Holiday vacation

I love this time of year. You get time off in both November and December for the holidays. It just sucks that we don't get anything again until May. That's a long stretch.

Anyway, this week is a bit busy, because I'm getting ready to fly to Montana for Christmas with my boyfriend and his family, and then we're going to Canada to go skiing with my family. I finished up a good deal of work today, and then went out with a friend to a cool jazz show at a bar with some of his friends. They even played a couple of jazzy Christmas tunes, which was nice. Good time with good people.

Tomorrow, I'm going to have to go warp speed to get all of my packing done and ready to take off on Friday morning. I've never been to Montana before, so I'm looking forward to seeing everything even though I know that it's going to be really cold. At least I'll have L. there to keep me warm, and since his body temperature is always a lot warmer than mine, I'll just have to cuddle up.

What is it with guys and body temperature? I've never dated a guy who wasn't consistently several degrees warmer than me. And it's always my feet and hands that are freezing. I read somewhere that women's bodies sacrifice the extremities to keep the womb area warm. While that's a sort of interesting theory, I'm not sure how far I'd get attracting a guy and procreating without limbs. So, that plan seems a little flawed. Dunno.

1918 flu pandemic

This is an example of why I'm so anal about washing my hands and staying home when I'm sick. I wish other people would do the same...

Links and clips

I just finished updating my sidebar links. It had been awhile and I figured out that a few weren't working anymore. So, I updated them and linked out to some new sites. I added to the funnies and music areas, so make sure to take a look and a listen if you have time.

Also, I just caught up on the Daily Show, and saw this hilarious gem about president shrub's vibrating mode. Brilliant!

I'm flattered

I'm Person of the Year according to Time Magazine. And if you have a blog, you are also a Person of the Year.

But it sure took long enough. I started this blog almost 2 1/2 years ago. And before that, I had my own Web site full of interesting information and pictures. I guess they are correct about the community-minded thing though. Things such as MySpace and Wikipedia do make it nice to collaborate online with others, and it's sure a heck of a lot easier to sign up for an account on Blogger than code your own Web pages.

Oh well. I'm flattered that someone noticed.

Bringing out the best - or worst - in people

Listening to the radio over the past few days, it's been nice to hear how everyone pulls together in a crisis to help one another. On KIRO AM 1000 (one of our local radio stations), people have been calling in either requesting help or offering assistance and information.

But, there is a dark side to all of this aside from the lack of electricity. There has been a surge in people having their generators stolen, and criminals are taking advantage of houses where people are away. I guess there is no rest for scum. Not that it's any better that they do such things when the power is on, but it seems even more insidious during a disaster. And my dad reported seeing $2.99/gallon gas yesterday at one gas station. No better time to jack the prices up than when people are most in need. I understand adjusting prices for supply and demand, to ensure that supply does not run out. But, this seems rather steep.

Hopefully things will be back on track for everyone this week. This storm has really taken a toll on the region.

Power is back on!

Thank you Puget Sound Energy! The power went out last night, sometime late, after I went to bed. The wind was crazy loud, and when I woke up around 3:00 to pee, it was eerily dark everywhere.

Power was out at work, so I hung out in my chair, reading in front of my nicely lit fireplace. I'm quite happy that I have a fireplace, considering I've never really used one before, but somehow remembered to pick up some Duralogs yesterday on my way home just in case. This evening, my place was down to 59 degrees, so sitting in front of the fireplace was crucial to stay warm.

L. and I ventured out to get some additional supplies and food this evening, and about a half an hour after we got back, I heard the heater come on and the cable box lit up. There's nothing quite as exciting as that moment when you realize you're back to civilization.

Anyway, I'm quite thankful that there are so many hardworking people out there getting our electricity back up!

Blinking lights

Well, the wind is rip-roaring around my place, and we had lightning and thunder earlier. The lights have blinked a few times, so I imagine they'll go out at some point as the storm picks up tonight. They're planning on shutting the 520 bridge down tonight after the Seahawks game. I still can't believe that anyone would go to a football game in weather like this. It was pouring cats and dogs on my way home earlier. Why would you want to sit in that?

