Top 100 Hits of 1994 (The year I graduated from HS)

Now you will all know how bored I am. This is another one of those cute blog things. If you like the idea, post it on your own blog. Go to a site called Musical Outfitters, and type the year you graduated in the search box. It will give you a list of the top 100 songs for that year. Next, go through and bold the songs you liked, strikethrough the songs you hate, and leave the ones you are indifferent about. Thanks to Zeenat for the strikethrough code!

1. The Sign, Ace Of Base
2. I Swear, All-4-One
3. I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
4. The Power Of Love, Celine Dion
5. Hero, Mariah Carey
6. Stay (I Missed You), Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories
7. Breathe Again, Toni Braxton
8. All For Love, Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting
9. All That She Wants, Ace Of Base
10. Don't Turn Around, Ace Of Base
11. Bump N' Grind, R. Kelly
12. Again, Janet Jackson
13. I'll Remember, Madonna
14. Whatta Man, Salt-N-Pepa
15. Wild Night, John Mellencamp and Me'shell Ndegeocello
16. Without You / Never Forget You, Mariah Carey
17. You Mean The World To Me, Toni Braxton
18. Can You Feel The Love Tonight, Elton John
19. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, Prince Symbol
20. Fantastic Voyage, Coolio 21. Baby I Love Your Way, Big Mountain
22. Regulate, Warren G and Nate Dogg
23. If You Go, Jon Secada
24. Back and Forth, Aaliyah
25. Now And Forever, Richard Marx
26. When Can I See You, Babyface
27. Please Forgive Me, Bryan Adams
28. So Much In Love, All-4-One
29. Shoop, Salt-N-Pepa
30. Any Time, Any Place / And On And On, Janet Jackson
31. Shine, Collective Soul
32. Said I Loved You...But I Lied, Michael Bolton
33. Return To Innocence, Enigma
34. All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
35. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, Crash Test Dummies
36. Can We Talk, Tevin Campbell
37. Funkdafied, Da Brat
38. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Meat Loaf
39. Gangsta Lean, Drs
40. Because The Night, 10,000 Maniacs
41. Cantaloop, US3
42. Whoomp! (There It Is), Tag Team (Ok I admit, I liked this song for 10 5 minutes.)
43. Come To My Window, Melissa Etheridge
44. Stroke You Up, Changing Faces
45. I'm Ready, Tevin Campbell
46. 100% Pure Love, Crystal Waters
47. Anytime You Need A Friend, Mariah Carey
48. Because Of Love, Janet Jackson
49. Linger, Cranberries
50. Loser, Beck
51. Found Out About You, Gin Blossoms
52. Gin And Juice, Snoop Doggy Dogg
53. Never Lie, Immature
54. Streets Of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen
55. Getto Jam, Domino
56. Endless Love, Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey
57. I Miss You w/ Aaron Hall 58, Understanding, Xscape
59. This D.J., Warren G
60. Cry For You, Jodeci
61. Keep Ya Head Up, 2Pac
62. Who Am I (What's My Name?), Snoop Doggy Dogg
63. Another Night, Real McCoy
64. Your Body's Callin', R. Kelly
65. Tootsee Roll, 69 Boyz
66. I Can See Clearly Now, Jimmy Cliff
67. Never Keeping Secrets, Babyface
68. Crazy, Aerosmith
70. At Your Best (You Are Love), Aaliyah
71. Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through, Meat Loaf
72 Amazing, Aerosmith
73. Always, Erasure
74. Groove Thang, Zhane
75. Dreams, Gabrielle
76. Mr. Vain, Culture Beat
77. Mary Jane's Last Dance, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
78. Anything, SWV
79. Beautiful In My Eyes, Joshua Kadison
80. Stay, Eternal
81. Flava In Ya Ear, Craig Mack
82. U.N.I.T.Y., Queen Latifah
83. Prayer For The Dying, Seal
84. Secret, Madonna
85. Here Comes The Hotstepper, Ini Kamoze
86. Everyday, Phil Collins
87. Don't Take The Girl, Tim McGraw
88. Got Me Waiting, Heavy D and The Boyz
89. December 1963 (Oh, What A Night), Four Seasons
90. Indian Outlaw, Tim McGraw
91. Always, Bon Jovi
92. I'm The Only One, Melissa Etheridge
93. Back In The Day, Ahmad
94. Love Sneakin' Up On You, Bonnie Raitt
95. I'll Take You There, General Public
96. Always In My Heart, Tevin Campbell
97. What Is Love, Haddaway
98. And Our Feelings, Babyface
99. Bop Gun (One Nation), Ice Cube
100. I Wanna Be Down, Brandy

