xxandra

As proof that brains are amazing tools, I'm almost entirely certain the song in question was performed on American Idol. The only seasons I watched were Seasons 4 and 7 -- and I'm fairly certain it was performed late in the season by a competitor who was more rock-oriented, like David Cook or Bo Bice.

Normally my Google-Fu doesn't fail me, but I've gone through the lists of the songs they performed and nothing's ringing a bell -- it's hard to Google when you mostly only have a rhythm to go by.

At any rate, it's an upbeat rock-ish song, and the chorus starts off with something to the effect of "I'd (I'll?) do (be) anything (anybody) just to.. (and here's where I sort of go blank)... something something something something... then it repeats... then it ends with "but I'd (I've) rather (gotta/have to) be me... "

I know it isn't very helpful...but I've tried Googling every combination of these words along with American Idol -- I suppose there's a chance it was never performed on there, but I'm almost positive it was.

If this song doesn't exist, I may have just dreamt the next Billboard hit. Sigh. Or maybe I'm just a really good advocate for not doing drugs. :P

Oh... and it's not "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback, unfortunately. That was my first thought.

...or something close to that. I know I've seen this word before, but have no idea how to go about finding it again.

A good description would be, if you're reading a fictional story and imagine the main character to look like someone you know based on the description given in the story. I want to say that the word is similar (in at least sound or spelling) to "proselytizing" or "hypothesizing" because that's what my brain keeps going back to, but I know those aren't it. For example...

"I imagined him to look a lot like my brother, but that's probably just me [insert word here.]"

I'm a 23 year old female, 5'6", 120 lbs. For the past four weeks, I've been working out daily. I'm focusing more on getting into shape than I am losing weight, although I have lost about nine pounds. My main goal is eliminating excess "belly fat," and building muscle in my abdominal region.

Every morning, I do 25 sit-ups, followed by 75 crunches on my Body by Jake. I repeat the same routine at lunch, and again in the evening. When it's not raining or snowing (which is all it does here), I go out and run for about forty-five minutes each night.

I'm starting to see major results in my upper abs, but I feel like the new "definition" is actually drawing more attention to my stomach, which hasn't budged.

My diet consists primarily of organic food... whole wheat, soy, berries and nuts, and I supplement in the areas I'm lacking. I don't count calories but would guess I only take in about 1200 daily.

Should I be seeing results yet? Or should I be doing something different?

I've been looking into buying a ZR-2 edition Blazer, probably late 90s, early 00s, but I'm curious if any ever came stock with a manual transmission. I know they were only offered in 2 door format, but I'd really like to find one with a stick if they were ever made that way. Any information would be helpful.

I stopped in a pet store this morning.

There were about 40 puppies stacked floor to ceiling in small glass tanks with wire bases. There was one puppy per tank; the same "type" represented more than once only a few times, meaning there were about 35 different "types" of dog available in one store.

I hesitate to say "breed." Only four of them were AKC-registered breeds. The others were Maltipoos, Schnoodles, your typical "designer dogs." But a conversation caught my attention:

MAN: Why's it so expensive? It's a MUTT!

WORKER: It's not a mutt; they're bred intentionally to cancel out health issues in each breed.

Curious what they were referring to, I looked at the cage and saw... a "BULLY BEAGLE."

MAN: So, how big will it get?

WORKER: Um...I dunno. There's his sister. (Points to a pup who looks nothing like the first one.)

This particular puppy was selling for the low price of $79.

Per month.

Aside from not patronizing these stores... what can be done?

With the celebrity adoption craze reaching an all-time high, maybe we should take a cue from the propagators of the designer dog craze and start breeding designer kids.

Just think... we could start by paying, oh, say, Egyptians to breed with Pakistanis. We'd give their offspring a cute name like Egypistanis or Pakigyptians, and start hawking them to celebrities.

"Why, yes, Miss Jolie... the Egyptistani are a new race. They're extremely rare, so, of course, we'll have to charge you quite a bit higher of an adoption fee than usual. No, no... they absolutely have the best characteristics of both races. That's right... and best of all, they're hypoallergenic!"

I think I'm on to something... what do you guys think?

They recently started re-airing old episodes of Pee-Wee's Playhouse on Cartoon Network, and I caught the end of one the other day.

