Friday, September 29, 2006

Shotgun Range

Last week, Nick went on a shotgun safety course and qualified as a certified shotgun instructor. When Johnny found out about it yesterday, he said, 'We have got to do this today! Get it sorted and we'll take the girls out!' Apparently, Lucy, his date to the ball, was already on her way via train to visit him. Poor girl for little did she know, she was going to go clay shooting; Johnny didn't tell her until after she was already on the train. Horrible! Yeah, I know. She was looking forward to some quiet chill time with him. Ha!

He had burst into the room with a massive grin on his face at late morning and said, 'Good, you're dressed to be outdoors. Johnny's got a great idea and I think we can pull this off.' When I asked him what we were doing, his reply was, 'Let's just say that it's very Officer, very fun and it's free.' Well, ya can't argue with free. I didn't find out what we were doing until Nick came to fetch me after work.

Clay shooting with shotguns - ha! The first time I'd shot a gun was when I was, like, 5 or 6 (I think) and my family was gathered at someone's ranch for some multi-family party shindig. The men were shooting at cans with a rifle; someone helped hold the gun against my shoulder. I most vividly remember the recoil and what a shock it was...and also how I'd missed the can. Drat.

Anyway, Nick came back to the room around 5, got a jacket, his waterproof kit (these boys are always so well-prepared), baseball hats and ear mufflers. I'm, like, 'Ear protectors? Waterproof? Johnny mentioned something about shooting. Just what are we doing??' We met up with Johnny and Lucy and rode out to the shotgun range. We had 2 shotguns, 2 traps full of clays, 250 rounds and about an hour to use it all up.

I don't think I've had as much fun in ages! Nick and Johnny are just big boys with big toys and it was soooo hilarious to see them get all competitive with each other. When Nick gets competitive, like during (American) football, he gets really loud, yelling all over the place, and becomes like a boy on the playground. It's so funny considering his age and how mature he usually is, and Johnny's not far behind him either, only a year younger at 29 (next Thursday).

Nick went over the safety procedures, how to position and aim: the butt sits snugly against your right shoulder, in the little niche between the ball of your shoulder and your collarbone. Putting your weight on your forward foot so you're leaning slightly forward, you aim with your dominant eye, looking down the barrel of the gun at the little bump on the end (I have no idea what the technical term is). You place your cheek firmly against the butt and position it so that you don't actually see the top of the barrel but only the white dot on the bump. As long as the shotgun is snug and firm against your shoulder, it becomes a part of you and your entire body will move with the recoil so you don't feel it as badly.

Lucy wasn't terribly thrilled with the prospect of clay shooting. She's a model - tall, thin and very pretty - and far more a fragile girly-girl. I, on the other hand, was pretty gung-ho about it; I've never done anything like this! I was a tomboy as a child, growing up with a bunch of boys as companions. You can take the girl out of the tomboy but you can't take the tomboy out of the girl. (Did that make any sense? ...Well, you get the idea.) It was a totally new experience and all really exciting.

Johnny and Nick took several shots in turn, then it was our turn. The recoil wasn't bad at all. I was actually quite good and took out several clays! Lucy had one hit and I had 5. Each shotgun has two rounds and I was actually two for two at one point! Woohoo, check me out! The boys were quite impressed - 'She's definitely got an eye for it!' said Johnny.

They let us shoot for a few more rounds then they took over with both guns and had, like, 20 rounds each, competing to see who could hit more clays while Lucy and I worked the traps. The look on Johnny's face was priceless when Nick took out 6 in a row. Boys will be boys. At one point, Johnny screamed, 'I need to shoot something!!' He grabbed an empty cartridge box and blew it to bits. Quality stuff!

Johnny took Lucy out to dinner in Cambridge since she wasn't terribly impressed with the whole shooting thing. Nick and I stayed for dinner in the Mess instead; we figured Johnny would have appreciated some alone time with Lucy anyway.

