Bad Girl

I'm feeling extremely naughty today. No, not in a smack-your-ass-sex kinda way; It's more of a playing-hooky-while-supposedly-working kind of way.

The newsroom is wide open and here I sit watching Grey's Anatomy, streaming on my computer, right in front of everyone.

Granted, I tried to be good.

I asked other editors if they need help, but no one needed me. So, I went back to my computer, all alone, and indulged in a TWoP recap of the Grey's I missed last week. Then, I realized, I could watch it and no one would probably notice or care.

Thanks, technology, for letting me goof off at work in a whole new way. It feels so good to be bad.

Color Me Lame

Paul Westerberg sort of made it into my daily column today.

For some reason, I had "Color Me Impressed" going through my head. This led to the opening line, "Color Yahoo investors unimpressed: The company's shares fell more than 2% on Wednesday, Dec. 6, after the company made its biggest corporate shake-up in more than five years."

The lame-o line went nicely with the title, No 'yahoos' for Yahoo's new strategy.

I need to get over my cold and get some sleep.

BFF

Last night, the roommate and I were in bed talking about something -- I'm not sure what. I said something that wasn't funny, but should have been. He made his cricket noise that he makes when I tell a bad joke and no one laughs. (If you don't know what I'm talking about it doesn't really matter; it's not going to make or break the story.)

Then, I started trying to make the noise. It went like most of my impressions -- really, really bad with a hint of Edward G. Robinson. Big belly laughs and more attempts ensued. It was like I had whistle dyslexia, everything he did I did backwards and upside down. This went on for quite a while. We were both tired and punchy and couldn't stop laughing.

It reminded me of having my best friend since kindergarten, Tara, over to spend the night when I was a kid. We would stay up all night laughing at absolutely nothing. My mom would tell me that she would come in my room to tell us to go to sleep and we would actually have our eyes closed, still giggling and talking in our sleep.

It's nice being able to grow up and still have someone in my life that I can be silly with for silly sake.

Geek out

In my now 1.5 year-old job, I don't meet celebrities like Cooter or Donald Rumsfeld like I did at TV-3. My biggest brush with fame was accosting Bob Woodward after he spoke at a conference. I begged him to sign my press badge, which I now proudly display on my desk.

That all changed yesterday when I got to speak to tech-geek royalty, Mr. Leo Laporte. That's right. I got to spend about half an hour gabbing about podcasts.

If you've read the Sorta Runner's blog, you probably know Leo (pronounced Lay-Oh, I'm told) hosts several technology-based programs including a radio show, TV show and multiple podcasts.

Due to his celebrity status, I turned into a huge dork when I called him about a story I was working on.

Here's a transcript:

Leo: Hello. This is Leo.

Me: Hi, this is Sweetass. Gillian gave me your number. I'm working on an article about the increasing interest in podcasts.

Leo: Oh yeah. Great.

(Here's where the dorking out begins.)

Me: Before we get started, (talking faster) I have to say, my boyfriend is such a huge fan.

Leo: That's ni...

Me: He's been subscribing to "TWiT" since the third episode.

Leo: Tell him...

Me: And, he told me to tell you happy birthday.

Leo: Thank...

Me: And that you should bring "Call for Help" back to the U.S. We used to catch it every now and then on digital cable.

Eventually, I got it together and the interview itself went just fine. I don't know what got into me. I'm blaming J.Gor and his love of all things Leo for getting me so worked up.

Elkton bound

Joey and I are taking the plunge into homeownership.

If all goes well, we'll be living here in the next month or two.

We'll remain stuck in Elkton. But, it's a great house that's affordable (and adorable) with a big yard for the dogs.

The inside needs a decent amount of work -- refinishing floors, painting and a remodeled bathroom. So, don't expect a housewarming party for a while...If you're interested in a painting party, though, we can talk.

Ah, the good ol' days

Remember when I used to blog? That was fun.

Hopefully, I'll blog again soon.

My favorite things

Today, a conversation cropped up regarding favorite toys after our executive editor made a noise that sounded much like the Fisher Price Little People Barnyard cow noise.

It made me feel nostalgic for some of my favorite toys that I threw out and now regret.

First, The Woodseys.

I played with the Woodseys for hours on end. I loved Mama, Papa and Milkweed. They had a log cabin house with a carrying handle.

The critters were puppets that squeaked. They came with a book, furniture and Mama had a broom -- everything a little girl could ask for, really.

Second, Puppy Puddles -- by far, my all-time favorite toy.

I can't find a picture anywhere. That's how rare this gem is.

Here's description from an online index of 80s toys: "It was a hard heavy plastic dog, when you squeezed it's rubber collar it urinated."

That about sums it up. Expect you could also make it drink water and it came with its own tray and newspapers to pee on. Actually, to get it to pee, you had to make Puppy Puddles sit on a spike.

I loved that dog.