2.25.2007

I'm everywhere!!

Big surprise ...

HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are:
7,876
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

That's the combined total of people listed in the 1990 U.S. Census with either the name Angela or Angie Smith.

Through my experiences, here's what I know about some of these women:
- One of them is a phone operator for one of the credit card companies I have a card with;
- In 1999, one of them was wanted in Indiana's Grant County for allegedly stealing a brown Oldsmobile;
- One of them is the daughter-in-law of the Green Toyota morning shuttle driver in Springfield ... the guy is very personable and talkative, but forgetful, as I got to hear the story of her being bothered by creditors looking for other Angela Smiths during two different rides to work;
- Another one of them has tried to get employment from The Indianapolis Star;
- There are at least five other ones with prescriptions at every pharmacy I've used;
- 3,540 of us are on MySpace, 675 on Facebook, 210 on Friendster and 79 are LinkedIn.

And here's some of the response the name has gotten me:
- I've been asked much more often what my birthday or address is when getting carded than others I'm out with;
- When asked my name, I've gotten the question, "No really. What is it?" Just to let you know, that effectively kills conversation;
- And end on a positive ... I don't usually have to spell it for people. :)

2.19.2007

CVS ... who knew?

So I'm not usually a big fan of chocolate chip cookies ... especially the Chips Ahoy variety. (AKA, a crunchy, hard cookie.)

And I really shouldn't be eating them anyway.

But then it happened. Bryan brought these cookies to Nick and Abby's for the Super Bowl. And they turned out to be DELICIOUS. So much so, that I couldn't stop eating them even though the combo of them with Miller Lite wasn't the greatest. Still, I had to have them, and when I checked the package to see what kind they were, it said CVS brand. Interesting.

This weekend, I was having a craving for these cookies (brought on by a game show contestant having the name "Cookie" oddly enough), but I wondered ... was their tastiness amplified by my half-drunken state during the game?

The answer is no. These are the best damn chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten. From CVS. It gets better than that. Their name. "Absolutely Divine" Chocolate Chip cookies. Spectacular. And the cheesiness of the box just adds to their charm. There's a letter on the side from the CVS CEO who says, "To create the ultimate chocolate chip cookie, it takes a traditional all-butter recipe and mountains of chocolate chips!" Rock on, Tom.

There you have it. Highly recommended cookies ... the last thing you'd think to buy at CVS. I'm making myself only eat one tonight. OK, maybe two. Thanks a lot, Bryan. ;)

2.12.2007

The quiz of me

Well, there is the final scoreboard for those that signed up to get scored ... For the rest of you, see answers below:

Quiz answers (correct answers in bold)

1. What was my first car?
- Mitsubishi Eclipse
- Volkswagen Jetta
- Geo
Tracker
- Eagle Talon
(12 of 20 got this correct ... the most ridiculous incorrect answer came from Jen. How she did not remember that the Tracker was first, I still cannot comprehend.)

2. What do I have a tattoo of?
- Butterfly
- Scrubbing bubble
- Penguin
- Hot pepper
(Most people guessed penguin here, which makes sense. For the people who guessed butterfly ... do I REALLY seem like a butterfly person?? Come on now.)

3. What was my favorite college bar?
- Dill Street
- The Chug
- BW-3
- Scotty's Brewhouse
(Tough one for non-BSU-era people.)

4. What was my first job?
- TCTC Internet tech support
- The Udder Guys
- Detasseling
- Pace Dairy
(This proved to be the most difficult question ... only my mom, Joe C., Shel and Jen came up with the right answer.)

5. What do I consider my worst date ever?
- Aspiring-actor tour bus driver guy
- First: He got a Live CD, put "I Alone" on repeat
- Guy who asked to give me my insulin injection
- Guy who needed to change, then broke my shower
(None of these were made up, first off. Ugh. Of the 15 people that guessed incorrectly on this, 10 guessed the insulin guy. You WOULD think that would be the worst wouldn't you? But no, actually having to sit through an entire symphony concert with the idiot that shows up on the second date needing to get ready and proceeds to break my shower by far topped the insulin injection date, which I promptly ended immediately after dinner.)

