And the verdict is...

Okay, do you want the good news or the bad news? I’ll give you the good news first.

Good news: Gatehouse Media has elected to build on CNC, my company, as opposed to MPG, formerly our direct competition now our brother. What this essentially means is that they will be using many of our papers as a base for combined growth. The MPG offices will be closed in October and Gatehouse will do their best to distribute their employees throughout our company. Those papers that overlap will be looked at closely and it will be determined on a case-by-case basis whether they will be referred to as “Mariners” (a CNC logo) or “Reporters” (an MPG logo).

Bad news: They have no idea what’s going on with the staffing of these papers. They said there would obviously be staff reductions in some of the papers that overlap and in those areas where things are redundant. I think the newspaper editors are more at risk here, not so much the sports department. Regardless, they have people looking at our product and evaluating the talent and decisions will be made accordingly. They couldn’t have decided to do this while our high schools were in season and I was writing 10-12 stories a week?? Oh no, they have to wait until the dog days of summer, where virtually nothing is going on and I’m writing about 3-4 stories a week. Bugger!!

The bottom line: I still have a job…at least for now.

To have a job or not to have a job.

So my office is pretty much in a panic right now, wondering what the fate of the company—or more importantly OUR fate in the company—is going to be. You see, our newspaper group was recently sold by the Boston Herald to Gatehouse Media. That’s fine and dandy, but Gatehouse also owns our direct competition, MPG. Like us, they are a group of weekly newspapers and several of our towns overlap. So the question is, are they really going to keep two newspapers in each overlapping town? Common sense would suggest the answer is no. So the other question is, who stays and who goes? Is it CNC, my company, or MPG? We’ll find that answer out tomorrow as Gatehouse has scheduled a meeting with our CNC office in the afternoon. We’ve been told it’s going to last about two hours.

I’ve been saying since I first learned we were getting sold that we will be fine. CNC has a great circulation, better readership, has won more awards, and just produces better all-around newspapers. Over the past few months, Gatehouse has undoubtedly been drawing comparisons between the newspaper groups and it’s my opinion that they couldn’t possibly think MPG produces a better product. They’re a small, tabloid-style paper with no color options for photos, barely any staff photographers, and front pages covered in ads. In short, there’s no content. Our papers range in size from 28-48 pages and are packed with local content, beautiful photos, and glorious sports coverage…of course.

While I don’t think it’s CNC that’s going to get the ax, I do think there will be some changes made. This both frightens me and excites me. With Gatehouse owning daily papers like the Ledger and Enterprise, it seems the opportunity to advance would be much better than it is now. Furthermore, getting rid of one of the newspaper groups could free up some money and allow for more positions in our office…like, perhaps, a senior sports editor, which of course I would be all over.

I’m trying not to get freaked out, but I’m also trying to prepare myself for the worst. Our bigwigs seem as cool as can be and I’d like to think they wouldn’t be able to conceal a pending house-cleaning so easily if it were actually going to happen.

Keep your fingers crossed for me between the hours of 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Probably won’t be able to blog immediately after, but I’ll try to give you an update Thursday night. Thanks in advance for your support.

Hey Ford, time to cut the cord!

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE American Idol and I couldn’t have been happier when Taylor Hicks beat out Katherine “Fly me with balloons” McPhee (obscure Howard Stern show reference) for the title. But if I see or hear Hicks’ Ford commercial one more freaking time, I’m going to scratch my eyeballs out!! It’s on the radio, it’s on TV. If Sirius had commercials, it’d probably be on there too!! (Thank god for satellite radio!!).

You have to know the one I’m talking about. “I go where I want. I do what I please.” Good for you, Taylor!! So do I and I drive a Toyota!! A message to Ford: Your commercial doesn’t make me want to run out and buy a Ford, it makes me want to run out of the room or change the channel. I can’t imagine I’m the only person who feels this way. So, for the sake of them…and my eyesight…please scale back on this commercial. I really don’t want to be blind, so help a sista out a little bit, Ford.

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Elsewhere in BarTop Dancer-land, things are relatively ho-hum. Worked all weekend at the bar and went to an after-hours at the creepy “Greek’s”** place when we all got out on Saturday night (well, morning really). Strolled into bed about 6 a.m., got up at 11ish, went to brunch with Jill and Danielle and did laundry, and counted the hours until Entourage and Dane Cook’s Tourgasm. Exciting, eh?

