I have a statement to make about my first paintball excursion:

Aahh-hooooooooouuuuuuuuuucccchhhhhhhh…….

Paintball: One of the funnest ways to get hurt!

Seriously, though; I had so much fun, and I think that I did pretty well for my first time. Kevi separated the Princess and I, probably because he thought our team would have an unfair advantage over the other. We both came away with some battle wounds to show off and war stories to tell (and/or embellish).

Kevin was the captain, and Foot was a fellow rookie, and mostly thanks to Benny, I never had to be the first one out! One game I was actually the last person left on my team, and then we lost because I ran out of ammo. Nice, huh?

I had gotten up at four that morning to do hair for a wedding, and towards the end of the tournament, I was pretty much just a trigger-happy zombie. I slept really well that night. Harder was trying to get out of bed the next morning. Is anyone else still itchy from those stupid burrs?

Anyway, I can’t wait to do it again next year, but in the meantime I think we should have a MOB Sock Wars tournament.

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We made an appearance at the MOB party, my father, mother and I. We brought along a member of my (very) extended family for her debut into MOB society (such as it is). Yes, Princess Flickerfeather came, saw, and even claims she had fun! Yay! I’m going to bring her along to trivia some time, I’m sure she’ll kick butt.

We had oodles of fun hanging out with our old peeps like Surly Dave and his Sweeter Half, Stromy and Margaret, and Benny; and I got to meet some new people: Cathy from Cake Eater Chronicles (she’s new to me, anyway), King David and Mocha-momma from the Far Wright (and yes, that name will follow you wherever you go), Andy from Echo Zoe, and one Joe Tucci.

At one point the Princess and I were sitting outside and a guy walks up and says “Hey, Mall Diva! Isn’t it creepy how I’ve been reading your blog all summer and know everything about you, but you don’t know who I am?” I replied that yes, that was creepy and inquired who he was. It was kind of…interesting… to meet Drjonz.

I was sad that Cathy in the Wright didn’t make it, but I guess she was up to her own shenanigans.

All in all, we had a good time.

(You missed out, Kevi.)

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Hey, guys. What’s shakin’? Let’s see…what can I talk to you about?

Well, last Friday the Princess’s family took me with them to see “Invincible”, which was actually pretty good, considering it was about football. The thing I remember most about that movie, though, were the trailers beforehand. There was one for a movie called “Happy Feet” which I really want to see. It has a star-studded cast, lead by Elijah Wood! Yay! That one had all of us yukking it up. We also saw the trailer for that movie with Ben Stiller about the museum that comes to life at night, which I can never remember the name of. I do want to see it though. I also really want to see “Snakes on a Plane”, but I don’t know if I’ll get there.

Then on Friday night it was Hugh Hewitt’s trivia, which y’all already know about. I was there, just trying to do my job as team manager, and what does Terry Keegan do? He kicks me off our table! Hey, man, that’s not cool!

So I had to go sit in the corner, where I met another lady who had been kicked off her table, too. She told me her husband has a blog called Late Night Rants and he also writes for Anti-Strib. We had fun, even though we were exiled; and I found out that she is from Switzerland. Cool beans, huh?

I also got a couple of photos of my team, but it was hard because of a low battery and people getting in the way. We lost with 17 points, and I’ve been debating on whether I should drop these guys or give them another chance.

What do you think?

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Hey, everyone! Sick of hearing about my birthday, yet? Remember, only 361 days until my next one!

My week was a blast; what with winning trivia, Sock Wars, dresses and presents! I especially liked Sock Wars, where several friends I hadn’t seen in a while showed up. For Keegan’s, though, my memory is a little bittersweet because I really wanted Marty to sing me Happy Birthday, and he didn’t show his face all night. Coward. But, I did get a cigar as you all saw in an earlier post.

Saturday was dress-up day, and we ate cake and opened presents. Even Felix fit right in for this occasion, as he always wears a tuxedo. I decided to put a bow on him for good measure. Isn’t he cute???

