10:38 PM|the D.O. site is back up *phew*...

just got back from a family bbq... saw my uncle val who just had surgery...
played in the pool with the kids like the good fun aunt i am (actually, honorary aunt since i am an only child)
not too much turmoil at this family function... only a brief blip, growl and snarl to my cousin michael who was being a jerk to his stepmother - wife of his father who ALSO had abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery 2 months or so ago... michael is 40. come on. grow up.

anyway, enough time spent dwelling on that chaos. my cousin kenny and sue say they will try to come to my show next tuesday - i hope so!!!

for all interested, it's tuesday august 28th @ 8:45pm at Stand Up NY on w. 78th and broadway - you have to tell them you are there to see me - hope to see ya' there!!!!! (please if you are in the area come to the show!!!! there will be really fine professional comics performing as well!!!)

1:04 PM|cripes! the dutchoven site is down. what the...? yeah i have a few emails into globalhosting to see what the deal is... but come on!! i JUST received the PAID invoice yesterday. now, less than 24 hours later, it's down...

we've got a site down! (said with scottish accent)


daily archie watch:
archie's not eating today. he's still drugged up. think he knows what's going on. mom and i have decided to not put him through surgery. i am feeling guilty. it's not just the money. it's the fact that he is 10, the tumor is 99% malignant - the doc said - and he has tumor spots on his lungs (poor kid is spotted inside and out) and if we DID do the bladder surgery, he would be in pain recovering for a few months... and the tumor would grow in a few months... thus, not exactly giving him the best last moments... i don't want him in pain, i want to take him to the beach and to the drive-in (he likes the Circus Drive-In in Wall - good burgers) and just spend as much quality time with him as possible... do i sound like a jerk? i am feeling kinda crappy 'letting things go' but i have to bite my lip and just love archie and pray. out of my hands.

3:35 AM|so a huge thank you goes out to everyone who sent get well wishes for Archie... i thank you, and he thanks you as well...

also a big thanks to Dutch Oven for dedicating their cover of Ween's "Fluffy" to Archie tonight... actually it was the best rendition of it that i have heard them play so far... brought a tear to my eye...

thanks.

4:52 PM|mother of pearl. what a schmuck... no this has nothing to do with canine anal sacs (although that COULD be debated) or anything...
welcome to condit country... need a job?

4:32 PM|

ok... spoke with the vet...

archie DOES have a stone (the size of a peach pit - *YEOWCH* [photo credit goes to Long Beach Animal Hospital]) in his bladder... not blocking the urethra - yet. so he DOES need surgery. might be less than $1400... but the doc is also telling me that the "anal sac (yuck) tumor" needs a biopsy because statistically those such tumors are malignant. and he also has the start of tumors in his chest (he saw shadows in the chest x-rays)

my baby is riddled with problems now... Wahhhhhhh!

have to pick him up at 6:30pm tonight - have to wait til then because they sedated him...

man... the size of a peach pit.... ((shaking my head))

what the hell is next? first i have to take care of mom, now archie will be convalescing... maybe they can share the "sick bed"

3:36 PM|um... took Archie to the vet. Dr. North is keeping him there. not sure if overnight or not - i have to call back at 4pm.

archie MIGHT have stones in his bladder (Urate and Ammonium Urate Uroliths) and if the stones ARE the case it's gonna run about $1400

apparently if he was a girl, it wouldn't be that worrisome. but, male dogs have penis bones. yes. a bone. seriously. so the stones can get lodged in there...

poor kid. and he has a tumor in his anal sac... COME ON WITH THAT! in his anal sac. yuck.

this has been a Gigglechick.com Emergency Vets Episode... to be continued...

poor puppy.