Color Quiz = Scarily Accurate

Katie took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Needs release from stress. Longs for peace, tranqu..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Food-aholics unite.

I think I wet my pants a little when I read this part of a post from Lightning Bug's Butt.

"Have you ever been eating food so good that you suddenly wish you had two stomachs? Or maybe a valve that could divert the food away from your belly and through an escape hatch. Some food tastes so good, I want to eat it alone. I don’t want anybody around who might talk to me and interrupt the mouth-loading process. Don’t talk to me. I’ve got a bucket of bite-sized cream puffs. Vocal communication will reduce throughput by 30%."

Drat! The networks want to ruin my life!

Since I had a kid and relenquished the TV to shows like Thomas the Tank Engine, Between the Lions and Spiderman, I have not been a very loyal tv watcher. When I was in jr. high/high school, I used to buy a copy of TV Guide once a year, when the new fall season started, and I would chart out my weekly tv watching schedule. That was back in the day when they didn't switch the schedule every other week. Anyway, I just happen to be very interested in three new shows this season, and imagine my sadness to discover that they are all on at the same time! This is a disaster.

Tonight the lineup is as follows:

8:00 p.m. (Central Time) CBS: The Amazing Race, Family Edition



8:00 p.m. (Central Time) ABC: Commander in Chief



8:00 p.m. (Central Time) NBC: My Name is Earl (and at 8:30, another good show, The Office)


And tonight, just to make it even harder to decide which show to tape, Isaac is performing the JWP school song and the Star Spangled Banner at the Homecoming Volleyball Game - his first public performance - and it's at...8:00 p.m.

Masud's favorite show is called "House" and it's on Fox. Guess what time: 8:00 p.m. central time, Tuesdays. The world is not fair.

I can only hope that they switch up the schedule again. If anyone from the networks is reading this, I can afford about an hour a night to watch TV, so please, PLEASE spread these out over a couple of nights!