Food in the Officers' Mess is really good. So far - not counting the ball which was when I first tasted jambalaya - I've had steamed salmon and prawns in cream sauce, gourmet sandwiches, cottage pie, a giant bacon cheeseburger, and fish and chips. Dinner's always accompanied by lots of vegetables (and yes, I have been eating veggies) and dessert (try apple crumble with cream and cherry tarts with vanilla ice cream), not to mention the choices of cereal, toast, yogurt and traditional fry-up for breakfast every morning. Furthermore, I've been having breakfast in bed for the past several days - mm hmm, how nice, non? - since I don't have be up at 6 or 7 am like Nick.

I've been here so many times, I'm like an honorary member of the Mess now! I even know some of the staff by name! Haha!

Update:
This was dinner: chicken drums (minus the bone) stuffed with pâté, wrapped in bacon, and served with potatoes, peas, sweetcorn and zuccini. For dessert, it was wild berry pavlova with homemade meringues - crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside - topped with whipped cream. Life as an Officer sure is nice!

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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

I <3 The All-American Rejects

I just got back from The All-American Rejects concert and it was awesome. They rock my world and I love their music. From left to right, they're Mike Kennerty, Tyson Ritter, Nick Wheeler and Chris Gaylor.

Of course, they're not bad looking either. Ritter's (vocals, bass) got amazing cheekbones. Before I knew what they looked like - and to be honest, I probably wouldn't recognize them now even if they passed me on the street - I had a total crush on Ritter's voice. (Yes, that is possible. Don't judge me.) It's because of the way he sings 'Your hands are mine to hold' in Move Along. Aaaaaanyway, I think I prefer Wheeler (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). Something about that hair... Kennerty's on guitar and backing vocals while Gaylor is drums and percussions.

The Format and Matchbook Romance were the opening acts. I quite like The Format but I wasn't so keen on the latter. Yseult wasn't too keen on them either. I was originally supposed to go with Emily but something with her lecture came up and she couldn't make it. Nick couldn't get away for the night as he's too tired from being too busy at work, so the ticket got passed along to Dave, my American friend whom I met on the bus. Unfortunately, he couldn't find his passport while packing for tomorrow's flight so I was stranded with an extra ticket! Luckily, Yseult just texted me, saying she was bored so she got a free concert ticket. Yay, I was saved. Third time's a charm!

AAR's set wasn't as long as I expected - just over an hour - but it was still really good and they did play my favourite song (Dance Inside) so I'm a happy camper. :)

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Monday, September 25, 2006

And Another Chapter Closes

Today was my last day at work. As tradition, those who could make it trooped over to the bar at the Marriott next door for a couple of drinks at lunchtime and to chat about future plans. I was really glad to see that lots of people turned up; what with 25% being made redundant just last Wednesday, it was really nice of them to come to my going-away drink.

I did manage to get a lot of work done this morning before heading over; it felt good to have a productive day even on your last day of work. I spent the better part of the rest of the afternoon clearing out my desk, throwing things away and writing a ton of notes to my boss about this, that and the other. She has a way of forgetting about projects that are in the pipeline and I leave her notes detailing everything that I've been working on behind the scenes, like webpages that are waiting to be unveiled, news releases that are ready to be announced, etc etc.

At around 4pm or so, our COO gathered everyone around to say a couple of words about my stay at NXT. It was all so very sweet; everyone had signed a card for me, FULL of 'best of luck' wishes, which I love because I actually keep all these cards and take them out to look at months or years from now. It always puts a smile on my face. Val joked that she'd be glad to stop getting all my little note and Post-Its now! There was another envelope and inside was
£70 in gift certificates to Office. New shoes baby, woohoo! Awesome!!

So hugs, goodbyes and good lucks all around. Best of all, I got the bonus I was hoping to get! Another woohoo!!

Goodbye NXT. I had so much fun and really enjoyed my time there. Best of luck to everyone, whether you're staying or not. I'll be watching! (And I may be back, bwahahaha!)

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Saturday, September 23, 2006

Niko's Passing On Parade

Friday was Niko's passing on parade. His men, Corporals, had finished and completed all their exercises and passed inspection; this parade marks a milestone in their lives as they officially pass out of basic training and on to the rest of their careers.