6. Where did I waitress for a summer in college?
- Bob Evans
- Texas Roadhouse
- Steak N Shake
- Outback Steakhouse
(Most popular incorrect answer here was Texas Roadhouse. I only WISH I worked at Texas Roadhouse haha. Damn The Daily News for forcing me into a morning job.)

7. Who have I NOT seen in concert?
- The Eagles
- Cake
- Snoop
- Ben Folds
(I just haven't gotten a good opportunity to see Cake, but definitely would if and when it presents itself. Answer above MOST OFTEN seen in concert? Snoop hehe.)

8. What ice cream flavor would I pick?
- Cookie dough
- Butter pecan
- Vanilla
- Rocky road
(Not much to say about these answers. RobG, I can't believe you guessed rocky road. Ew.)

9. Whose movies do I refuse to watch?
- Nicolas Cage
- Tea Leoni
- Claire Danes
- Jim Carrey
(This was the easiest question with only four people giving incorrect answers.)

10. Which is NOT one of my "good fountain soda" criteria?
- Crushed ice
- High-flow straw
- Vanilla flavoring
- Styrofoam cup
(Abby, we're going to forget that you chose high-flow straw when I was the one to coin that term hehe.)

2.01.2007

Softlips situation

For those unaware, BIG problems arise when I am without my Softlips (lip balm). And even more specific than that, I want only the mint kind ... none of this cherry, strawberry, raspberry or vanilla crap. Especially not vanilla. Disgusting. And when I'm turning down something raspberry ... come on ... that's a situation.


Anyway, I was informed Christmas 2005, when my Gram tried to get some for our stockings, that mint Softlips could not be found anywhere in the stores. I thought, "Surely that's just a weird oversight ... It has to be somewhere. It's mint. Isn't mint a logical flavor for something mouth related?" But alas, no. It was nowhere.


Lucky for me, I had a stockpile at the time, so I didn't have to worry about it that much when my cousin, Sarah, told me that you could find the mint kind on eBay. eBay for goodness sake! I mean, I have purchased a lot of stuff on eBay ... some of it wonderful, like the Wendy's table, but lip balm? No. I didn't feel even I could do that.


So, I went about most of 2006 seeing my stockpile dwindling dangerously close to none, when I got a package in the mail from Sar. Inside, six tubes of mint Softlips. With the stash I had practically gone, I was delighted to see them ... even though I knew they certainly came from eBay. But what can you do? Desperation was calling.


This morning, I broke out my last package of non-eBay Softlips. It was like the end of an era. After my Chipotle Thursday lunch outing, I open the cap, screw the bottom of the tube, and the inside comes popping up at me. There was only about a quarter centimeter of lip balm in the thing. The last, normally-purchased package ... faulty! (Nevermind that this was most likely bought in 2004 ... I'm sure that had nothing to do with it. Yeah, yeah. I know how that kind of sounds. Who's grossed out now?? :) Hehe.)


Yep, my co-workers got a pretty good laugh out of 1) my ridiculous obsession with this stuff; 2) my disgust that this had happened even though it was likely more than two years old; and 3) the fact that I'm now going to be using Softlips off of eBay. I might be getting shit about this for awhile.


Oh well. A new chapter begins ... here's to hoping the eBay Softlips is everything Sar has talked it up to be. :)


UPDATE: I received the following e-mail from the company that makes Softlips today: :(

Dear Angie,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us at The Mentholatum Company regarding the availability of SoftLips® Mint Lip Protectants.

As you may know, we have recently stopped producing Mint. While we realize many consumers did enjoy this flavor, overall it did not sell as well as other products in our portfolio.

Please know I will be sharing your comments regarding the discontinuation of this product with the appropriate individuals here at headquarters.

Again, many thanks for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your friendship and support.

Regards,

Consumer Affairs Administrator
The Mentholatum Company, USA
Toll Free: 1-877-636-2677


2.2.07 - 2:18 p.m.