Last night, Lisa, Bo, and I congregated in my bedroom and watched the Secret. It wasn’t as mystical and new age-y as I thought it might be. I do believe that it works since I have at times used it to great success. The one thing I didn’t like so much about the DVD is it’s focus on material goods. I wish instead the focus was on being the best you can be. Maybe the reason is that when using The Law of Attraction, it is good to be specific. That is one thing I have always found. I get my desire but there is sometimes a catch. I really wanted Lisa to watch the movie with me since she struggles with being positive. She left about 2/3 of the way through but I think she got the most salient points. My plan is to start aiming bigger. My own usage has always been in small doses. Finding a parking space, dissipating clouds, locating a blouse, buying a car, getting a boyfriend. It’s time to start applying it more regularly and for a greater good.

If you are interested in ordering a copy of The Secret, you can do so here.

When I stated in my previous post that I scooped out the 2000 flushes tablets, that was a little bit of an understatement. I scooped out the tablets and then I scraped and scrubbed the blue residue. I poured about 3 buckets of hot water into the tank, flushing and pouring and flushing and pouring until the blue was GONE! And guess what. I got home from work, took a pee, AND THE TOILET FLUSHED! IT ACTUALLY SWIRLED AROUND THE BOWL AND WENT DOWN COMPLETELY! I wonder if it is normal to be so excited? And so it turns out that the blame is not to be placed on any particular person having such extremely large poopies that the shits need to be broken apart with an old coat hanger. THE BLAME IS TO BE PLACED ON THIS MAN:

Yes, Mr Al Eisen, the inventor of 2000 Flushes.

This photo captures Mr Eisen about to say, “4 MILLION TOILETS HAVE I DESTROYED WITH MY EVIL PELLETS OF BLUE DESTRUCTION! Bwahhahahahahhaha!”

Most of the blue is off. Just a little bit remains under a couple of fingernails. As I was growing up, my mother always told me in it was important for women to have clean fingernails. The blue under my nails bothers me because I would hate for a person to form a negative opinion of my hygiene, yet, this is a huge improvement over last night. HUGE! I could see myself at the podium this morning, “Hi my name is Donna and I am slowly turning into a smurf!”

That would go over real well!

An email came in this morning from the Amazon Marketplace seller. She apologized for the poor condition of the book AND she is refunding me my money AND allowing me to keep the book! That means I got a free book! Not bad! It is good to be a squeaky wheel!

Must continue to get ready. I have a meeting/event this morning. Must look my best.

I had quite an exciting day. This morning I took the train to New York City. I worked from the Manhattan office. The 4:30 train took me home. I made Lisa steamed tilapia, green beans and eggplant on white rice for dinner. She told me it was horrible. I thought it was quite tasty. Now, it wasn’t as good as when Rob and I make it with fresh fish but it wasn’t bad. After dinner, I took towels out of the dryer and I put the newly washed clothes from earlier into the dryer. I then fished out the 2000 flushes tablets from the two downstairs commodes. I am convinced they are to blame for the toilet issues I have been having. My right hand is now bright blue. I am a little worried because I am hosting a morning meeting tomorrow and I really hope this blue dye comes off. No one is going to want to shake my hand!

In the mail this afternoon was the book I ordered from Amazon: Steam Cuisine: Full steam ahead with 100 delicious recipes for a healthier diet. When I ordered the book, the description read new. It’s not new. There are notes written on some of the pages by the previous owner. There are also food splashes on a couple pages. I emailed the seller and asked how he/she would like to rectify this matter. I later went onto the Circuit City page and decided to have the laptop shipped to me. In the middle of the order, I thought, maybe I should just pick it up at Lawrenceville. That option was not available! I wonder if the hard time that jerk gave me had more to do with him not having the notebook rather than me not having sufficient ID? The world will never know. All I know is my lifeline has been cut off and I need a replacement. I will definitely get my money’s worth out of it. And why not? I wish I felt more at ease spending money.