We also played a game that Surly Dave taught to us. We have decided to call it “The Spanish Inquisition!” It’s a bit like 20 Questions, but played in a larger group. One person is “it”, and they have to leave the room while the group decides on something to do or be. Then the “it” person comes back and has to figure out what the group has decided by asking yes or no questions (there is no limit in this game). Well, one round I was “it”, and I must be very hilarious, because the whole group was busting a gut at my questions while I was utterly confused. They were so mean to me! What I didn’t realize was that the thing I had to figure out was that everyone wearing glasses had to answer “yes” to every question, regardless of whether or not it was true, while everyone not wearing glasses could tell the truth. There were three bespectacled people sitting in a row, so I’d ask questions of the first two, hear “yes” and then I’d think I knew the solution and I’d ask the last one, my uncle, if the answer was such-and-such. He’d say “yes” but no one would celebrate so I’d ask the next person (no-glasses) if I’d won and she’d say “no.” I had to put my head down a lot, because it hurt. Sound like fun?

But anyway, I had a very good birthday. Now I am older and wiser. I feel older because Sock Wars made me sore; and I am wiser, because I know I need to stretch first next time.

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Day three of the party action and it’s time to shift gears to more grown-up things: a formal tea party. And yes, time for the great birthday dress unveiling!

Wow! What a day! It’s even more fun than this tea par-tay!

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Since most of Sock Wars took place in the dark (or very low light), photography opportunities were limited. About midnight, however, we stopped the games and started to clean up. Something strange seemed to be happening, however …

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The Mall Diva’s Golden Birthday Tour kicked off one day early with a stop Thursday at Keegan’s for Trivia Night and so her “peeps” could pay tribute.

Our team, appropriately named “Golden Birthday” and consisting of the Diva, myself and Kevin Ecker, finished in a four-way tie for first with 19 points. We would have won outright if MD, our licensed beautyologist and fashionescenti had known the name of the new J-Lo cosmetic line. Oh well, here’s our traditional victory token:

Once the important business was out of the way – it was time for presents! A couple of “Old Stogies”, David Strom and Margaret Martin, presented the Diva with her very own cigar, a Black Pearl! (Andy is upset in the background because he forgot to bring a present).

No matter. Andy figures that while the Diva is still too young to drink beer, there’s no law against her wearing it. (Kevin not only forgot to bring a present, he also forgot to pick up a beer to pour.)

For Friday night, on to Sock Wars!

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My dad said, “post something to keep the homefires a-burnin’!”
Like he can just take the rest of the summer off and make me do this instead.

As I stated before: I am lazy. For today, at least. Thus I instigate (dun dun DUN) an open thread! Cool beans! If you’ve never posted a comment on the Nightwriter blog before, I dare you to. To all you regulars- Welcome back! I’ll think of something to start with.

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Oh, I’m ready for it
Come on, bring it.
Oh, I’m ready for it
Come on, bring it.
Oh, I’m ready for it
Come on, bring it.
Oh, I’m ready for it
Come on, bring it.

So kiss me goodbye.
Honey, I’m gonna make it out alive.
So kiss me goodbye.
I can see the (tubesock) in your eyes.
Goodbye.

So my dad kinda has this strange idea that “Snakes on a Plane” somehow corrolates with Sock Wars.

What is this “Sock Wars”, you ask? I’ll tell ya.

It’s basically like capture the flag, but you chuck socks at each other instead of a ball; the two teams’ home bases are artfully piled mounds of cardboard; and the flag is a glowstick instead of a flag, because it is played in the dark.

The War starts on *August 18th.

Think that you can handle it?

If you’re interested, talk to my peeps using the contact info.

*Part of the b-day festivities!

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I know that all of you have been eagerly awaiting the premiere of the show that I described in this post a while back.

“Instant Beauty Pageant” (Mall of America episode) will apparently be airing this weekend on the Style Network, which is on Comcast and Dish Network in the Twin Cities, but not DirectTV. It broadcasts this Friday at 10 p.m., and again at 1 a.m., 8 a.m. and noon on Saturday. Yet again on Sunday at 11 a.m., 9 p.m., and Monday at 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. (all CST).

Gosh, I wonder if anyone will see it?

I was an innocent bystander working at one of the shops the crew visited, and they snuck up on me with the camera and lights. I don’t know if I’m in the show or not, but keep a look out for the dark-haired girl with eyes bigger than a deer’s in headlights.

PS: Just twenty-four more days!

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