It was a big deal for Niko as well, not only because his men were passing over but because this was his first time being parade leader. The parade wasn't very big as it was only Niko's company but it was chock full of pomp and tradition and I loved it. The Parachute Regiment Band was there - parades are always better with a live band - and everyone was turned out in their finest. Well, almost everyone. The civilian, who were guests of the Corporals I'm guessing, weren't particularily dressed up for the parade. Those involved with the training, like Nick/Raven and his boss, other affiliated military personnel (some Sergeants, Sergant Majors, some veterans and other ranks that I've long since forgotten) and I were dressed up (sitting in the VIP section demanded some good threads).

Niko, at the front with the sword, and his men standing at ease. You can just make out the band behind them.

The parade starts at the Sergants' Mess. It was a short trek from the Officers' Mess but my feet didn't appreciate my heels. On our way over, we came across many people and they were all saluting Raven with Sir this and Sir that. This one girl actually just walked past him - *gasp* the audacity and disrespect! - and he set her right real quick. I kind of felt sorry for the poor girl but it was obvious who he was, that his rank was higher than hers, and she really should've saluted because it's better to be safe than to be sorry. Oh well.

The Cpls were standing at ease outside the Sergants' Mess when the VIPs arrived for the formal commencement of the parade. The Regimental Sergeant Major gave the formal speech and we toasted with some port. It was a small glass but thank goodness I didn't have to drink the entire thing. (Port's actually not too bad tasting; it didn't taste as alcoholic as my first sip of red wine.) After the bottles of port had been handed out, we made our way to the parade stands. Raven gave the men a short and sweet congratulatory speech.

The weather wasn't too bad during the parade though it did start raining quite a bit. Someone lent me his umbrella so my upper half stayed dry while my legs and shoes got a bit soaked. The rain didn't really start chucking it down until after the parade. Phew.

The men marched in after the band, stood at attention then at ease with a rifle + bayonet in their arms (apparently it weighs over 4 pounds) and were inspected again (thought it was just an informal formality). As the parade leader, Niko was yelling out the commands to the men; he looked very good with his sword. Raven called him a cad and a bounder when he strutted up to the stands, waiting for the band and his men to march in, but it was with a smile on his face and a laugh in his voice. I totally concur.

I'd never seen a passing out parade and I really enjoyed it. I love tradition and the men in uniform certainly were a bonus. ;)

Me and Nick, aka Raven, in military finery. He had an ebony cane with a silver top bit engraved with the King's Own Scottish Borderers cap badge. (What's the top part of the cane called? It's not the handle because his cane was short, not the walking type, and the top was just a round knob.) Those tartan trousers were the same kind that he wore to the ball. Those are feathers attached to the side of his cap.

Captain Bennet (Niko) and Captain Moffat (Raven). I'm a lucky girl. Yes, they do look so dashing don't they?

(PS - For those who don't already know, Niko and Raven are their call signs; they're both called Nick.)

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Monday, September 18, 2006

The Day After The Ball

Sunday was a gloriously sunny day. Flick had left soon after 9:30 since she had to get back to Hull; she'd texted me to see if I was awake and I was, like, 'Shit, no cuz I didn't get to sleep until about 4.' By 10:30am, Jan and Barbara had stopped by to say goodbye, Noel and Wil had disappeared, Simon was awake laughing at David, who was a tad bit hungover due to all the champagne he'd consumed the night before.

Showers were taken, bodies were dressed, makeup was applied and breakfast was consumed. It took Simon and David a while to get up, get ready and break their fast so Nick and I watched the end of The Warriors and he introduced me to Babylon 5 with the award-winning episode 'The Coming of Shadows' from Season 2. I'd never seen Babylon 5 and it was quite good, actually.

None of us had any plans and since we had a pretty heavy night last night, we decided to just chill out and enjoy the sunshine. That called for enjoying Subway sandwiches at Christ's Pieces in Cambridge and people watching. Afterwards, we had 3 games of bowling! I love bowling and really don't do it enough; the last time I bowled was in Hull the winter before with Nick P., Yvette and Sophie, which was too long ago! Simon's really good at bowling and Nick and David weren't too bad either. I'm not very good but I did manage to get a couple of spares and strikes. Woohoo! The three of them together was great company and I had so much fun just hanging out. I was also made an honorary man because, in their words, 'I'm like one of the guys.' Yeah, cuz I'm cool like that. LOL!