100 Things About Me

1. I am messy, but germ free.
2. I make to do lists and rarely complete them.
3. I’m really glad that I had a boy.
4. I don’t have a lot of friends.
5. I don’t want a lot of friends.
6. I can speak Bangla, and can sort of read and write it.
7. When I’m alone, I sing loudly and badly.
8. I think farts and poop jokes are hilarious.
9. I was a PK.
10. I graduated from high school when I was 17.
11. I can’t handle tooth pain.
12. I hate cooking, but am happy when something I cook is good.
13. My favorite food is dill pickles.
14. I wish I was brave enough to shave my head.
15. I have a tattoo on my back that I want to get fixed because it’s ugly.
16. I think people that have their tongues pierced are cool.
17. I think bellybutton piercings are gross.
18. I grew up Republican.
19. My husband is approximately 9 years older than me.
20. I can tell if I like a new person within 5 minutes of meeting them.
21. I am not a vegetarian because I feel bad for animals. Meat is gross.
22. I’m addicted to sugar.
23. My dream is to have a job that allows me to travel all over the world.
24. I don’t want to be rich, I just want enough.
25. I lie to people when I think the truth will hurt their feelings.
26. I have decided that I don’t hate math.
27. I want to start playing the piano again.
28. I want my son to become a doctor or the first minority President of the US.
29. I started reading when I was four.
30. I can recite all the presidents of the US.
31. I can recite all the books of the Bible.
32. My next goal is to learn Spanish.
33. Most of the time, I want to lose 25 lbs, but sometimes I like my pudgy self.
34. I want to adopt a child in maybe 10 years.
35. I’m scared to go to graduate school.
36. I love doing laundry, but hate doing dishes.
37. I want to see Tori Amos in concert before I die.
38. I have a crush on Ewan McGregor.
39. I don’t think it’s wrong to burn CDs from your friends.
40. I hope my son becomes a skateboarding dude.
41. I want to take martial arts lessons.
42. I like to drive 5 speed cars.
43. I believe in aliens.
44. I envy people who don’t care what others think.
45. I like brussel sprouts.
46. I don’t like mushrooms.
47. I have huge feet.
48. I don’t have a gallbladder.
49. I love reading bedtime stories.
50. I don’t like wine.
51. I enjoy cheesy tv shows like “American Idol”.
52. I’m addicted to Diet Coke.
53. I’m ashamed of some things I’ve done in the past.
54. My favorite color (presently) is red.
55. I want to design my own clothing line.
56. I miss painting and drawing.
57. I want to learn how to make stuff out of wood.
58. My best feature is my nose.
59. My nose is pierced.
60. I was really mean to my brother when we were little.
61. I was awesome to my sister when she was little.
62. I think my sister is really cool.
63. I like girl bands.
64. On my 21st birthday, I didn’t get to drink because I was in Bangladesh.
65. I oppose the death penalty.
66. I think all guns should be banned.
67. I gag when I clean the bathroom.
68. I’ve never, ever gone to a bar and gotten drunk. Not once.
69. I’ve gotten drunk in plenty of other places, though.
70. I never wanted to get married or have kids.
71. Many things that have happened in my life were a result of inertia.
72. I am really close to my mom.
73. I’m really afraid of the dark.
74. I have an anxiety problem.
75. I have told people that I hate them.
76. I used to get lots of speeding tickets.
77. My last speeding ticket was in 2001.
78. I have never had a car accident (while I was driving).
79. I have bad credit.
80. I can’t handle being a stay-at-home-mom.
81. If I don’t have something to worry about, my brain shuts down.
82. I break a lot of dishes on accident.
83. I hate wearing makeup.
84. I won $1000 at a casino after betting $2 in a slot machine.
85. I love butt massage.
86. I buy lots of books that I don’t have time to read.
87. I read 6 books at a time.
88. I loathe exercise but want to be physically fit.
89. I think mowing the lawn is stupid.
90. I collect statues of the Hindu god Ganesh.
91. I want to save the world.
92. I rarely shave my legs, and I have more body hair than some men.
93. I also rarely wear shorts.
94. I hate wearing skirts.
95. I wore only men’s pants until I had a baby and grew hips.
96. I have had 2 operations in my life so far.
97. I am afraid of death.
98. I want everyone to like me.
99. I had braces.
100. I think it is vain of me to assume that people want to know 100 things about me.

The Barbara Bush Blues

(reprinted from The Star Tribune, Sunday, September 25, 2005. Page AA6)

By Rohan Preston, Star Tribune Staff Writer

"So many of the [displaced] people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this [chuckle], this is working very well for them." -Barbara Bush, Houston, September 2005

Poor people everywhere:
hope for disaster, displacement, flood,
pray for mudslides, earthquakes, wildfires -
for that's when the going really gets good!

Pray to be flushed out of your home -
to watch it float away to rot:
pray to end up in the Astrodome
on a little Red Cross cot.

Away from the 'hood, you get nutritious food
and free dental care;
you get coupons to hoity-toity salons
that can scrub the goo from your hair.

You get clean clothes, deodorant soap
and warm water to wash;
you get all this and most every wish -
plus a tidy bit of cash.

