Blog Hiatus

To my few consistent readers....it is time for a break. While I will have access to and will be checking my email, I highly doubt that I will be blogging as I finally depart for my cross-country road trip. To be honest...the three and half hour oceanography final I just took has made want to smash my computer so the break will probably be a good thing. In the event that I do not survive the upcoming events...the packing of my house, the final showdown with my landlord (I suspect that if we meet in person one of us will not make it out in the same physical and/or emotional condition that we entered in), my sister's wedding, and the finally the actual journey itself...I have once again tasked my closest and dearest friend in the world with carrying on the blog. Don't let me down Todd.

I will temporarily leave you with these random thoughts.

- The new Offspring album is OUTSTANDING!! Buy IT!

- There is still plenty of time for my Yankees to close the gap so don't get too comfortable Red Sux Nation.

- Moving sucks and no matter how prepared you think you are...you're really not.

- The song "So Many Men" that is featured in the Dance Dance Revolution game is a real song and I finally found it...as I told a certain someone that I would.

- Wood Stain does not easily wash off of skin which is why it all efforts should made to keep it on the wood and not on one's face...especially three days before a wedding.

- The song "Somewhere Out There" is forever stuck on my mind and there is no way to sound cool when singing it but I don't care.

- I am grateful to the inventor of waterproof mascara as I completely suck at saying goodbye.

On that note...let's close with a few pictures from the going away process.

Millie kissing PFD Panda goodbye.

Three Thumbs up for MC by JH and M-Rock!

MC Dalamida and Millie...morning friends thanks to a window.

Terri, LT (in her socks), Mr. M (eyes shut, probably blinded by the greatest of the Yankees), and Hawaiian Millie in the most relaxed and awesome going away plaque presentation EVER.

Charlene, E, honorary Garcia Millie, and TJ-enator at Todai's. One could not ask for better friends.

Check back in mid-July.

Now Clark Kent...There Was A Real Gent

Happy Monday...which of course means Monday Night Shuffle.

Superman's Song by the Crash Test Dummies (132) - I first heard this song while hooked up to the E-Stem machine at physical therapy recovering from shoulder surgery #4. Aside from its obvious appeal of being about the greatest Superhero of all time...the song touched me because it sings of how hard it must have been to be Superman. Superman didn't have to use his powers for good yet he did. He didn't have to slave away at The Daily Planet to pay his bills but he choose to earn an honest (?) living instead of using his powers to rob banks. Best of all the song talks about how there must have been times when Superman must have wanted to quit yet he never did. I must have been in a pretty low place in my rehab because the song actually spoke to me. It told me that in spite of my ongoing struggles to get healthy, I must channel my inner superhero and keep on fighting the good fight. In a weird way I think that it was fate to hear that song at the moment...that or I am just a music freak who tries to find meaning in songs because I keep coming short when I look for it anywhere else. Either way...this song is damn awesome! Best Line: " Superman never made any money for saving the world from Solomon Grundy and sometimes I despair the world will never see another man like him." Me too...me too.

I Wanna Go Back by Eddie Money (99) - What can I say? I love Eddie Money. I always smile whenever I hear one of his songs because I am reminded of a road trip to El Paso that Bobby, Todd, and I took and for whatever reason Eddie Money's Greatest Hits was the only CD that I wanted to listen to. As the third round of play started Bobby had finally had enough and insisted that I turn it off because he felt like he was "trapped in a shitty 80s music video". It is fitting that this song is one of my favorite songs by Eddie because of the best line of the song compliments this story quite nicely. Best Line: "I was listening to the radio and I heard a song reminded me of long ago, back then I thought that things were never gonna change".

Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Pocket by the Primitive Radio Gods (26) - If for no other reason, one must like this song based off the title alone. That being said, the song makes no damn sense to me and never has. It just seems like a bunch of random shit thrown together with a catchy beat. I don't listen to the song much because it seems unnecessarily long to me and because I feel like I have to think every time I hear it...yet I still don't get it. Whatever. There is one line of the song that I find clever and thought-provoking so we'll use that as the Best Line: " We sit outside and argue all night long about a God we've never seen but never fails to side with me".