12:15 PM|well...well...well... i am back from lovely downtown jersey city. what a trip that was. drove up (rushing like a freak to make my 1pm Unemployment appointment) yesterday .... made it into JC by 12:25pm, took the path train into the world trade center... ran 2 blocks over to 50 park place... stepped into the cool air-conditioned building... opened up my sheet of paper showing my appointment, handed them this and my ID... and they said, "sign here"
i did.
then they said "the 14th was tuesday, you'll have to come back" and gave me a stone cold look that chilled me more than the icy cool A/C...
WHAT?!?! the 14th?!? i thought thursday WAS the 14th. you would think that blogging a billion times a day i would see that tuesday's date was the 14th. i am an idiot! what is happening to me!?!? i used to be GREAT with remembering dates. seriously, friends used to call me Rainman because of it. now i have no reference point to anything. the days are becoming a mushy unemployed blur. *ugh*

so that was yesterday. i stayed up there last night... good to step away from the house down here... went to weightwatchers at 5:30pm... didn't lose... but more importantly, i didn't gain either (165.8) so i am feeling pretty good about getting back on plan.

on the dog front... archie's penis is hurt. poor kid. MY BABY'S PEE PEE IS MALFUNCTIONING!!! after the kennel he had welts on him they seemed to be healing and such, but over the past couple of days he's peeing (nay, i mean TRYING to pee.) and cannot. he's walking around like the 70 year old dog he is squatting 42 times in 20 minutes, nothings happening, and i can pretty much hear him saying "Oi vay, my back..." plus i noticed he has a bubble (or lump) on his right side near his tummy... poor guy. so 2:15pm today Arch and I are taking a ride to the doctor's... and maybe if things are fixable i will take him for a walk on the beach if he's feeling up to it... although when i was walking him earlier, he stumbled about 4 times.

not good. it's making me have flashbacks of George, my old white cat. towards the end of george's 16 years, in fact the last week of his life, he started tripping and then missing his 'mark' when he would try jumping on the table, etc.

then his last night alive, he tried to jump up on the La-Z-Boy. he made it halfway. poor kitty, hanging half on half off the recliner, so i picked him up and laid him on my chest and watched tee vee... over the next 3 hours, george proceeded to have 71 little seizures or strokes and then he was gone... if i thought there was a chance of recovery i would have rushed him to the Vet's ER after the 1st seizure, but i figured it was just as well to have him pass on in my arms...

sorry. sounding morbid. not trying to "bring ya' down"... but archie's actions are causing me to prepare for the end... i mean he IS 10... poor kid.

probably a bladder infection... or canine prostate cancer or something...

9:35 AM|so i get IM'd by this guy nearly every day hounding me about doing his site, "oh please, get back to me about a quote", "just a friendly reminder to help me out with my site", etc...

i don't know if he expected me to do it for $100 or what, but, um... no.

first off, i could feel he would have been one of those annoying client types. (i have dealt with those types for years. really frustrating, i know it's gonna happen, but, i don't need it at this point)

the other day he was talking up graphics, logos, 20 pages, etc.

i gave him my quote based on what emails were sent - fair price... and then he's like 'i didn't expect that, i just wanted a homepage with a few thumbnails that open up nude photos at a larger size, and no logo or graphics"

not to be a bitch, but i was this morning...

i IM'd him back and said "well, you can go to http://www.webmonkey.com - they'll show you how to use dreamweaver"

and i blocked him from my IM.

gigglechick.com - member of the Better Business Bureau... yep, i am gonna make MILLIONS with my attitude!!! (see, it was just too early in the morning to deal with that.)

1:27 AM|i feel loved (or pitied... but that's okay)!!! my $11.00 has been matched -- wow! that's better than my old 401k plan at digitas.

thank you! thank you! thank you! please visit my new sugardaddy's site!!!

10:56 PM|first off, let me just say this is NOT (supposed to be) a plea for money, but:

ernie's total right now (in a week) is $354.51

my total is $11.00... (over 3 months)

it only proves that everyone loves the unemployed Gaysian more than me *sniffle* poor little (well, 16 pounds lighter) outta work white chick caring for her mama and only wanting to make people smile... (heartstrings? shall i tug more?)

10:32 PM|hey all... well, a big thanks to all y'all who sent me emails with $ figures.... getting the gumption to DO this now :)
pretty bland day. shyte, i forgot i wanted to do my actual resumé and get it printed up... oh well, Six Feet Under was a good one tonight.
was going to go up to JC today and stay over because i have an appointment with unemployment tomorrow at 1pm but will go up in the a.m.
yes. this IS my 2nd time in a week that i have had to go there. meanwhile i have friends that have been unemployed for 5 months who have heard nary a peep out of the Dept. of Misfortune, er, i mean Unemployment. Wonder if they are gonna get our hopes up by saying McDonald's is looking to hire people... i mean since last week the woman mentioned that Target is looking for cashiers...
i wanna retire. gotta pick my lottery numbers tomorrow... come ON! mamma needs a new lung!!! lucky 7's!!!! C'MON!!!!