I never realized, as a little kid, how completely disturbing that show was. Sure, it was a little zany, but I don't think I ever realized just how much so.

At any rate, the ending brought back quite a few memories, when Pee-Wee flies out of his playhouse on his motorized scooter, and rides down the highway in front of the mountains.

Which brings me to my question... where does Pee-Wee go when he leaves his playhouse? Is he going to work? I certainly hope it isn't something as mundane as a menial office job; although it would explain the suit and tie.

Does he have a "regular" house that he goes to? If he loves his playhouse so often, why not just live there all the time? He already has his mail delivered there.

So, I want your fun, creative ideas. Where is Pee-Wee going? (Aside from the X-rated theater, that is.)

I'm seriously not trying to step on toes; just curious where most Christians stand on this.

If there was absolutely no mention of Heaven or Hell in the Bible, but everything else were written exactly the same way, would you still feel compelled to worship God?

Would you still follow the commandments if there was no punishment or reward for doing so?

Basically, do you worship God as a creator because you genuinely love Him, because you want the reward of Heaven, or because you fear eternal damnation if you don't?

This is coming from someone who has neither had children or really been around them, so I'm just curious.

It seems like most people refer to young children's ages in months, rather than years, calling them an 18 month old or a 22 month old, for example.

I understand the need to differentiate between, say, a 13 month old and a 20 month old, because of the vast amount of mental and physical development that would occur during that time period. But, I've known people to carry it out quite a bit further than that, and refer to their children as 40 month olds. To me, figuring out how old a 40 month old would be is like trying to figure out military time. (Although I suppose to someone used to military time, it would be easy. Am I just an outsider?)

Wouldn't it be just as logical to say that your child is two and a half, rather than 30 months? I wouldn't say I'd worked at a job for 30 months, I'd say I'd been there two and a half years. It just seems less awkward.

Insight?

After discovering a lump on my dog's leg, I took him to the vet, who took a tissue sample to be sent away for further testing. The examination and cytology cost $45.

The results were back in two days; it was malignant. He was quickly scheduled for surgery, the tumor was removed, incision stapled, and he was given pills to take. This cost only $75, and the tumor is not expected to return.

If the EXACT same services were performed in a human (not even taking into consideration possible radiation/chemo), would they likely not cost upwards of a few thousand dollars? I understand that a dog is not a person, but, why can a vet charge a fraction of the cost? They're a DOCTOR of Veterinary Medicine... do they not often have to undergo 8+ years of schooling as well? Is their quality of work normally not as high as an MD's would be?

I mean, I've had appointments where I just SPOKE with a doctor, and was charged more than that.

What, exactly, is the difference?

Yesterday, my basset hound had surgery to have an early-stage malignant tumor removed from his back leg.

He has stitches, and his leg is dressed in gauze. I was told by the vet tech that I should remove the gauze today.

I attempted to do so, with him in both a sitting and laying down position, stabilizing his leg so that I wasn't moving it around unnecessarily. But he bawls every time I touch it, and now, he won't let me near it.

The vet tech said that I should be able to do this myself. My boyfriend will be home soon, and we're going to give it one more try, with him holding and comforting the dog.

I'm curious if there is anything I can do to make this easier or less painful for him. If the two of us can't manage it together, I plan to ask the vet to do it, but would prefer to not have to, as I worry another car/vet trip would cause him much stress right now.

If I can't manage it, I'll certainly call and at least ask for advice, but does anyone have suggestions?

A month ago, I applied for a job in the graphic design field. I met all of the qualifications, and was called in for an interview, which I felt went quite well. I was told that the company would be calling for second interviews within a week. The owner handed me a business card and told me that I was free to check back with him any time.

The next day, I sent a thank-you letter. I waited the allotted week, and after not hearing anything back, I called. I was given a receptionist, to whom I left a message stating that I was checking on the status of my application. I was told the owner would call me back. He never did.

It doesn't bother me so much that I didn't get the job, but I feel like I put quite a bit of effort into it... updating my portfolio, sending a resume, travelling to the interview (which was an hour away), and mailing a thank-you letter.

Am I wrong to think it would be proper to at least send a letter or email saying that the position has been filled?

I've not quite been here two months, and out of boredom the other day decided to go back and look at some of the first questions I answered here.