You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon (83) - This is another song that brings out the groove in all of us. It is impossible not to dance just a little bit to this song. For the longest time I loved this song before I even knew what it was about and it was for one reason only...the video. Hell I still love the video and if I can could find a way to add it to my iPod I would. Fortunately (?) my tastes have matured and I can appreciate the song without the help of Chevy Chase. Another great thing about this song is that it is another example of why Paul is awesome and Art is not. I think that there is a lot to be said about the best line of the song but I am too tired to dive into all of the ways I perceive it. So here it is and you can figure out what it means to you. Best Line: "If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal!"

If I Had Been The One by .38 Special (61) - Hmmm...at the risk of inviting further accusations that I have shit for music taste... I must admit that I am quite fond of .38 Special. While this is not my favorite song by the band it is certainly better than some of the shit that is popular these days. I cannot help but sing along with this song which is usually greeted by strange looks because most people are not familiar with the song. I like the confrontational aspect of this song. I think that anyone who has ever been dumped would love the chance to ask the very same questions that are asked in this song. Best Line: "Could you smile when inside you just wanna cry?"

And let's take a moment in honor of the greatest comedic geniuses of all time....George Carlin. Now I'll be honest, I actually teared up a little bit when I read the news of his passing because let's face...everything the guy did was freakin' awesome!

So here is the George Carlin Top 5 According to Millie:

#5 Munchie on the The Simpsons. One of two hippie characters that I have not immediately hated. (The other is Fillmore from Cars who is also voiced by Carlin but not worthy of the Top 5 List.) Any friend of Homer's is a friend of mine.

#4 The unnamed Hitchhiker from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back...for reminding us to live by the book.

#3 Cardinal Glick...because how can one not laugh at a golf playing cardinal played by Carlin? It might be one of the finest casting jobs ever.

#2 Bart Trinke from Jersey Girl...naysayers be damned but I love this movie. George Carlin showed a rare sensitive side while still be funny as hell. Who didn't want a dad and/or grandpa like Mr. Trinke after watching this movie? Seriously...I loved this movie and think that everyone should see it. If it helps...J-Lo dies like ten minutes into the movie.

#1 When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?...which is actually one of the better written books that I have read in the past few years. While it is not his funniest work...it is George Carlin doing what he does best...which is offending damn near everyone.

For the record...I left Seven Curse Words off the list because I have only read about it and have no first hand experience with the incident. Besides....everyone always thinks of that first whenever they hear George's name.

He will be missed...

Another Waste of My Time

Being the movie buff that I am I tend to react pretty strongly the movies that I watch. If I love movie, I will always love it and will never watch it enough. Examples of these types of the movies are Dirty Dancing, Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Steel Magnolias, Go, and The American Pie series. The other side of that is that when I hate a movie, I will always hate it and I am usually bitter about having wasted 90 minutes watching the flick. Examples of these movies are The Grudge 2, You've Got Mail, 300, Batman and Robin, and now the subject of tonight's blog...One Night At McCool's.

I think what pisses me off the most about this movie is that it had serious potential to be good based off the star power alone. The movie contains sure things Matt Dillon, Liv Tyler, Michael Douglas, and John Goodman. Throw in Paul Riser who is almost always good for a few laughs and random cameos by Reba McIntyre and Andrew Dice Clay and one should be set for a great film.

I should have known from the hideous white guy fro that Michael Douglas was sporting in the opening scene (which takes place in a Bingo lounge) that the movie was going to be shit. Nevertheless I stuck with it.

So basically you have Liv Tyler as the innocently seeming and yet purely evil vixen who seduces Matt Dillon's character so that her boyfriend can rob his house. The only problem is that he has practically nothing worth stealing and thus the chaos begins. As Matt finds himself trapped with Liv as a result of a rather unnecessary murder...the storyline expands to include John Goodman's cop character and Paul Riser's neurotic cousin of Matt Dillon's character and all three men find themselves hopelessly in love with her.