We ended the day with some Chinese take-away and NFL football. It seems to be our habit now, ending Sundays with take-away and a live football game. Anyway, the Buffalo Bills whooped the Miami Dolphins 16-6. They had to play in a baseball field! I also checked the rest of the scores this morning: the Seahawks won 21-10 over the Arizona Cardinals. Go Hawks go! SuperBowl XLI!!

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Officers' Summer Ball @ Bassingbourn Barracks

Saturday was the 2006 Officers' Summer Ball at Bassingbourn Barracks -- and it was a blast.

Nick had invited Flick, Ros and me to the Summer Ball that week Flick was down to house- and cat-sit for her sister, Yseult, and that's how we found ourselves all dressed to the nines at a formal black tie affair at the barracks. With a whooooole bunch of men in uniform (or, rather, in formal regiment wear). Nice? Oh, yeah, baby. (Too bad Ros couldn't make it. It's amazing what a tuxedo can do for a man. Well, actually, Nick and his regiment weren't wearing tuxedo-tuxedos. They had white shirts, cummerbunds, dinner jackets and bow ties (Noel had a blue bow tie with white polka dots) but their trousers weren't black; they were blue and green tartan. God, I love tartan and although I prefer red and black, blue and green is my second favourite (I have scarves in both colour schemes).

This year's theme was Mississippi Riverboat so the marquee (aka giant tent) was all decked out in red, white and blue. There was even a 'bridge' leading into the marquee. Besides food and a bar, there was a live band, a DJ (although he played a bit too much cheese), a Casino Royale with Black Jack and Roulette (fake money but the male and female winners got a bottle of champagne each). I'm not a gambler - because the house always has the advantage and I don't like losing money - but I did give it a go. I won £4 (woohoo!) but then got distracted by dessert. Typical. The regiment photographer was also in resident. He took a picture of Flick, Nick and me and another of just me and Nick; I'm hoping to get a copy of those.

Flick and I were originally sat at Niko's table but one of Nick's guests couldn't make it so he was able to squeeze us onto his table in the end - too bad for her, yay for us! I don't think we would've had as much fun at Niko's table because Nick's guests were so awesome and we had so many hilarious moments. Working clockwise, it was Nick, me, Flick, Wil (friend of Noel's), Dee (Nick's sister) and her husband, Mick, Barbara (Nick's Godmother), Jan (Nick's mom), David and Simon (Nick's school chums) and Noel (the officer who took over Nick's men when he got promoted).

At one point Flick turned to me and said, "This is so random, us being here."
I replied. "Yeah, I know. Life with me is never dull. Haha!"

The funniest moments were inbetween the starters and the main course. We'd just finished our cajun shrimp salad and started chatting when we realised that there were long balloons flying all over the room and hitting people in the head. Jan noticed the balloons on the table - they were camouflaged by the confetti - and passed them around. They were surprisingly difficult to blow up and Jan started cracking double entendres jokes. I won't go into details but that really set things off. For the next half hour or so everything that was said were sexual innuendos, deliberate or otherwise, and resulted in much hilarity and tears of laughter. Jan is such an awesome mom!

After the food was consumed, the dancing started. Nick and I are, apparently, legends (his words, not mine) and we've been waiting a long time to strut our (Ceroc) stuff. The last four months totally paid off and we were pretty awesome. We even managed Double Trouble with Flick, which is when one guy dances with two girls. The Colonel was well impressed with that. Talk about pimpin' haha!

There were so many gorgeous outfits that night. Of course, Flick and I were among the best dressed, haha! Flick had on a slinky black one-shoulder number, asymmetrically cut with ruching in the front - very flattering. Jan had this beautiful long, black satin fishtail skirt that was très élégante. Dee wore a mint green satin top that really complemented her fair skin. This other girl had a gooooorgeous scarlett satin strapless gown; it's the colour of my hair in direct sunlight! I wore a black qipao/cheongsam, or traditional Chinese dress, myself. Luckily no one else decided to wear a qipao so I was feeling pretty fab about myself. :D

Hats off the Officers' Mess manageress and her entire staff. They worked their butts off that night making sure our food was out on time, clearing our tables, getting our drinks and having breakfast ready at 3am and at 9:30-1ish. By 1am, Flick had gone to bed already - poor girl can't stay up late these days now that she's got a proper job and all! Nick and I left around 3:30am; there were several people still left in the tent dancing and many more in the banquet hall eating bacon and croissants for breakfast. And yes, I had two breakfasts - a croissant at 3am and cereal and traditional English fry-up at about 10:45am. However, I don't think the party ended until well after 4 because I remember thinking, 'The music's still going...' right before falling asleep.