True, you may lose some of your little bums
and your minimum-wage job,
but these are just blips: after the apocalypse
you live high on the hog.

So, clasp your hands and pray to join the thousands
living large and scot-free!
They've got such good gravy, forget First Lady -
I wanna be an evacuee.

Rohan Preston is at rpreston@startribune.com

As if you didn't already know.

Isn't it funny that Republicans are right next to fascists on this graph? He he. You can all start calling me "comrade" now.

You are a Social Liberal (88% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (6% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Moving as workout: strength training + cardio.

Who needs Tae Bo when you have thousands of boxes to move?

Yesterday I spackled all the nail holes that I created. Then I painted the bathroom white, because I don't think the landlords liked the shade of orange I had painted it.

We still don't officially have a place to live yet, but I've been busily packing and sorting things into piles (dump, thrift store, and keep - just like that show on cable called "Clean Sweep"). My sedentary lifestyle is definitely catching up with me, because I'm so sore that I don't think I'd be able to handle the pain of a massage!

It's good pain, though. I'm so happy about this change that it's kindof scaring me...is there some big catastrophe waiting for us around the corner? Or have I been living with "think the worst" Bengalis for too long?

Here's something weird I found today.

I was randomly surfing around today (yeah, I know, I must have too much time on my hands) when I stumbled across this weird archeological phenomenon.

At first, I thought it was a hoax, so I had to google it, and I found an actual town website for this area! They actually have this giant naked dude as their town logo! Hmmmmmm. Why didn't I learn about this during one of my ancient art history classes? It's pretty rad.

Contemplating Moving...

I’ve been married for 8 years, and this will be the sixth move. That’s a lot of moving. I’m a pro at this point. I know how to box things up logically by room so that unpacking is easier, and I know what things I need to keep at the top of the pile (tools, box cutters, essential pots and pans for cooking those first meals, cleaning fluids, Isaac’s video games) so that they can be accessed immediately. It’s still a pain in the ass. The worst part for me is that I have grown attached to my surroundings and being a person who hates change, it’s hard to say goodbye.

Things I will miss about Janesville/Mankato:

1) This little farmhouse that we live in, while it has its problems (see next list), is so adorable and I just love it. Our landlords just resided it and it’s now as adorable outside as it is inside.
2) There are two parks right outside the door, and the school is within a 4-minute (slow) walk.
3) I have a huge clothesline in the back yard, and I love the smell of sheets hung out to dry in the summer breeze.
4) The town library is an old Carnegie building, and it reminds me of the library I used to go to as a little girl.
5) The grocery store in town has wood floors and rows and rows of the essentials (but no tofu), and I don’t think there are many stores like it left in the world. It’s kind of like one of those general stores from the olden days.
6) My good friends, Deb and Sue, both work at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and I will miss going to have lunch with them.
7) Mankato has a good library, and I could always go up to MSU to look at journals (ok I’m nerdy).
8) Both of the big supermarkets in Mankato have tofu AND organically grown produce.
9) Taekwondo
10) Minnesota Public Radio, one of the top NPR affiliates in the country is beyond great. I will miss it every day. Good thing they have podcasts!


Things I will NOT miss about Janesville/Mankato:

1) The mini-sized claw foot tub that we bathe in daily (we don’t have a shower), which I once adored, I now abhor!
2) There is a stinky smell that comes from the downstairs bathroom no matter how much I clean it.
3) This house has a closet dearth.
4) I hate having to drive five hours to see my parents.
5) Living close to the school has its disadvantages – when school gets out at 3, about 50 sixteen-year-olds drive past my house at high speeds and I’m terrified I’ll get run over one day. (Do I sound like a little old lady or what?)
6) Mowing this huge lawn sucks. So does shoveling the huge driveway.
7) Speaking of snow, this house is FREEZING in the winter and HOT in the summer.
8) Janesville has a lot of religious psychos living here. (Sorry if you are one of the religious psychos. I don't mean to sound like a bigot. But I guess I am.)
9) There is no place around here for me to go to grad school.
10) The kitchen floor in this house is gross.