All three men recap their version of the situation to their various sources of strength. Paul to his shrink who is played by Reba (who is the only character that doesn't totally suck), John to his priest, and Matt to Michael Douglas who is a hitman. Each man sees things totally differently but none of them see that she is totally playing them all.

In the 90 minutes of bad writing and terrible acting...one cannot help but wonder at the stupidity of men and the ease with which a woman can control said men with nothing more but big eyes and a low cut, too tight dress. I felt a little bad for Matt's character being that he took the wrap for the murder, lost his job, his house, and apparently his mind but even that ran short long before the credits ran.

Oh and did I mention that the writing is terrible? No wonder the actors were so damn awful with a script like that. One can only hear Paul Riser drop the big three so many times before you realize that the writers tried to make up for the holes in the script by trying to shock the viewers with awkwardly placed f-bombs.

Being the movie isn't that great...it hardly seems worth it to go into any more details than I already have. Suffice to say...the movie sucks. Don't watch it.

Random Yankee Thoughts

So in spite of the fact that the Yankees are "Wang-less" at the moment...they are on one hell of winning streak. At the risk of jinxing them...I have to say that it is a great thing to see my Yankees playing like they should...playing like Yankees.

Let's start with A-Rod:

Perhaps I can only admit this because of my newly formed truce with the guy...but I can't help but be impressed with the way that he is playing at the moment. Is he earning his insane paycheck....ask me that in October. But for the moment I can't say a bad thing about him and that is a strange feeling. Think about...the guy has hit a home run in for straight games. I don't care who you are...one has to appreciate who awesome that is. But I am a girl who favors consistency...and A-Rod is hitting over .328. I even wore a pro A-Rod t-shirt yesterday. We've come so far...but still have so far to go.

Let's talk about Johnny:

I am becoming quite a fan of Johnny....which is also a strange feeling for me considering that I hated almost as much as Manny. The power of the pinstripes is truly remarkable. While Johnny is no Derek...there is something about the guy. But from a baseball prospective he is rocking my world. He is hitting .327 which is pretty damn awesome. He has the second most at bats for the team and he has 31 RBIs. Johnny has found his place in the Yankee Universe and I couldn't be happier. I still haven't made my peace with the below picture but I am a Damon fan nonetheless.

Moving onto Bobby:

I have never really cared about Bobby Abreu one way or another....but his playing has caught my attention this season. He has the most RBIs on the team. I don't ever expect him to be a favorite of mine, I must say that I am liking what he is adding to the team.

Jason...oh Jason:

I don't know if it is because of the gold thong or what but Jason Giambi is finally starting to play like the Jason Giambi of the old...and I love it. He is the home run leader for the Yankees which more than makes up for the fact that he had a rough start at the beginning. So Jason...keep wearing that thong or whatever else it takes to keep hitting them over the wall.

Let's talk about the pitchers:

So all jokes aside...it totally SUCKS that Wang is out for the next six weeks. He is the strongest pitchers that the Yankees have and he is going to be hard to replace, even for a short period of time. I heard someone say that the only thing that matters is that he is healthy for the playoffs. Well, the Yankees getting to the playoffs is largely dependant on Wang's right arm so I am a little worried. The rest of the Yankee bullpen needs to get their shit together. I am confident that Mike and Andy will step up and play like the Yankees that they are...but I am not so sure about Joba yet. But much like the rest of the Yankee Universe...I put the majority of my faith in Marino Rivera. I love that guy and think that he will make sure that the Yankees are alright.

Saving the best for last...

Have I mentioned that I am fan of Derek Jeter? It is hard to talk about Derek's numbers because the numbers don't capture what Derek is to the Yankees. That being said...Derek is hitting .272 and has 32 RBIs which is no small feat. Thanks to my ridiculously expensive subscription to MLB extra innings I get to see the Yankees more than most people. (It is worth the price...but just barely.) My point is that I get to see the way that Derek interacts with this teammates and the other players in the league and realize that there is no way to accurately describe the greatness that is Derek Jeter. He is everything that is right and good about the sport, possibly about mankind in general. The fact that is probably the best looking man on the planet has nothing to do with the fact that he is one of the greatest men to have played the game of baseball. Watch a game and tell me that you don't agree...I dare you.