**Just some background on “The Greek.” This is like a 40-something guy who lives in the North End and works at the TD Banknorth Garden (where the Celtics and Bruins play) as a cameraman. He frequents several bars in the area, moonlighting at the Bell, where I work. He’s not an attractive man (big bug eyes, crater face, curly mullet), but is a good tipper, so we tolerate him. He’s extremely touchy-feely with the ladies and basically thinks he’s a stud for hosting these after-hours parties in his cheesy basement apartment. We go because it gives us all a chance to hang out together, a rarity among people who work every weekend. Sure we say hello to him when we walk in, but for the rest of the outing, we essentially ignore him, drink his hidden stash of booze, stay until we’re no longer welcome, and leave. Minus The Greek himself, the parties would be great!!

How was your weekend?

I left my heart in San Francisco.

So, like my friend Melati, I’ve been a little lax in writing about my trip to San Francisco to visit my sister. Rather than write numerous posts highlighting some of the funny stories, I thought I’d try to tell them through pictures and brief descriptions. Sorry, Krissy. It’s the best I can do at this point.

One of the things I was dying to do out there was sing Karaoke, so Krissy planned a night a place called “The Mint” and invited a bunch of friends along. I can’t even begin to remember all their names, but they were all pretty awesome. Many apologies to the one who was forced to listen to my bitching and moaning while waiting an hour to sing. This is me giving Krissy the thumbs down because I wanted to sing and had to wait. Her friend Tom is next to me, but he wasn’t the one who dealt with my pissiness!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54965825@N00/194001101/

I think this picture about sums up the Karaoke evening. I’m here with Krissy (on the right) and her friend Rebecca. Can’t tell you which of my three songs I’m singing here, but it had to be one of the latter ones because Krissy jumped up to be my backup dancer towards the end of the night. This could be me wailing No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs.”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54965825@N00/194001102/

The next day, while slightly hungover (Krissy more than me. I was just tired.), we opted to go to the beach. It was about an hour-long drive to Capitola, Cali., but we didn’t mind, why? Four words: Electric Blue PT Cruiser. This thing was the last car we were hoping to rent for the weekend, but we ended up loving this little ride. Here we are posing in front of the Cruiser outside my Aunt Ann’s place. Yes, we kind of look like a lesbian couple, but oh well. Ann took about five pictures, even though we asked her to take one. That’s our Aunt for you!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54965825@N00/194001103/

Anyway, pretty much the whole ride down to the beach we were stuck behind this camper that kept spewing something off of its roof. Honestly, we thought the thing was falling apart before our eyes. It looked like some kind of insulation foaming. We just couldn’t believe they didn’t maybe feel a draft or perhaps see the orange foam flying off of their camper. Maybe they just didn’t care. Bizarre.

Saturday was our big day out at the Giants/Oakland game. I wrote about that already, but here are some fun pictures from the day. This is Krissy modeling the excessive sunblock she had on her nose.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54965825@N00/194001105/

Here’s me pretending to try to lift these ridiculously large baseballs that lined the sidewalk outside the park. I’m proudly sporting my Boston cap, of course.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54965825@N00/194001106/

Saturday night we went to a cool loungey place whose name I can’t recall before heading over to a dancey place across the street. Drawing a blank on that name too!! Had a great night…that was until we tried to get a cab home. Our frustration can pretty much be summed up by this very unattractive picture. Here I am flipping off Amie Barnes while Krissy still tries her darndest to hail a cab. Amie and I walked up the street and got one shortly thereafter and Krissy, Mike, and Krista caught another.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54965825@N00/194001107/

All in all, it was a great trip. Krissy couldn’t have been a better host and her friends couldn’t have been nicer to me. Can’t wait for my next visit!!

Is this thing on?

Is anyone reading my blog? Anyone? Bueller? This is heart-felt stuff below and ZERO comments!! Come on people!! I write this for me, but also for you and when you don't comment, it makes me wonder why I'm even doing it. So please, comment, will ya?

Fear and loathing in Boston.

I’m afraid of my city. Not because of the rising murder rate or the fact that the terrorists responsible for flying planes into the Twin Towers on 9/11 took off from Logan Airport. I’m afraid of my city because of a little $14-billion project called The Big Dig.