I stopped at the store on the way home to get some water, food that doesn't require cooking, and a few duralight logs in case the power goes out. At least I can sit by the fireplace and keep warm that way.

The storm tonight is supposed to be similar to the Inaugural Day storm in 1993. I remember being held up in the library at school that day, and we had to stay away from the windows incase the wind blew anything into them and broke them. The power was out, and we sat around telling ghost stories, which made for a creepy time at home when I had to pee in a dark bathroom lit only by candles.

Thank you Death Cab for Cutie

L. and I just got back from the Death Cab for Cutie concert at Key Arena. It was a great line up, withTed Leo and the Pharmacists, and Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins opening the show. The highlights were definitely Me and Mia (Ted Leo & the Pharmacists), Rise Up with Fists (Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins), and Title and Registration, Soul Meets Body, and Sound of Settling (DCFC). DCFC did a really cool cover of I'm Going Home by The Sonics (who are from Tacoma).

I've seen DCFC twice this year, and both times they did a really outstanding job. They do some really cool long songs that blend different sounds. And the other cool thing is that like the whole band plays different instruments, etc. throughout the show. Talk about great musicians. I just can't say enough good stuff about them. They rock!

What kind of people are these?

I absolutely love Joan Chittister. I haven't checked out the National Catholic Reporter Web site recently, so I went today to see the last few things she's written. This article,What kind of people are these?, was particularly well written and right on in my opinion.

I thought this was a great statement:
"Indeed, we have done exactly what the terrorists wanted us to do. We have proven that we are the oppressors, the exploiters, the demons they now fear we are. And -- read the international press -- few people are saying otherwise around the world.

From where I stand, it seems to me that we ourselves are no longer so sure just exactly what kind of people we have now apparently become."

I guess they don't call them "killer" for nothing

A trainer at SeaWorld was attacked by a killer whale during a performance. The whale dragged the trainer underwater by grabbing the trainers foot - twice. Talk about scary. It seems really weird, but then again, they are wild creatures. As sad as it was to see Steve Irwin die from the stabbing by that stingray, I think these are reminders that the creatures we co-exist with are still wild. And no matter how much we think we know about them, there will always be an element of danger when working with them.

Interestingly, I was watching a video of it on MSN, and they followed up with this little gem from National Geographic. Poor little sea lion - how was he to know that he'd become a mere beach ball in a game between two killer whales? At least he gets out alive, which, I must admit, surprised me.

Déjà vu

This is an interesting article about déjà vu, the feeling that you've experienced something before. There was a theory that, "the phenomenon occurs when the image of a scene through one eye arrives at the brain before the image from the other eye." But, apparently a blind man experienced the feeling both through smell, sound, and touch. This lends more credibility to the theory that, "the experience is caused when an area of the brain that deals with familiarity gets disrupted."

I've experienced déjà vu many times in my life, although I used to experience it a lot more when I was younger. I also used to have premonitions, but haven't had one of those in years. The brain is definitely strange territory in research, and completely fascinating to me. I remember learning in a psychology class about people who have split-brain surgery (usually because they have a lot of seizures, and such), so that the two sides of their brain no longer communicate with one another. So, a person could be in the middle of reading a book and they will suddenly put it down (without meaning to) because the side of the brain that is reading is different than the side of the brain that controls the arm.

Can you imagine? That would be so odd. I learned a lot of other cool stuff in that class. I think if I'd have thought a little more about my major in college, I could have done psychology instead of political science. But, I learned a lot of cool things in poli sci, too, so no harm done there.

Snow update

I haven't yet seen the second round of snow start, but it's supposed to start in the very early morning around here. So, it may be another day of working from home. It's nice that I have that option when the roads are unsafe, or when I get sick.

Over the past few days I haven't left the house except to take out the trash and to get my mail out of the mailbox. Although I still have food and drinks, I will be looking forward to getting out again soon. But it has been nice to have my own personal pajama party in my place :)

Weird November weather

This has been a really odd month for weather in the greater Seattle area. The first part of the month was full of rain and flooding. Just check out this picture for an idea of the flooding.