Shed A Tear Cuz I'm Missing You But I'm Still Alright To Smile

Let's shuffle.

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted by Jimmy Ruffin (49) - This is one of those songs that I have to be in the mood to listen to. Of course...listening to this song is never a good thing but not everyday can be great. There is a strong sense of despair in the song and I think that everyone who has ever had their heart broken can relate to it. The opening line is pretty depressing and the song continues on a downward spiral from there. Yet at the end there is hope and in the end isn't that enough? Best Line: "I'll be looking everyday...I know I'm gonna find a way, nothings gonna stop me now...I'll find a way somehow".

Somethin' Stupid by Robbie Williams (62) - Call me crazy but I actually prefer this version to the Sinatra version. Moving on...it is impossible not to start to sway whenever I hear this song. I am not sure what possessed me to learn every word to this song but it doesn't matter where I am...whenever I hear this song I have to sing it as I am swaying and furthering proving that I am geek. It is such a romantic song that I cannot help but smile in spite of the fact that my first mental image when listening to this song is of Sideshow Bob and Selma. Best of all...the best line of this song is the opening line...which always gives a song bonus points. Best Line: "I know I'd stand in line until you think you have the time to spend an evening with me".

Making Love Out of Nothing At All by Air Supply (198) - I know that I am going to catch a ration of shit for this one...but I love this song. I suspect that a lot of other people love this song as well but are too ashamed to admit it. Where as this is a song that I have always wanted to sing at a karaoke bar...I have never felt brave enough to actually do it...yet. I will say that this a very common Car/Shower Karaoke song in the world of Millie. If this song isn't awesomely bad enough on its own...it was taken to a whole new level after its appearance in Mr & Mrs. Smith. I don't know if Brad Pitt has ever been sexier than he was when he was singing this song while driving the mini-van. Deal with it indeed. Best line: "And I’m never gonna tell you everything I gotta tell you but I know I’ve got to give it a try".

Patience by Guns N' Roses (93) - I have recently been reminded how damn awesome Guns N'Roses were back in their day. They were/are no where nearly as awesome as Bon Jovi but still pretty damn great. While I truly enjoy their rock songs...it is their power ballads that I love. Whenever I hear this song...I usually have the urge to stop whatever it is that I am doing. I am not sure why but this song makes me want to pause and reflect for some reason. Maybe it is because lately patience has been a virtue that I struggle to possess. It is extremely hard to patient and I find myself in need a reassurance that it is worth the wait. This song is all about giving reassurance which is probably why I enjoy it so much. Best Line: "Was a time when I wasn't sure but you set my mind at ease, there is no doubt you're in my heart now".

321 by Hedley (148) - Flamingo Pose....ready...go! Anyway...this really is a catchy little tune. It isn't exactly awesome or anything...but I can't help but sing whenever I hear it. Whenever no one is looking...I will even strike the flamingo pose as I sing the the 321 part. I suspect that there is only one person who might know what I am thinking about and even he might need a subtle reminder. Seriously though...if you are going to own one song by Hedley....it should be this one. Oh and once again we have bonus points for the best line being the opening line. Best Line: "I heard a distant early warning but I chose to ignore it...and it came back and bit me".

Not Much of a Weekend

I am so sick of cleaning...sick of spackling...sick of gardening...So let's take a minute and focus on more exciting things...

Ok so maybe sweeping the Astros isn't the greatest accomplishment in the Yankee's history but based on how the season is going...I'll take it.

The Yanks are over .500 which is awesome. Sure we are still a painful 6 games behind the damn Red Sux who are showing no signs of slowing down but that's okay. Things are looking up in the Yankee Universe.

Most significant of it all is the fact the fact that Derek Jeter is playing the way that he should. Sure I gave him credit for "being a man" after that nasty hit he took in the wrist from that asshole from the Orioles but clearly it shook my man up. Nevertheless...he is once again playing like the superstar he is and I think that it is awesome.