Our house...

Since we are leaving, our landlords put the house we're renting up for sale. It's so sad. Despite some very aggravating problems, this house is adorable. I think our landlords are really sad about it, too. It was in their family for a long time, and they bought it because they loved it so much.

Today was a long day. I had to drop the car off early in the morning for some maintenance, and then I went to the MSU library to download some journal articles while I still have access. Then I had a last lunch (as opposed to a "last supper") with Deb and Sue, my bestest buds for the past 9 years. Today Sue mentioned that she's getting sick of all of these awful goodbyes we're having to say. At least this time I'm not going to the other side of the globe. Wisconsin is a visitable place, anyway.

I'm killing time, waiting for the finale of Rockstar INXS at 9:00 tonight. What is it about these "relative nobody goes on a primetime reality show and becomes a super famous singer" shows? They draw me in like a moth to the flame, and then I find myself wasting hours not only watching the show but either calling in my vote or logging on to the website and repeatedly clicking on the "Vote" button. Maybe I have a hidden desire to become a famous singer. I know I sure do envy Tanya's singin' skills! Talk about the life of the party!

Random question: If anyone who reads this knows how to do that cool strikethrough thing with text in HTML, can you please email me with instructions?

Decisions, decisions

Two things I hate worst of all in life are 1) having to make huge decisions in a short amount of time, and 2) uncertainty. They often go hand in hand, and usually end up giving me heartburn, insomnia and lots of zits.

We drove to Wisconsin on Thursday, hoping to spend a four-day weekend looking for apartments/houses/duplexes (dupli?) to rent. Mom and I drove around fruitlessly on Friday, and all the places we looked at were really expensive ($750 for a 2 bedroom pit in Portage? I don't think so!) and gross. I became depressed. Then we toyed with the idea of kicking Page out of my Grandma Hatch's little apartment that is attached to my mom and dad's house. We all decided that the place is much better suited to my neat-freak sister than the Zaman family. Cramming all of our stuff into that small space would have caused a minor breach in the time-space continuum. Plus, Page is really happy there and I'd feel like a jerk kicking her out.

So we're still not sure where we'll go. We have a few ideas, but I'm not going to tell you what they are until I am sure one of them will work...

So I'm still awash in uncertainty and decision-making agony. Plus, Masud is in Wisconsin (he bought a rad little Subaru station wagon that I love - bumper stickers shall be applied) and he's so busy with his new job that he's no help for my troubled soul. So I'm in Minnesota with the kid and the mother-in-law. And the un-mowed lawn. And the mountains of stuff to sort and pack. Sometimes I wonder how single mothers handle it all?

Chakri Hoyegiyeche (The Job Has Been.)

I love literal translations of Bangla. It's funny. Like "Gondho Lage" means "I feel a smell." And "Juta Khulo" means "Open your shoes."

Anyways, Masud got a job offer on Friday, and it is a good one. He'll be a design engineer at Penda, which is a company that makes truck bedliners and irrigation systems (the link between the two being that they are both made from thermoformed plastic.) He is really excited because he gets to do a lot of hands-on stuff, he doesn't have to supervise anyone, and he will get to learn a whole bunch of new software. Always the nerd at heart, he can barely wait to get started.

The company is located in Portage, WI, which is smack-dab between my hometown and Madison - very, very perfect. I'm scouring the web for job possibilities in the area. There are not many "health" related jobs, but a ton of office jobs that I'm sure I could make do with.

Masud is going to start work on the 19th of this month, and I'm going to slowly pack up our belongings and get ready to move. We have to find a place, first, which is why we decided to take things slowly.

Now comes the hard part...making decisions. Where should we look for an apartment, where should Isaac go to school, where will I be working, should we live closer to Madison in case I get into grad school, we have to buy a car in the next week, etc etc etc. Agony for people like me who HATE MAKING DECISIONS.