To my surprise, many of them were unresolved. They'd been put to a vote, and had usually ended in a two or three-way tie.

My question is... are these questions just going to sit in limbo indefinitiely forever? With only 100 votes a day maximum, I highly doubt anyone is going to go far enough back to cast the deciding vote for questions that have ended in a tie over two months ago.

Just wondering; I'd not really thought about it before, but it seems like a waste for someone to ask a question, people to put thought into answering it, then for people to vote on it, and then... nothing.

Oh well, I guess I just like resolution.

I have what I consider to be a very important job interview tomorrow; the sort that you want to make sure goes perfectly.

The interesting thing about this job is that so far, all of the correspondence has transpired online; the position required that you sent your resume via email, and afterwards, I was offered an interview over email as well.

My question is this: Growing up, I was always taught that it was proper to mail a written follow-up letter thanking the interviewer for their time, and to also give you another opportunity to say again how interested you are in the job.

I certainly plan on writing a thank-you letter after the interview tomorrow, but under the circumstances, should I send it out through regular mail, or email it?

I realize that "regular" mail is more etiquette-oriented, but we're living in a society of instant gratification... and this particular company seems to prefer online correspondence.

Any advice or insight?

Here's the scenario: John Kramer (Jigsaw) decides to capture notorious movie villains to teach them life lessons with a high price.

Who does he capture, and what sort of ironic test does he devise for them? Most creative, well-thought-out answer wins.

I'm trying to get some information on the stock wiring harness for a 1931 Model A Sedan.

My boyfriend's grandfather unhooked some of the wires on his, and can't remember where they go. My boyfriend really wants to get it running again for him, but hasn't been able to so far.

The car has the reversed negative positive, the ground goes to the starter, and the positive goes to the frame. What he needs to know is how to wire the ignition system.

If you could give me a good explanation, or point me in the direction of a good diagram, I'll pass the information on... it'll really make his grandpa's day if we can get his car working again for him.

This is purely hypothetical; just something I've been wondering.

I know that you can't be an organ donor if you've been diagnosed with, or in some cases, have a history of cancer... I recently lost a family member who had wanted to be an organ donor but couldn't due to metastatic cancer.

But let's say your spouse needs a kidney to live, and you decide to donate one to him. And let's say you have undiagnosed, asymptomatic cancer and a tumor on your kidney? Do they screen all transplanted organs for cancer (before or after removal) if they have no reason to believe it's there in the first place?

Like I said, I'm just curious... what with the way HIV used to be transmitted through blood transfusions; I was wondering if it was possible to pass on undiagnosed cancer through organ transplants.

...why does Yoplait Light contain aspartame, a known carcinogen?

You start dating a guy who obviously takes care of himself, well-groomed, and so on.

As the relationship goes on, you realize that he hasn't had a haircut or shave since your first date, he's missing more showers than he takes, and the ratty, holey clothes he's had since high school become a staple of his wardrobe.

Around the time your family is ready to meet him, he looks like he's been filming for "Survivor" for the past forty days.

Why do so many guys stop caring about their appearance once a relationship gets serious? I mean BASIC PERSONAL HYGEINE... showering, shaving... simple maintenance!

Is it because they're so comfortable in the relationship that they no longer feel the need to impress you? They say that if you really liked them, you wouldn't care how they looked. But how would guys feel if girls stopped showering, shaving, and gained thirty pounds out of nowhere? And often, if the relationship ends, they go right back to the way they looked before.

WHY?

He was purchased from K*B Toy Stores in '87 or '88.

The brand name is "Don't Be Blue."

His body is dark blue, and he has a light blue nose and scarf. He's very floppy and sad-looking, with an oversize snout, paws, and ears. His eyes are embroidered on, and the right one has a very small blue tear.

His tush tag has long since been torn off, so I have no idea what company made him, but he was packaged quite nicely, and retailed for around $20... fairly expensive for a stuffed dog in the '80s.

The only other detail I remember is that he came with what seemed like a little card or tag (also long gone) that said something to the effect of "Don't Be Blue... Your Dog Loves You!"

I know this is a far cry, but the only reason I ask is because I've had him for almost 20 years now, and he's always been my favorite... I always said I'd keep him for my kids, and I'm just curious to know how one-of-a-kind he is!

I've searched eBay, Google, etc., but can't come up with anything.