I don't much to write about from the world of pop culture because I haven't spend as much time in depths of it and I miss it. I don't see myself getting back into it in the near future as the next few weeks are going to be insanely busy with getting ready to move, Jenn's wedding, and this damn oceanography class. I have been lucky enough to actually sleep over the past few days which is good because I am no longer dozing off while driving but my TIVO is near max capacity.

So let's end it on a positive note...my Yankees are on a 4 game winning streak!

Lovers Always Come & Lovers Always Go & No One's Really Sure Who's Lettin' Go Today

Working at another unit for the past few days has been good for me. From a professional side it gave me a much needed break from my regular office and the nonsense that comes with it as well as a chance to meet people that I have been working for/with for the past few years but never actually seen in person. It was also cool because for the first time in a very long time, I enjoyed being a YN. The only problem is that it makes the thought of going back to the seclusion of a cubicle all the more depressing. Oh well...the point of this post is that the additional three hours I spent in the car each day meant plenty of Millie Car Karaoke. Upon reviewing the "Recently Played" list on my iPod...here are the top songs that were sang/grooved to during the hellish commute from Casa De Millie to PSU 313.

(DISCLAIMER: I left the iPod on shuffle in effort to listen to different songs. When a song came on that was not worth singing/grooving to...I simply skipped it. Keep this in mind as you consider the songs listed below. They were not intentionally sought out.)

The grade next to the song is the Millie Karaoke Grade based off of awesomeness of the song, level of singing difficulty, popularity, the level of increased chance for getting a speeding a ticket as a result of listening to, and ability to make you want to groove. In effort to keep this from turning into another shuffle post...all I am including with the title of the song and the grade is my favorite line of the song. If nothing else...maybe this will expand your musical horizons by encouraging you to listen to the tune.

Is It Any Wonder by Keane: C+
Singable, groovable, but not popular and no impact on driving speed.

"Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm stranded in the wrong time where love is just a lyric in children's rhyme."

November Rain by Guns N' Roses: A-

Totally singable, incredibly popular and significantly increases the odds of getting a speeding ticket...just missing the groovablity factor...but redeems itself with end rock out!

" If we could take the time to lay it on the line I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine."

Love Today by Mika: A

Totally singable in a fun way, almost too groovable, lacks mainstream popularity, and I am actually surprised that I don't get pulled over every time I listen to this song.

"Every body's gonna love today, gonna love today, anyway you want to, anyway you've got to...love love me, love love me, love love.

The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin: A-

Not only singable but one tends to feel smart since it features three different languages...of course that fact that you are actually singing along with Ricky Martin pretty much negates the intelligence points. It is a popular, speed increasing song written for my least favorite sport on the planet.

"Para sobrevivir y luchar por ella luchar por ella (SI!)"

Brave New World by Michael Penn: C-

Singable and can produce a slight groove...but nothing worth getting excited about.

"This may not be my best day but this ain't no golden age"

Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg: B+

The inner gangsta in me cannot help but rapping along with Snoop whenever I hear this song. It is popular and groovable but lacks the speed increasing factor.

"Everything is fine when you listenin to the D-O-G...I got the cultivating music that be captivating he who listens to the words that I speak"

One More Time by Daft Punk: B

Low on the singablity factor but totally groovable. Won't cause you to increase your speed but will help you maintain it.

"Music's got me feeling so free...we gonna celebrate"

Da Funk by Daft Punk: A

Would be an A+ since it is a fine example of the all of the standards listed above except for the singablity factor. Not its fault that it has no words. (I am actually dancing in my chair as I type this.)

Your Heart Is An Empty Heart by Death Cab For Cutie: D
(For the record, I am fairly certain that I was on the phone and therefore turned down the stereo.) Not singable, not groovable, not popular and no chance of increasing speed.
"And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need cause you knew you were finally free"

I finally slept for more than an hour at time...the bad part was that it was this afternoon and now I am wired. Damn it all but I must say that I feel a little bit better.