Over the last decade, the Big Dig has exceeded its budget and surpassed its deadlines. To residents of Boston, the project is a joke and basically, we think it’s never going to be finished. Especially if its workers keep cutting corners, something that became horribly evident Monday night.

Milena Del Valle had just returned home to Jamaica Plain from a long day working at the Mississippi’s Restaurant in Roxbury and was enjoying a heartfelt foot rub from her adoring husband of 16-months, Angel. A few minutes later, Angel said he had to leave for the Airport to pick up his brother and insisted his exhausted wife stay home. But Milena is fully aware of her husband’s tendency to get lost and the concerned wife didn’t want Angel driving out late alone. Little did she know, in just a few short minutes, he’d be alone forever.

While driving their Honda through the I-90 connector tunnel that leads to Logan airport around 11 p.m. Monday, the couple watched in horror as a trio of concrete ceiling panels began falling in their path. Angel tried to speed up and swerve the car out of the path of the falling concrete while Milena attempted to leap into her husband’s arms. Their efforts were in vain as the trio of 3-ton concrete panels crashed down on their car, killing Milena on impact. She was 38 years old. Angel was somehow spared and crawled out the window, begging motorists to help him save his wife.

I’m angry because it’s something that just shouldn’t have happened. Since it began the Big Dig has been buried in controversy, mostly surrounding the Big Wigs stealing dough. But the bad eggs had been weeded out and things were seemingly going very smoothly. The brand new I-93 tunnel was improving traffic congestion through the city and the I-90 connector tunnel made getting to Logan a breeze.

But over the last two years, things have turned sour for Boston’s golden project. In Sept. 2004, a gusher burst inside the I-93 tunnel. In March 2005, inspectors reveal that the wall panels are defective and there are more than 2,000 leaks inside the I-93 tunnel. Later that month, a chunk of ice fell from the Zakim bridge onto at least one car. The next month, three cars and an ambulance transporting a patient were badly injured by falling debris in the I-93 tunnel, this is a day after the Federal Highway Administration deemed all tunnels structurally sound, of course. In May, the attorney general learned that Big Dig officials had been secretly patching a leak in the Fort Point Channel Tunnel that was spewing 20 gallons of water through the cracks.

Until Monday night, Big Dig mistakes had led to only minimal damage to person and property. It’s unfortunate that it took the tragic and unnecessary death of Milena for these people to really take action. In today’s Boston Herald, it was revealed that investigators have found 60-plus defects inside the I-90 connector tunnel where Milena was killed. The same tunnel my mother drove in last Friday morning to pick my sister Krissy up from Logan and the same tunnel I was in three weeks ago heading to Logan airport to visit my sister. It could have been anyone, but unfortunately, it was Milena.

God bless you and your husband Angel. I only hope your death wakes these Big Dig jerk-offs up and encourages them to do things right the first time and quit cutting corners. In death, you ensure the safety of thousands of others. At least I hope.

Lady Madonna: What a performer.

Madonna…check!

Last night, I officially checked Madonna off my list of icons to see live. Show was great! Madge is definitely a diva to the highest degree, but man can she put on a show. The sets were amazing. Her dancers? Unbelievable. Her figure? To die for! I mean, seriously, who wears a lycra bodysuit? Madonna does because she doesn’t have an ounce of fat on her!! And having seen her show, I now understand why. Madge put on a full two-hour show taking maybe two three-minute costume-change breaks along the way. She was constantly running around, riding a fake merry go round horse, clamping herself to a cross, climbing fences, rolling around on the ground. I mean, the woman just never stopped performing. It was amazing.

My only gripe? That she didn’t play enough old stuff. But I guess I already knew that going in. We were treated to “Like a Virgin”, “Lucky Star”, and “Live to Tell”, but that was about it. She snuck on-their-way-to-oldies like “Erotica” and “Ray of Light” in there too, but the bulk of the show were songs from her new album. That was fine by me, though. I have the CD and love it. They’re all very catchy numbers and are beats I hear on a routine basis working at the bar. Among my favorite new songs? “Sorry”, which was one of the cooler performances of the night.