In other news, I've become addicted to other people's blogs. If you are at work and need to waste time, or even if you don't need to waste time, check these out. Fair warning: Some of these blogs may be offensive to some people. There is some swearing involved in some of them, and sexual references in others. I think they are funny as hell.

Adventures of a Domestic Engineer
THIS IS FUN TO MAKE A BLOG ON THE COMPUTER WEBSITE
pop fizz
Short and Sweet Like Me
Bitch Ph.D.
The Best Page in the Universe
TheEmperfect
Uncle Torture
White Noise

Reading these blogs kindof makes me an insecure blogger. My blog is just not cool when compared to them. And I'm thinking I need a new name for my blog, and also I kinda wish I had refered to my loved ones with cool nicknames like these people do. (Ex-Bitch Ph.D. calls her child Psuedonymous Kid, Short and Sweet calls her husband "the boy".) Oh well, we all know I'm uncool anyways, there's no use pretending. But if anyone has suggestions for a new name for my blog, please hand it over.

Katrina

I feel that I need to explain why I have not mentioned Hurricane Katrina. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach. Natural disasters are awful. Couldn't somebody have helped people get out of there before it hit? What are we, a developing country? Why are people still dying? It's insane, and I'm going to stop talking about it now before I get on a soapbox.

The "bewful girl" and the "mean boy"

Isaac came home from his first day at school completely exhausted. Sensing that he didn't feel like talking, I gave him some chocolate milk and put on a movie so he could relax. Over the past two days, I've gotten little hints of information here and there. Here's an example of our conversation.

"Hey mom, do you know in tae kwon do when I was doing those kicks? That was pretty cool, huh, mom?"
"Yes, Isaac, you were pretty good!"
"I can't wait to break another board, mom. There was a bewful girl at school, mom."
"I'm excited to watch you break another board, too, Isaac! Tell me about the beautiful girl."
"She was bewful, mom. I tried to talk to her, but she was too shy and she didn't say anything."
"Maybe you can try to talk to her again on Tuesday."
"Mom, can I dig a hole in the back yard and bury something in it?"

In another conversation, we were talking about why beach balls float, and he suddenly mentioned a mean boy.

"Was the boy mean to you or to somebody else, Isaac?"
"He was mean to me. He laughed at me when I was handsome."
"Why do you think he laughed?"
"He's not handsome. He wore pajamas all day."
"Maybe he was jealous of your handsomeness."
"Will my basketball float like this beach ball?"

As much as I want to push the issue and find out as much as I can about Bewful Girl and Mean Boy, I know it's best not to make a big deal about it. The social world of Kindergarteners...it's a mystery indeed.

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

I got 7 out of 10 right, which means I passed. This is a darn hard test! Try it and let me know what you get (click on the title above).

Kindergarten

Isaac is so happy today!




Here's where I started bawling and had to run away and leave Masud to deal with this moment by himself. I think Isaac started to realize that he had to leave us and go in by himself.
That's his teacher in the foreground.

Books I'm Currently Reading

One of the perks of being jobless is that I have time to read. Since tomorrow is Isaac's first day of school, I am anticipating glorious minutes of uninterruped reading time. Here are some of the several books I have dog-eared at the moment.

1. Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics by Cynthia Enloe (Because I know nothing about international politics or feminism)
2. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (because she's my new favorite author)
3. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (because I got the book for 25 cents at a garage sale and think I should read at least one Margaret Atwood book)
4. Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by David Hawkins (because it's good stuff, Meynard)
5. Sex-workers in Bangladesh: Livelihood at what price? by Qurratul-Ain-Tahmina and Shishir Moral (Because I need to work my way through the pile of books I brought home from Bangladesh, one by one)

There you have it, a book for any mood...

My mother-in-law thinks it's weird that I take books into the bathtub with me. It's something I've done and loved as long as I can remember. My mom and dad remember it, too, cause they were always knocking on the door telling me to get out of the tub.