9:54 AM|um... call me naive. but how much SHOULD i charge for a website design? i never really have done the freelance thing (pretty much have been on salary for 8 years) and folks are asking me to design their sites now. i usually sell myself short... i have done freelance illustration and such and that was for bargain basement $$... like how much would the Dutch Oven site have gone for? anyone wanna estimate it? thanks!! email me!!

3:39 AM|tired. had 3 hours sleep in 36 hours.

just got back from seeing Dutch Oven blow the doors off the spring lake manor...

if anyone is near Asbury Park NJ, go next door to the Stone Pony to a place called the Hitching Rail... D.O. will be there at 8pm on august 17th...

um... but if you can't see Dutch Oven... COME TO stand up new york on tuesday august 28th at 8:45pm... I, erin bennett, will be performing (what, you thought i was just going to start to plug my cousin's band and not MY shows?!?! what are ya' loopy on fumes!?!?)

4:53 PM|awwww.... thank you to the kind anonymous soul that deposited $5.00 into my amazon tip jar!!!

thank you!!!!!! really i mean it since i learned last night that Roulette is a cruel mistress.

4:09 PM|ok, folks.... the Official Dutch Oven website is up and running, alive and kicking...
ilovedutchoven.com

go check it out. and if you live in New Jersey... come see them TONIGHT at the Spring Lake Manor

so, the site is a quicky that i did this week... i am pleased with it - if i do say so myself... seeing as i haven't designed anything in MONTHS.

8:37 AM|well. i JUST walked in the door from atlantic city. feeling sick and penniless. very penniless. quarterless and dollarless.

12:00 PM|well... mom had the wonderful idea to go to atlantic city today. i hope i don't feel sick and penniless when driving back in 8 hours.

oh... and joe called... all's swell, no overheating, no bears, no blowing off...

mom is now smoking inside 1 foot next to me. i think i need to have a lung removed.

12:26 AM|well.. today i pretty much stayed home working on the ilovedutchoven.com site (not done yet, kids...) rain rain rain and thunder with bits and chunks of lightning...

so i am weaning archie off the junk. only HALF a tranquilizer tonight. you know... to take the edge off.

he's in the other room passed out on the couch. *tsk tsk*

my mother, on the other hand, is 2 fricking feet away from me reading some Modern Maturity magazine and sighing because she thinks i should be cleaning the house at this time of night. did i mention... KILL ME.

just watched Chocolat... man, i loved that movie!!!

hmmm... what else...what else....? well... on the relationship side of things... um.... i could be very wrong... but i think i am being blown off.

perhaps it's just me reverting back to some sort of paranoia (i am a bit fragile right now since i am sitting here hearing my mother calling me a bitch and telling me my phone will never ring... but that's the typical evening here)... so joe was supposed to get back last week - wednesday i think. and have i heard from him? nope. nada. nuthin'. am i sitting here pining? no. i mean i COULD pine. very easily, but i don't choose to. very unproductive. seeing as i am unemployed and living at my mom's right now, i have enough reasons to feel like i am still 16, i don't need to be caterwauling and crying profusely on my bed hugging a stuffed animal whining to it "whyyyyyy hasn't he called?!?!?!?"

he's probably busy at work.
or still out cavorting with the military.
or collapsed in a field last week because of the heat and had no water.
or his car overheated and broke down and he didn't have his cell phone.
or his cell phone has melted from last week's heat.
or a black bear came down from the mountains looking for water and escape from the heat and he wrastled it to the ground and it crushed his phone.

i am going to chalk up his not calling on the extreme heat we had recently.

or... i am being blown off.

10:15 AM|okay.... so who did it?!!?!? (i am not pissed, just trying to figure out who did this!) i got an email this morning:

Congratulations! Someone has nominated you for Blog Babe of the Week.
If you would like to be featured, just let me know.
Also, in your reply please send a picture or, if you have one your site you'd like me to use, just let me know the url of that (I won't link directly to your image.)

Cheers,
Charles
http://www.sixdifferentways.com