Perhaps the real star of the evening, however, was my friend Brooke. A former waitress now bartender at the Bell, Brooke’s boyfriend Carl is the electrician at the TD Banknorth Garden, the venue for the Madonna show. In other words, he can totally hook people up. Brooke sauntered into “The Harp”, the bar where we pre-gamed, and told us she had some Loge seats for my crew and me. This was excellent news, of course, considering our seats (Jackie, Michaela, Renee, and myself) were in the East Bumm balcony, almost in the rafters. My mom, her friend Rosie, and my sisters Krissy and Maryanne were also in the Loge a few sections away.

Little did I know that our particular Loge seats were directly to the right of the stage!! Madonna was essentially yards away from us. When she performed on the elevated ramp near our section she was a few feet away from us. Amazing seats! Thanks Carl and Brooke!! I owe you some drinks for sure!

Crossing Madge off the list.

Very excited to be going to see Madonna tonight at the Garden! Never seen the Material Girl live so I’m really looking forward to it. She’s one of the performers I think you just have to see in your lifetime. And she’s pushing 50, so I thought this might be my last chance to do so. Also on my icon list of artists to see live?:
* Prince
* Janet Jackson
* David Bowie
* Clay Aiken…
…Kidding, of course! Although, I wouldn’t mind catching a concert featuring Idol alum Kelly Clarkson. Love her voice!! She’s coming to town this month and if I didn’t think I’d be the oldest person there I might consider going!! Damn kids!!

Anyway, to date on this list, I’ve only seen Bowie. Took Krissy one year for her birthday and he was GREAT!! What a performer. He played mostly new stuff, so I didn’t know a lot of the songs, but I didn’t have to. He’s a true rockstar!!

Who I would have liked to have seen when they were alive?:
* Janis Joplin
* Kurt Cobain with Nirvana
* Queen (the Freddie Mercury era)
* Karen Carpenter…
…again, kidding. Not that I don’t appreciate what raw singing talent she had. I just don’t think I could sit through a Carpenters concert without laughing because I was thinking of that scene from Tommy Boy. You know the one: David Spade and Chris Farley belting out with tears in their eyes: “Don’t you remember you told me you loved me baby. Said you be coming back this way again, baby. Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby. I love you.” Comedic geniuses!!

Anyway, Madge is playing her third show in Boston tonight and I’ll have a whole crew in tow. It’s Krissy’s last night home before she jets back to the Left Coast (booooooooooooooooo!!) so we’re going to try to live it up as best we can on a weekday!! So looking forward to the performance. What am I not looking forward to? Sweating like a pig in my seat because Madonna refuses to use AC and will only perform in 85-degree temps!! Great. Guess I’m going naked!!
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In other news, Mom’s 50th birthday party was a smashing success!! We had one for her Friday night at the bar I work at and it’s been a while since I’ve had that much fun with my family. We had a great turnout and a healthy mix of friends and family. Food was good, service was great, and my mother had the best time. In short, it was an absolute blast!! She said she couldn’t have imagined a better party for her 50th!! That’s all I was aiming for!!

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Well, that’s it for today. Got to get some work done before I take off to see Madonna!! Via Italia!!

Why, perhaps, I shouldn't drink anymore.

Because it makes me say dumb things:
After working the day shift and getting slammed at the Bell on July 4th, I had a few drinks and went over to my BFF Jackie’s place for a little pre-fireworks gathering. Jacks and me were checking out the upcoming weather listings in the paper and under a picture of a cloud-covered sun read "ch. rain - 84 degrees." To which I exclaim, "Argh, chilly rain? But it’s still going to be 84 degrees." That would be "chance" of rain, Julie. Genius.

Because it makes me do dumb things:
I’m outside on Jacks’ back deck talking on the phone. When I was done, I went to walk back into the apartment and literally walked into her screen door. Yup, I bounced right off that sucker like it was a vertical trampoline. Fortunately, no one actually saw it happen, but both Jacks and her roommate Jen were able to devise what happened by the ridiculous sound one makes when she walks into a screen door. I owned up to it immediately, saying I couldn’t believe I just did that and that Jacks’ particular screen door is a "very clear one."

To defend myself, there was a time period of about two years I want to say when Jacks didn’t actually have a screen door leading out to the deck. You’d open the main door and just walk right out. But, I did have to open her screen door to get outside on this night and obviously forgot it was there when it was time to go back in. Genius.