cactus i.v.

By MICHELLE RICCARDI
mia8263(at)gmail.com
Happy New Years Eve! I hope everyone’s holidays were great! I would love to hear what you ate, what you loved and if I should try it. I would also love to try your favorite drinks.
My new thing is traveling. I’ve always wanted to travel but now I’m serious. My baby brother went […]

By BEN SZMANDA
It may have been a generational thing, but I doubt it. As far as I can tell, most teenagers go through a phase where shock value trumps everything. When I was a kid, we seemed to be under the impression that the more disturbing or revolting something was, the higher its quality. […]

By JORDAN HATHAWAY
Partygal23(at)aol.com
A few of us at the i.v. thought, “We have the lovey dovey side of sex and relationships; why not have the dirty truth about them, too?” I have been given the task of the latter.
Atari Jay has written her nice Christmas articles. I’m here to dump all over them (not really, but […]

By ROXY RETAIL
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Who is this Roxy Retail chick? This week, she turned into Roxy Doubleduty. Did you see my column yesterday? Lisa — cactus i.v.’s e-i-c — is cracking the whip over here.
But today is the fun column. Today I get to talk about hats.
I’ve been blessed with perfect hair (which is maintained by […]

By JORDAN HATHAWAY
Partygal23(at)aol.com
This is not a relationship article. I’m leaving that part up to Atari. But I have a question for you all because I know most of us go through the same thing: Why is it there’s always one person that we would do anything for?
Come on. Admit it. We all know we […]

By ROXY RETAIL
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Hey boys and girls. Roxy Retail here. I know what you’re thinking. “Damn. Roxy’s around. Are these shoes okay?”
Your shoes are fine. Last season, but fine.
So, because I’m a psychic, your next thought is, “It’s Thursday. Today’s an ‘In The Workplace’ column. I don’t have to think about fashion until tomorrow.”
And you’re […]

By C.D. Allen
cdavidallen(at)gmail.com
Hi, my name is David, and I’m a synthesizer.
If you are reading this today looking for truth you won’t find any. If you come back next week there will, I hope, be a new set of words about something else I find important but you won’t find any then either. Let me […]

By LAURA SIMON
laura.m.simon(at)gmail.com
Happy Holidays!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends! Despite the holidays, the sports world certainly didn’t stop hopping with exciting news!
NFL: Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus came early for some of the NFL players, as ProBowl Selections were announced during the week. The San Diego Chargers will have nine players representing […]

By JAMES “TATTOO” CHAPRACKI
geocities.com/tattoospinstriping
Says Lisa, e-i-c: “This is the most amazing Valentine’s day gift I’ve ever received.”

Merry Christmas from Lisa, cactus i.v.’s lovely e-i-c.
If you’re like me, you’ve spent every day from Black Friday through Christmas Eve, going through each aisle in every store imaginable, trying to find the perfect gifts. When you get the right one, it’s on to the careful wrapping process – equipped with bows and ribbon galore. […]

By MICHELLE RICCARDI
mia8263(at)gmail.com
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Seasons Greetings to everyone!
I am a born and raised Catholic, but I don’t know anything about my religion. I think that’s sad. I believe because I was forced to learn something I didn’t understand, I couldn’t force myself to try and learn it. If anything, I wish […]

By BEN SZMANDA
The richly drawn, doomed, characters of Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss have little control over their own destiny. Overwhelming and anonymous forces ultimately shape each personality, strip them of their choices and leave them vulnerable to an indifferent — and often times malicious — world.
The story is set in the mid-eighties […]

By ROXY RETAIL
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Welcome back my fashion conscious followers. And those of you who stumbled over the site during your time on the Internet, you’ve come to the one place on the web that will make you snazzy without pulling one of those “Extreme Makeovers” and giving you a completely different face.
Have you seen those […]

By LANIE PIMENTEL
petunia5045(at)gmail.com
‘Tis the time of year when most are jolly. There is just something about the “colder” weather that seems to bring out the holiday spirit, and cook in all of us. It also brings out the hungry eater in the rest of us.
Emails are clogging up inboxes proclaiming “HOMEMADE Cookies on Coco’s […]

