(Don't) Ring The Alarm

Every weekday morning around 7:30am, I hop in my car and drive to work. After a long, hard day at work, I make the return trip home around 5pm. This is a story about what happened to me one day last week during my drive home.

As I manically swerved in and out of traffic on Rt. 1, I put on my favorite radio station, 102.1 to hear the Hot 5 at 5. Of course, some TERRIBLE song was on the radio that made me want to swerve into the other lane of oncoming traffic.

But after that song (the most horrible song of all-time btw), a song that I like came on.

Although I'm not a big Timbaland fan ("Carry Out"?!? UGH), his song "If We Ever Meet Again" has been growing on me lately. On my way home, I heard the song and found myself screaming along to all K. Perry's parts (the only parts I know right now). When I checked my mirrors, I saw that I could switch lanes, but I had to move quickly [read as: cut somebody off]. And right as I did it, I heard the sirens.

(Do alarms make a "woooo" sound?)

When I heard the death knell, my heart came up out of my chest and fell out of my mouth, plopping into my lap. My soul temporarily left my tortured body, blackened by my future jail sentence. I cried in agony and looked into my rearview mirror to see if I could pull over. And there were no cops there.

After my breathing calmed and my heartbeat returned to a semi-normal state, I heard the sirens again. WHAT WAS GOING ON?

Then I realized: the sirens were part of the song.

I know that earlier this year, I did an entry about my musical pet peeves. And I forgot to talk about this very serious one. Why would artists put sounds resembling police sirens in their music if they know the listener could very likely be listening to the song in a car?!?!

When I was in high school, I remember having a similar experience with Paris Hilton's "I Want You." And what about Beyonce's "Ring The Alarm"? Seriously guys, STOP. If pop stars could only see how I react when I hear police sirens, I'm sure they'd stop.

II: Not The Same Boy

Hello everyone! First, an update on my life since I blog so rarely:
I'm working full-time all summer at a super famous publishing company. Although the job is an internship (necessary for grad school!), I don't do any 'intern-like' stuff (i.e. organize other people's stuff, get coffee, make copies). I'm actually the workshop coordinator at the company, which is a job that used to be done by a salaried employee. For some reason, the company decided to make it an internship instead and that's where I'm working.

Also, I'm moving next week! As soon as I'm done with this entry, I'm getting right back to packing (and then buying Super Mario Galaxy 2) ... (and then regretting it when it's time to move and I haven't finished packing). I have an apartment in the beautiful town of Lambertville (NOT named after Adam Lambert, but after Alex Lambert - I miss you Alex!) with Ross and Christie. I'll put up pics of the new place after I move in.

So now! Time for part 2 of my life photo album. See part 1 here.
[click to enlarge!]

Me

Where did we leave off?

Oh yeah! I was birthed, then sprinkled with some water so that I won't be dragged to hell... Obviously, I had no say in this.

I got a little older (about 2 or 3 according to TJ) and started rocking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pants and a tail.

To the right you can see my sister Gabi in that cute yellow dress with the yellow stockings. We were both so stylish at young ages.

Here's a school picture:

My dad made me and my brother dress up for school pictures. I remember being the ONLY one wearing a suit to picture day (embarrassing!). I think this was 1st or 2nd grade. Notice my big ears. I didn't grow into them until later. People used to call me Dumbo and throw stuff at me.

Here's another school photo (not feat. all my front teeth).

I feel like I look completely different in these two pictures, which were taken only 1 or 2 years apart (2nd or 3rd grade?). I feel like everyone has a picture of them with their front teeth missing. I have a picture with only one missing, and I think it's much less cute.

Here I am on December 10, 1995.

Based on the date (and the rest of the photos), this was probably one of those joint birthday parties I had throughout my life. TJ's birthday is only one day before mine, so we often had shared birthday parties.

Please note how disinterested I look in that card.

And in my gift. Also, please note how happy Gabi looks.

CAPTION TIME: What was I wishing for?

And speaking of apathy...

How much does Pasquale look like he doesn't care at all about Gabi's ring?

Here I am later in December of '95, the day after Christmas.

See that bear I'm holding? That was one of my first teddy bears and I loved that thing. I wish I knew where it was now.

OMG!! Am I... playing sports?!?!

Oh no, I'm just throwing that ball in the garbage 'cause sports are laaaaame.

Random photo:

Wearing a baseball cap?? Random.