The Secret DVD came in today. AND JAMES RAY IS STILL HAUNTING ME! This afternoon on a break, I thought I would check his page just to see if there are any updates. As I clicked on IE, I noticed an interesting article on the NYT rss feed I have on my google home page. I clicked on it to find AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE SECRET AND IT MENTIONS JAMES RAY! How freaky weird it that? Apparently a large percentage of the information from the DVD came from a woman who channels a spirit named Abraham. Or rather it comes from Abraham via a woman medium. It just sounds so absolutely silly. Still, the DVD arrived and I plan on watching it and perhaps I will take something of value away from it. Perhaps I will find my own spirit with whom I can connect! I can see myself being like Cyndi Lauper’s character in the movie, Vibes.

Sitting next to me on the train this morning was a woman reading the New York Times print edition. I couldn’t help but peak over her shoulder and read a bit of an article about male fertility.

…mounting evidence is raising questions… suggesting that as men get older, they face an increased risk of fathering children with abnormalities. Several recent studies are starting to persuade many doctors that men should not be too cavalier about postponing marriage and children.

Oddly enough, this made me smile. Men deserve to have a clock over their heads too!

Mama has been very close to getting a new baby– but no cigar! As you might remember, my current laptop is just about shot. It has multi-colored vertical lines running down the screen and it shuts off when it feels the urge which could be anytime. I had given it some thought and had pretty much decided to get a desktop. I got a quote and was about to lay out the big bucks until the Caprice died and I had to buy a new car. Everything was put on hold. Recently I realized that I just plain need a new laptop. One I can rely on. One I can use to track my finances (which I have kinda stopped doing). For Christmas, Lisa got a new computer. A little laptop. She sits in front of the fireplace and surfs the ‘net. She’ll sit it on the kitchen table and play music as she prepares a meal. Suddenly the desktop that I was looking at seemed terribly immobile. I decided that I want a little laptop too! I found a cute little one at Circuit City on Sunday. I told the clerk to ring it up and he said, “Sorry, we don’t have it in stock.” I went home empty-handed. This evening I noticed there is a Circuit City in NJ that isn’t too far from me and so I ordered it online and said I would pick it up at the store. Lisa and I drove all the way to Lawrenceville, NJ to collect the little laptop. The clerk at this store refused to let me buy it because I didn’t have adequate identification. I left empty-handed. Maybe I am not meant to have this laptop? Maybe I should just get it shipped to me and be done with it? I don’t know. All I know is I want to get back into tracking my finances and updating this blog more regularly and I just simply can’t do it with this piece of garbage I have sitting on my desk. I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW!

Here’s the baby I want:

HP Pavilion 14.1″ Widescreen Notebook PC (DV2214US)
• AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52
• 120GB hard drive
• Built-in 802.11g wireless
• 1GB of DDR2 memory
• Burns DVDs and CDs
• Windows Vista Home Premium

It has a built in webcam, awesome speakers and LightScribe laser technology which allows you to etch a design on the label side of the CD/DVD.

Grrrrrrrr, I want her.

Friday afternoon I left work early. Instead of going home, I went to Aprille’s apartment and she did my hair and makeup. I threw on my dress, hopped in the car and drove back to Philly. Somehow the planets aligned and Rob and I intersected exactly at the same moment in the lobby of the Marriott. Rob’s hair was cut and he was wearing a black suit. I was a little disappointed that he wasn’t wearing the tie tack I bought him for Valentine’s Day. We checked our coats and got our name tags and then we attempted to enter the ballroom. It was so crowded that we could barely squeeze ourselves in. My plan had been to network with future business associates but I couldn’t read anyone’s name tag and everyone seemed more intent upon drinking heavily and laughing loudly. I eventually gave up after the few people I spoke to refused to lift their voices so I could hear them above the roar of the crowd.