By ATARI JAY
dearatari(at)gmail.com
Hey guys. I’m sorry, but this week’s column is going to be super short. I’ve been dealing with family issues and just absolutely couldn’t get around to a five-page article. I’m stopping by to wish my readers a merry holiday and luck under the mistletoe.
Last week I promised memories of the holidays […]

By LAURA SIMON
laura.m.simon(at)gmail.com
I want to start by wishing everyone a Happy Holidays! I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday with friends and family…..and of course, a little sports mixed in!
Now off into my little world of sports.
I need to start the week off with the hot topic of unsportsmanlike conduct in […]

By JAMES “TATTOO” CHAPRACKI
geocities.com/tattoospinstriping
Think you’ve seen it all? Guess again. There are a lot more where these came from.

By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Pop-punk and acoustic guitars. That’s what I promised in my first column. And I’ve delivered.
But sometimes something hits you, and it isn’t exactly what you’re used to enjoying. You like it, and you’re not quite sure why.
That’s me and the band Caddle.
That’s one of those words that we put a (cq) next […]

… and by “nutcrack,” I mean “borrow if you live close enough.”
Heed this warning:
Dear The Person Who Lives Around Me And Has Wireless Internet:
Let me “borrow” it. Please. On Saturday night, I had a wireless signal. And it was a good signal too. Five bars. That’s better than my cell phone. As soon as I […]

By MICHELLE RICCARDI
mia8263(at)gmail.com
Happy Holidays! I hope everyone takes time during the season to recognize and be grateful for the things you have. I, for one, am grateful to have my dog, my fiancé and Lisa. I call those three my love, my life and my sanity.
I’m not usually a jolly ol’ soul, but the […]

By BEN SZMANDA
Port Moresby takes pride in calling himself a traveler. He is a man who floats from destination to destination – one whose life is defined by a refusal to settle down. Fatefully, this professional wanderlust leads Port, his wife Kit, and their sort-of-friend Tunner to French Algeria in search of the desolation […]

By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I don’t watch television. I haven’t religiously watched a program for eight years. For sake of cactus i.v.’s sporadic television column, I dusted off my rabbit ears [[literally]] to get enough reception on a local channel to watch “The Amazing Race” (Sundays, CBS).
I didn’t watch a single episode all season, so I […]

Happy Birthday James a.k.a. Tattoo.
Love and cacti, cactus i.v.

By ROXY RETAIL
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Hey you. Yeah, you, with the white socks and black shoes. C’mere. And bring your buddy in the sweatpants because she needs help too. Wearing those in public, when you’re not at the gym, just looks sloppy.Okay, now that I have your eyes and ears, gather ’round. I’m going to teach you […]

By JORDAN HATHAWAY
partygal23(at)aol.com
Your party girl Jordan is here. But I have bad news. I didn’t do any partying this weekend.
I need a rest. It’s taking its toll on me and I’m pooped, but don’t worry I will be back next week with new places to go. Then, it’s Christmas time and I have a few […]

By LANIE PIMENTEL
petunia5045(at)gmail.com
The holiday party has come to an end.
To wrap up my party, I’ll give a brief synopsis.
My boss let me head home early because I live across town in the opposite direction of the party.
I ran home and started away on my transformation. People at work are used to seeing me in casual […]

By ATARI JAY
dearatari(at)gmail.com
It’s the holiday season and I’ll excuse my readers for being busy, too busy to write me. I guess that leaves me free reign. P.S. I love that story because it’s the holidays and I’m crushing on the cutest boy. I call him Doodie Head [[PBJ boy from last week’s article]] and he […]

By JAMES “TATTOO” CHAPRACKI
geocities.com/tattoospinstriping
This might be the hottest old hubcap you ever see.