What a night!

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Cows

Yesterday afternoon, the cows came to visit. They roam freely in the field behind my apartment. A couple of them spied me sitting my window watching them and spread the word; soon most of them were crowded around the fence watching me watch them. Haha. (They're eyes came out glowing...slight creepy...)

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Saturday, September 09, 2006

The Studio

I had a makeover/photoshoot session today at The Studio in London. It was a special promotional thing where they give you a mini-facial, professionally do your makeup, style your hair, massage your hands and file, shape and paint your nails and have a magazine-style photoshoot with up to six wardrobe changes. It was so much fun, a great girly-day out with my friend Emily - who just moved to London for a semester of college - and we had such a blast. The pictures came out phenomenal and I totally didn't recognise myself but those were my clothes!!

Katherine, the lady who was helping us with the whole process, had a wicked sense of humour and a beautiful Irish accent. Emily is very, very picky and Katherine asked if she was an Aquarian - close enough since Emily's a Capricorn. She called Emily The Gorgeous One and me The Saucy One (because of one of the photos); she had me pegged as a Leo! How cool. No one's called me a Leo before; I'm a Gemini but I suppose the two signs do share some characteristics.

If anyone's interested, The Studio is located at 120 Great Portland Street, London W1W 6PN. The nearest tube stations are Great Portland Street and Oxford Circus (no website I'm afraid).

Update:
I sent the pictures to some friends and family and my favourite comment by far is from Cattreya:
You are the sexiest bitch in England. Hell! in europe! I'd say the whole world but there's me. Love the breast thrust. That's hot.
Love,
Cattreya
You crack me up, Cattreya. Love you, too!

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Friday, September 08, 2006

Driving On The Left

I drove today. Yes, that's right, I drove on the left side of the road for the first time ever today. It was awesome!

My workmate, Dave, was giving me a lift to the bus station and as we set off, he asked if I drive. I said yes but I haven't driven here and I don't know how to drive a manual yet. (I'm gonna learn soon though because Nick said he should teach me how to drive a stick in his old car before he sells it. Woohoo!) He was taking the company car home today because he has a client meeting on Monday.

Dave: You can drive this car because it's an automatic. Wanna try?
Jessie: Um..I don't know...
D: Come on, you'll be fine. You're legally allowed to drive this car since you're insured.
J: Ok, then.
*Switch sides*

Toooootally cool. I hopped into the driver's seat - click seatbelt, adjust seat, check mirrors - and it was just felt natural. The drive wasn't longer than 15 minutes but it was awesome. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed driving. I don't miss owning a car because it really is a lot of hassle and costs a bunch, but I miss the part of sitting behind the wheel and controlling a vehicle. Driving on the left side was so not a problem either. I didn't think about it once while I was driving and it just was not an issue. I'm so pleased with myself!!

Next mission: learn stick! Where's Nick when ya need him??

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Thursday, September 07, 2006

Chivalry Resurfaces

I know chivalry's dead. I know it's supposed to be dead but Nick keeps proving me wrong. Is it because he's really a *real* gentleman (very likely because his mom sounds like the type to drill it into him) or is it because he's a military officer (also very likely)? Either way, it was...*searches for the word*... well, I don't know how to really describe the feeling. Really nice? 'Nice' doesn't encompass the feeling. It was incredibly sweet (that sounds a bit silly). He made me feel petite (in a good way and that's no easy feat because I never feel small), safe and protected. :)

Anyway, as we were heading towards the door, leaving Ceroc, he waved me forward to walk before him but as we approached the door, his hand reached out and pulled open the door for me before I could do it myself. When we got to his car, he opened the door for me again. Then when we got back to my place, he reached in front of me again to open the door that leads into the apartment block.

