I got me a man with a handlebar mustache and a funeral director! In a weird way I am alternately attracted and repelled by the funeral director. How wonderful is it that he comforts people during a time of such sadness… yet he sews their loved one’s eyelids shut and sucks their guts out with a hose?

How cool would it be if I was matched with Rutger Hauer on eHarmony? Of course with my luck I would immediately turn into a hawk and annoying Mathew Broderick would show up and ruin everything.

FABULOUS NEWS! I work from home next week!!!! Can you believe it? I can’t! What will I do with myself? I know…. I will watch La Femme Nikita Season 2 and clean my room, and do my expenses, and take walks, and chat with men on eHarmony and make hummus, and visit with my parents, and sing along with the radio, and surf the Internet, and sleep.

I am so tired. I’ve been sitting through all day meetings and it is really depleting me. Friday is a long way away.

On the plane last night, soaring above the clouds, I realized something. I have myself convinced that I am a loser when it comes to love and relationships. In fact, I spout this to anyone who will listen! It is always, “Donna has no luck with men” “Poor Donna, she is always alone” Well, I am tired of it. Instead, I have decided that I am going to spout quite the opposite: I AM SEXY! MEN ARE ATTRACTED TO ME!

Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß
Auf Liebe eingestellt,
Denn das ist meine Welt.
Und sonst gar nichts.
Das ist, was soll ich machen,
Meine Natur,
Ich kann halt lieben nur
Und sonst gar nichts.

Männer umschwirr’n mich,
Wie Motten um das Licht.
Und wenn sie verbrennen,
Ja dafür kann ich nicht.
Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß
Auf Liebe eingestellt,
Ich kann halt lieben nur
Und sonst gar nichts.

And maybe if I say it and think it enough, I will start to believe it. And if I believe it, maybe others will too.

I have always admired facial hair on men. The caveat is IT HAS TO BE NICELY GROOMED. In Las Vegas last week, I saw a ton of men with the most unruliest goatees. It is like they grew a Grisly Adams beard and then just shaved off the sides. No no no no! This fad has got to go!