By LAURA SIMON
laura.m.simon(at)gmail.com
Somehow, another week has come and gone!! So here I am, back in action giving you all the [sports] news that’s fit to [upload]. I’m actually not going to start with college football for once because there was more exciting news this week, well, for myself and fellow Yankees fans, at least.
MLB: Andy […]

By LISA ”I HEART CHRISTMAS CAROLS” SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
James and I were driving up to Waffle House on my birthday — which was November 17 for you who missed it — and he was playing with the presets in my car, trying to find a station.
I made him stop when I heard Christmas music.
I’m all for Christmas carols. […]

Things are exciting over on this side of cactusiv.com. Tiring, but exciting.
I’m writing this as my bed is calling. My bed, the ocean. Not the island. That’s how tired I am.
But I would never deny telling my cactus readers what is making me so tired. It’s promotion.
I made really good MySpace friends with Erik in […]

By MICHELLE RICCARDI
mia8263(at)gmail.com
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. I hope you all are enjoying the cactus. I love it. It’s a lot of reading but if your job is as exciting as mine is you tend to have a lot of free time. I also like to read so the site is perfect for […]

Everyone wants to give a little during the Holiday season. That means everyone wants to take a little too.
This is the time when every charity is calling, asking you for a donation of some sort. And you feel obligated to give — but you also feel your pockets getting slimmer.
So what can you do?
I found […]

By DAVE LOZO
dave111177(at)gmail.com
Apparently no one wants my advice. That’s cool. You don’t trust me yet. I understand.
Sure, I helped one person decide what do with her life, another person I helped with her running situation, and I even told someone to start Travis Henry over….alright, forget that last one.
So instead of offering specific advice to […]

[[Annie and Bill, by Lisa and James]]

By Lanie Pimentel
Merry Christmas and Ho ho ho. And, Happy Hanukkah of course. It’s that special time of year when the streets are filled with colored lights, stores are streaming holiday classics, wallets are getting lighter and you’re getting heavier… thanks to all those Christmas sugar cookies, chocolates and cheer!
All of this also means it’s […]

By ATARI JAY
dearatari(at)gmail.com
This girl got peanut butter and jelly [[on the first date]]. First dates are first chances to make an impression or to mark a first strike to some. The PBJ boy [[as he shall now be referred]] did it right; he made my night memorable with one gesture. It was a peanut butter […]

By LAURA SIMON
laura.m.simon(at)gmail.com
After a week hiatus because my graduate school homework was (and still is) overwhelming (until December 14), I’m back in action to bring you the sporting world, though this may be a shorter version so I can get to my paper. Sorry to those who missed their dose of sports last week, but […]

By JAMES “TATTOO” CHAPRACKI
geocities.com/tattoospinstriping
Tattoo made this for his step-dad for his birthday because the Arkansas Razorbacks are his favorite college team

By JORDAN HATHAWAY
partygal23(at)aol.com
Hello again my lovelies, your resident party girl Jordan is back. I was away too long. No, I wasn’t nursing a hugeeeeeeee hangover, which would have been nice. I was stuck at home with no car, but I’m back and I have two new places under my belt.
Saturday night I took the New […]

By LISA SOKOLOWSKI, your music girl
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
There was a time when Britney Spears was considered musical, right?
I said musical. I never called her a musician. Mainstream culture loved her when she started. She was on the brink of turning 18, and most guys couldn’t get enough of her in that school girl uniform.
That wasn’t her innocent […]

Last week was gorgeous. I don’t know what the weather was like by you, but here it was perfect for picnics. It was the last week of November, and I still wasn’t wearing a winter coat (and I live in Northeast Pennsylvania — NEPA, to the locals — not SoCal). If that was a sign […]

By MICHELLE RICCARDI
Mia8263(at)gmail.com
Hello readers!
I hope your turkey day was delicious. I was sick, which sucks because I haven’t been really sick since I had the chicken pocks in fourth grade. And what’s worse is Thanksgiving is my favorite holidays. I could live off of mashed potatoes and stuffing forever. What could you all live off […]

By SUSAN LULGJURAJ
yanxchick(at)gmail.com
She loves sports, plays poker and drinks beer from a bottle.
PJ Franklin (Jordana Spiro) sounds like every guy’s dream. But as PJ is learning in TBS’ (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.) new comedy “My Boys” (more like My Life), many men can’t handle a woman who is playing on the same field.
PJ is a sportswriter […]

By DAVE LOZO
dave111177(at)gmail.com
Word is getting out. It’s no longer the secret it once was. I know all. Sure, there’s still some blowback from everyone who speaks to me everyday, and know I do stupid stuff, like setting my genitals on fire for a laugh. Sure, it gets a laugh, but one of these days I’m […]