These things don't happen to me! I mean, I've had guys hold open doors for me before but it's always been if they were walking in front of me, never while walking behind me and then reaching in front of me to open it for me. Goodness me.

As we walked out of the venue, three guys stumbled drunkenly out of the pub across the street and started walking ahead of us. They were England football fans - you can totally tell because the England shirts and England flags tied behind them like capes are total give aways - and apparently we won because were hollering and yelling in an enthusiastically drunk-happy way.

Now, it's a fact of life that football fans can get rowdy no matter if the team wins or loses so I kept a wary eye on them. I glanced up at Nick and he was doing the same. That's when I realised he was slowing down and then he held out his arm to stop me, saying that we should give them a bit of space just in case they get rowdy, y'know. If they did get rowdy I know he could've taken them on no problem, but I was there so that's a whole 'nother story.

They stopped at the next pub and we passed them on our way to Nick's car, which was about 10 minutes away. Uneventful until we were about a block away from the car. It was already sometime past 10 so the streets were pretty much empty on that side of town. We were coming up to a corner and there was a guy leaning against the lamppost, looking very dodgy. Nick must've noticed him the same time I did because just as soon as I thought to myself, 'Ooh, careful, dodgy looking guy,' he said, 'Let's switch places.' Up until then I'd been walking on the outside of the sidewalk. He switched places so that when we turned around the corner, he'd be on the outside and between me and the dodgy-corner guy.

I'm shaking my head in slight disbelief right now. No one, let alone a guy, has ever watched out for me like that. It's not that they don't care; they just don't do these kind of things because they just see me as a very capable and independent person who can take care of herself without their help, which I am and can. I know Nick knows that I'm quite capable of taking care of myself but he still thought to put himself between me and potential danger.

*Sigh* It was such a novel experience, to feel so protected.

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Care Package!

Heather Dye, you rock!!

I received a care package from Heather a couple of days ago, who I used to work with at Crabtree. She loves snail mail so has been promising that she'd write. Turns out, she'd been putting together a little package for me! How cool is that?! There was:
  • a bottle of ranch dressing - YES!! Oh, how I've missed this! No more ketchup dipping chicken strips and chips (fries) in!
  • a bottle of sweet and sour sauce - haha, no more buying sweet & sour chicken cooking sauce from the shop!
  • a bag of Pepperidge Farm French Vanilla Milano Cookies - mm mm mm mm MMM! That's all I have to say about that.
  • a bag of Chips Ahoy! Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - like, the best cookie in the world (with the exception of home-made cookies).
  • several packets of Taco Bell sauces - I miss Mexican food like it ain't no thang. :(
  • a small can of Sour Cream & Onion Pringles - I think I finished it in a day...
  • an US magazine, with Jen and Vince on the cover - American rags are so much better than English ones. Reading through it made me realise how far behind I was on celebrity nonsense!
  • Foot Petals Killer Kushionz - these are SO much better than the Party Feet stuff from Scholl.
Best of all, I got a card from Heather and a separate one from the girls at Crabtree. I miss you guys!

I think that was everything in the box. It
totally made my day!! Thank you SO much again Heather!!

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Josh Groban, I Love You! *Scream*

Well, okay, I wouldn't scream. Maybe. A very big maybe. *Pause* Um, aaaaaanyway... Josh Groban is coming out with a new album! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!! Oh damn, I did scream in the end.

His latest album will hit stores 7 November and believe me, that's going on my calendar. The first single is called 'You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)'. *Swoon* Apparently you can listen to it here but it's not working on my computer for some reason...yet.

Oh, and according People magazine, he's broken up with January Jones. And he's not gay, which means I still may have a chance!!

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Inflatable Massage Chair

Forget the massaging bath pillow! This is what I want: the inflatable massage chair. Fickle? Well, I never really liked baths anyways (unless a handsome Adonis draws one for me and then maybe, just maybe, I'll reconsider).

As you guessed, it is inflatable so it's great for those with storage problems. Or for people like me who are constantly on the move and need 'space-saving' or 'portable' stamped on everything. Although the pvc material it's made of is a slight turn-of though, it's a pretty good bargain (about $90) for a massaging chair. Too bad Tech Digest doesn't tell you where to get one.

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