Here's a picture of me next to what is still my favorite food:

Cereal!!

Oh look, here I am at my first Pride event! My mom used to go to Pride with her girlfriend and she brought us along sometimes.

Fake horseshoe set: $10
Gabi's billowy white shirt: $15
My cross-legged pose: priceless
(are those jokes too played out? oh well)

Back to Christmas! Here I am on Christmas 1997, looking absolutely thrilled to be alive.

And here are the Bruno kids with my grandfather for that Christmas.

Look at my hair! And TJ is just daydreaming... probably about all the Puerto Ricans.

In that last photo, you'll notice how I wore a button-down shirt open, revealing the white shirt beneath. And both were way too big on me. Well unfortunately, this was the way I dressed all the time in those years.

Ugh sick. That neckline is SO BIG. Nowadays, I would take that off immediately or die.

Here's a picture of the four Bruno kids.

Oh wait, that's just Gabi, Pasquale and me with Paula. This was taken in our apartment in Asbury Park. This couch was a popular place to take pictures.

Aww!

You know how everyone has 'awkward' years? I hope this was me at my most awkward!

Ai-ya! ¡Qué horror!

Here are some pics from my middle school yearbook. Please locate me, laugh out loud, then mock me in the comments.

My hair in the Scarlet Key and Student Council Exec Board photos...... I have no words.

Here I am with my dog Faith.

You wouldn't know it from this picture, but Faith was very loving and kind. What a great dog! Unfortunately, Paula decided it was better to kill her than to have a HUGE dog in a tiny apartment (terrible excuse!) and she was replaced by some nasty thang.

Then I got to high school, and y'all know how that went.

And here I am today (or, last Thursday).

I am certainly a product of the generations who came before me, who instilled in me a love for music, gossip, blogging... Ok, maybe not. Either way, I hope you enjoyed my family photo album.

Let the teasing begin!

12 of 12 - May 2010

Before I start my 12 of 12, I must thank dpaste for reminding me with a text this morning!

So I woke up around 7:45am to get ready for work. When I opened my eyes, I saw my friend Megan, posing seductively for the camera.

Since Megan lives 15 mins away from my job and since I don't often see her too much during the summer, I'm staying with Megan this week!

I left for work at 8:15, then spent HOURS AND HOURS waiting at this light!

(Sorry car; I was gonna blur the plate but it's late and I have to go to bed. Maybe I'll fix it later.)

Here is my workspace.

Don't you love my photos (two of them feat. me!) and the random model tacked to the wall??

Megan and her sister Katie joined me for lunch. We went to some pizza joint.

And let me tell y'all how this place had NO TABLES. We had to sit in chairs with our food on our laps.

Work was very tiring. I got home and my shoulders and eyes hurt and I was super tired. I went to relax in "the red room" and was joined by Megan's dog, Skip.

Then Megan's familia tried to force Megan into an arranged marriage (I'm not joking). So they put out some food for the guy to enjoy before he whisked away their daughter.

They added crackers and cheese, a veggie platter, and pastries later.

While I waited for the guy to arrive, I took my Daily Mugshot (feat. Katie's mannequin heads in the background).

When the guy finally came over, we lured him into playing Scattergories and Things.

Just so you know, I won Scattergories with a score of 52. Second place score was 39.

After watching the passionate game playing (I get competitive at times...), Skip fell asleep.

Proving I could win more games, I went to the garage and threw some darts. Didn't I do a good job?? (I swear this is real! And it was my first attempt!)

Oh, here I am finishing Official Book Club Selection, the stellar debut book from Kathy Griffin. Hilarious!

Then I got ready to post so I could go to bed, but realized I only had 11 photos... So...

YAY! Friendship!

Fine, Fresh, Fierce

It's summertime (kind of)!!!

Unless you're in high school (haha!), school is over and it's time to relax, sunbathe, have fun go to work every day and study for the GREs? Oh, that describes my summer. Hopefully y'all have better plans.

But even when summer doesn't sound all that exciting, know what you can always depend on? Summer music! And this year, we are already off to a great start... especially when it comes to the pop divas. So this Monday Muse is dedicated to the those pop starlets who are sexy, different, and a bit reflective, who are providing us with fun summer hits!

