the dreams of a million girls who are more than pretty
may come true in atlantic city

It's here! It's really truly finally here! I'm like a little child on Christmas Eve, just drooling with the anticipation of what tomorrow morning will bring. As Dr. Frank N. Furter says ... "It's the antici ..... pation".

For those of you that have somehow missed the memo thus far: There are EIGHT of us (collectively known as "The Others", of course) that are piling into cars and heading to Atlantic City tomorrow morning. We are going because one of our gal-pals is Miss Ohio, and this is the end of the road for her (you only get one shot at Miss America). Beligerence and debauchery will ensue, hot tubs will be sat in, museums will be visited, hurricanes will be openly mocked, parades will be watched, copious amounts of liquor will be consumed, oceans will be used for a toe-dip (while wearing crowns, I'm sure), rhinestones will be worn before 5:00 PM, and there may even be a few lucky recipients of the coveted "Drunk Dial". Watch for us on TV (Saturday night, 9 PM, ABC). We're at the end of the runway. Section 114, Row A, seats 1-8. There should be signs that say "GO AMANDA, YOU'RE A HOTTIE".

Links:
The Unofficial Miss America Messageboard

The Official Site Of The Miss America Organization

The Unofficial Miss Ohio Messageboard

"Things" are OK for now. For those of you that have emailed me and inquired about the following items, here's a quick rundown:

• I'm not having a breakdown. Although I'm glad that a weekend with The Others is in order, so that I can use that time to straighten a few things out in my head.
  
• I'm not getting laid off (at least, not to my knowledge). Not after the last three days, I think. It *is* TheFirm after all ... so anything can happen.
• I'm not going back to R (it's just not like that ... he's my best friend and nothing more). It *was* weird telling him that I'm sleeping with someone (that isn't him) though ...
• I'm not planning on kicking TheBoy to the curb. Not this week, anyways. Although, I'm not terribly thrilled with his newfound inability to utilize a phone.
• I have finally answered an email from J. I was even relatively nice, given the situation. I did read all the other ones prior to deleting though.

Football: GO IRISH, beat Michigan State. GO BUCKEYES, beat NC State. And fuck Michigan, they suck ass.

Off to finish cleaning up my inbox, then I'm off at 11:30. Headed to mom and dad's for the night, then L is picking me up in the early AM (as in, 5:45 AM - *shudder*). Wonder if Burdie's fave joint will just save me the effort and help me mainline that frappucino with two extra shots of espresso ...

Have a safe and happy weekend. Keep the hurricane victims in your thoughts ... I've noted some photos on Yahoo News and they are not pretty.

I'll check in from the 'rents tonight and see if anyone has seen fit to litter my comments with things I should respond to, and answer a few emails. Love to all.

7:45 PM EDIT: On the semi-farm at the parents. Raining like hell here. Front yard is flooded. Cows that were next to my high school have been moved to higher ground. My cat found and killed a field mouse and brought it to me. I assume this is his idea of a sacrifice. And it's disgusting. I shrieked and made my daddy come and get it. Yes, the big bad-ass bitch is afraid of meeses. Go ahead and laugh.