After the silent auction ended, a divider opened to the dinner area. We found our table and dinner was soon served. There was a salad with a little flower smack dab in the middle. The main course was a petit filet and a salmon filet along with risotto and asparagus. Rob said he thought the meals we cook with our bamboo steamer are much better. I agreed. Dessert was served buffet style. I took three slices of various desserts and found that they all tasted like banana. I can’t explain it. Maybe it was just me. Right after dessert the monopoly tournament was going to start but I said to Rob, “Let’s get out of here!” Rob offered no argument. It was a nice evening but I was disappointed that I wasn’t making any business connections and otherwise, what was the point of being there? So we left.

On Saturday, Rob said to me, “Hey, are you wearing that new bra?”
“Yes I am!”
“I thought you wrote on your blog that it’s supposed to make your boobs look bigger”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“No, not really.”
I guess that’s thirty bucks down the drain.

Snow started falling this afternoon. I am praying that tomorrow will not be sloppy. I have an appointment tomorrow and I really don’t want it to be called off. We shall see.

I can only take about an hour of American Idol. I felt this way during both the boys’ and girls’ performances. Truth is, the whole thing bored me. I only watched it because Lisa pretty much roped me into it.

Tomorrow I am going to a big charity event in Philadelphia. My boss and I (along with our respective dates) were invited back a couple months ago. A customer of ours is sponsoring it. I didn’t do a thing until last weekend. Then before I knew it, I was rushing around trying to find a dress. I went home to Mom and Dad’s and pulled out my prom box and I am going to use my clutch and jewelry from Prom 1992. Sometimes it is good to be a pack rat. At any rate I did find a really pretty dress at Macy’s. (Black Velvet) This evening I am going to buy a nice pair of stockings and a good bra that will give me a little oompf! Basically that means I am buying a bra that will be completely padded. Some of you may wonder, “But Donna, don’t you have a couple pair of falsies at your disposal?” The answer is yes except the last time I wore them, they slid out of my bra and into my armpits. Try explaining that one. No, I do not have matching tumors poking out from underneath my pits! Those are my boobs, I tell you!

Wish me luck!

James Ray is after me. I first read about him on Steve Pavlina’s blog. Then he started popping up on other blogs, articles, and in my dreams. I relented and purchased The Secret hoping that perhaps it will lead me to Self-efficacy. As soon as I purchased this DVD, my mailbox has been flooded with Feng Shui and Dowsing offers. I believe in visualisation but it doesn’t seem right to lump it into this silly New Age crap. This is the same issue I have with Steve Pavlina’s blog. As much as I really like his articles, the psychic readings and channeling sessions leave me feeling a little apprehensive. Am I just closed-minded? Am I being hypocritical? Having survived a weird-ass cult experience back when I was in college, I tend to be more than a little suspicious. The DVD has yet to arrive but when it does, I will watch it and hope it wasn’t 30.00 down the drain.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Disgraced pop duo Milli Vanilli will soon get a movie made about their less-than-spectacular career, following in the cinematic steps of such icons as Ray Charles and Johnny Cash.

Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety reported in its Thursday issue that Universal Pictures is developing a film about the lip-synching combo, who lost their coveted Grammy for best new artist in 1990 when it emerged that they had never sung on their records.

The project will be written and directed for the General Electric Co.-controlled studio by Jeff Nathanson, who previously wrote the Leonardo DiCaprio crime caper “Catch Me If You Can.” He has secured the cooperation of Milli Vanilli alumnus Fabrice Morvan, who has been pursuing a comeback for years, as well as the estate of his colleague, Rob Pilatus, who died of a drug overdose in 1998.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the notion of fakes and frauds, and in this case, you had guys who pulled off the ultimate con, selling 30 million singles and 11 million albums and then becoming the biggest laughing-stocks of pop entertainment,” the paper quoted Nathanson as saying.

Wanna bet Jamie Foxx will star? And Will Smith? I CAN’T WAIT!