Miley Cyrus

After delivering the feel-good anthem of the decade with "Party in the U.S.A.", Ms. Cyrus is back with the first single off her new album, "Can't Be Tamed." The song is not an infectious pop song a la "Party", but it's pretty catchy and has some of the best lyrics EVER (see: "I go through guys like money flyin' out their hands")



Miley = creature so rare, peepz thought she was extinct??? Random, but I love it! And unlike the "Party in the U.S.A." video, Miley goes for the 'strange' look rather than the 'slutty' look. Only someone really really stupid would say that she's slutty in this video, so I'm glad she decided to wear that not-revealing black outfit (feat. long gloves) for most of the video.

Katy Perry

Exactly two years ago, Ms. Perry's single "I Kissed A Girl" was quickly becoming the summer hit of 2008 (and no, nobody cares that some d.i.n.o.s.a.u.r released a song with the same title prox. 40 years ago; think of how many people release songs with the same titles all the time. How about "I Love You"? Or Lindsay Lohan's new song "I Wanna Be Bad" matching Willa Ford's song of the same name?!). She's back now with a fun, summery single for 2010. "California Gurls" feats. synth, a catchy hook (nothing comes close to the golden coast!), a rap from Snoop Dogg, and fun lyrics that some people are sure to criticize, acting like Katy is interested in writing Pulitzer Prize winning poetry.



The video for the song hasn't come out yet, but considering that my favorite video ever is for a Katy Perry song, I hope I like this one.

Ke$ha

Have you guys been requesting Ke$ha's new single "Your Love Is My Drug" to your local radio stations?? Of Ke$ha's three singles off Animal, "Your Love Is My Drug" is my favorite; it's fun and silly, but not stoopid like that "Tik Tok" song and not feat. awkward rappers like "Blah Blah Blah." If you listen to this song and don't want to dance, then seek therapy.



14 hours ago, Ke$ha tweeted: "Videos a comin out! R u guyssss readdddyyy for a desert elephant snake light up body paint psychedelic party or what?"
WELL WE ARE. But the video's not out yet. When it is, prepare to be blown away!

What's your favorite song of the summer so far???????

Meet Me

Hello all! I am alive and DONE with the semester! It was a fun semester, and I had lots of fun in two of my classes (Writer's Workshop and 'the Fairy Tale Class'). I could do without math and astronomy, but they weren't bad.

So now I'll get back to a promised entry...

I went to St. Louis!

My hotel (Hyatt) was right next to the Arch.



And the hotel was pretty sweet too.



And had a sweet view of the city.



The beds were so comfortable and there was this lounge that we got access to (for like $40 a night or something?) that had food out all day. MMMM. It was like free food basically (since the school funded the trip). The only thing more delicioso than good food is good FREE food!

Here's the obligatory photo of me with the Arch.



In case you forgot, I was in St. Louis to present a scholarly paper I wrote about The Bluest Eye. That went well. I was only asked a few questions from the audience and they were all easy to answer.



Here are some of the fun things I experiences in St. Louis:

The City Park
Just a few blocks from the hotel was this park filled with sculptures and interactive stuff, like a set of panels that played different notes when you stepped on them. Here's some of the cool stuff found there.





Hooters
I went to Hooters for the first time! And it was pretty delicious.



St. Louis Zoo
YAY! I love the zoo! Here are some pics from the zoo.

City Museum
This was one of the coolest places I went to in St. Louis, and ever in my life. It was basically this huge building that was filled with games and tunnels and stuff for adults. It was amazing!!








Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my own camera (got those pics from friends) but trust me, there was A LOT to explore and I spent like a half hour just running through a set of tunnels on the first floor that seemed to never end. It was amazing and if you go to St. Louis, you must go.

I also went to the actual museum.


And to the Museum of Westward Expansion, which is located beneath the Arch.


Of course I rode up the Arch too! You have to ride up in this tight little pod. Here I am with my friend Todd as we rode up.


And the view from the arch:

I also took a nap in a very strange position:


And I played Scrabble. And yes, Todd and I won (duh!)


Here's a group shot of the juniors who went on the trip.


While I knew everybody from seeing them at school, I had fun getting to know them better.
But since I'm not that social, I mostly hung out with my good friends Rebecca and Todd.


Aww!

Here we are on the final night, eating at the banquet.


Our school won like 7 (thousand?) awards that night so we were very proud. GO TCNJ!!!

So in summary, I had a wonderful time there, loved the city, and would definitely go back.