Now, we're dealing with snow. I've lived in this area for my whole life, and I remember when we used to get quite a bit of snow, and it would stick around for maybe a week or so. But in recent years, we typically get snow for one day and it quickly becomes ice covered with wet slush. This, of course, makes for very difficult driving conditions. People from all over make fun of us for the driving problems that we encounter, but I have to say that the snow we get here is very different from other places. Because we're close to the water, the temperature doesn't stay cold enough to keep the snow dry. Then when it freezes overnight, the road ways become ice and when it snows again and heats up a bit, you get slush on top of it. It's not like driving in drier snow. A friend from Denver, CO, said it was deceptive to drive in snow here because it's very different than what he's used to there.

In any case, I just watched the ground outside of my apartment go from wet rain to covered in snow and ice pellets. Should be fun driving tomorrow. And of course, this is all in time for rush hour commute (although rush hour is now more of a three-hour span). I now hear sirens going, so someone probably plowed into the back of someone else on the road. At least I have power. L. got back up to his place this morning (in Snohomish county) and found that his power was out and the whole area was covered in snow. Crazy weather.

NaNoWriMo update

I'm still at the same word count as my last update post. But, I've decided that I'm not going to finish by the end of the month. Like most things in life, I'm terrible with a deadline and when I attempt to do something at a frenetic pace, it becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. I had the same thing happen when I wanted to turn my card-making hobby into a business. All of a sudden, the thing that gave me an outlet for my creativity turned into something that I *had* to do. No fun there. So, I'm going to keep working on my memoir and keep going with the quantity-over-quality focus, but I'm not going to worry about finishing it by the end of the month. I'm finding that by writing things down, I remember a lot more and I get off on weird tangents occasionally. So, it's a good exercise in memory and in exploration of feelings.

Fast Food Nation

I saw Fast Food Nation over the weekend. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed, because I didn't think that the film went quite far enough with some of characters and finishing up parts of the story. The last scene is definitely brutal, but if you eat meat, you should be able to watch it and appreciate where your food comes from.

So, I'm sort of unsure what to think. It's definitely important to get the word out about how the fast food industry affects our lives at more than just the waist-line. Like most books made into movies, I think that the book is a better option if you want to know the whole story. But the movie could be a good introduction to people who are curious what the whole thing is about.

Another NaNoWriMo Update

I'm at 17517 words (30 pages). I have a long way to go still, but it's going pretty well so far.

Movies, movies, movies

This last weekend, L. and I took some time to go to the movies. There are a bunch of films that we've wanted to see, but we usually get too busy to see them until they come out on video.

First, on Saturday we saw Stranger Than Fiction, which was really good. Will Ferrell did an excellent job, as did the rest of the cast. It was a really interesting concept for a movie.

On Sunday, we saw Running with Scissors, which is the movie version of Augusten Burrough's memoir. I read Running with Scissors about a year ago, and was completely blown away by the story. Although I liked the book Dry a bit better, Running with Scissors certainly laid the groundwork for what came in Dry. Anyway, the movie version was fabulous. Annette Bening was wonderful as Augusten's mother, and Joseph Cross was perfect as Augusten. It's definitely a heavy movie due to the subject matter, but it spares you some of the details that are covered in the book that would probably make for more of an NC-17 kind of rating.

I'm thrilled to see that Fast Food Nation has been turned into a movie. I can't wait to see it. The book was great, and totally changed my perspective on food. With the exception of Halloween, I have not eaten fast food since around May or June of this year. I actually read Fast Food Nation a couple of years ago, and it changed my eating habits somewhat. But then around May or June, I read Chew on This (which frankly was a lot like Fast Food Nation), and watched the documentary McLibel. I then decided that I would avoid fast food as much as possible. There are just too many reasons to not eat fast food and support that industry. Of course, it goes deeper than fast food, but I've been trying to buy more organic products and food, such as meat, that comes from farms that support sustainable agriculture and humane treatment of animals.

NaNoWriMo Mid-month update

8,647 words. I got behind due to the flu last week and then needed to catch up on work stuff, but I should be back on track now. I can tell that it's helping my creative writing process, but there is really no organization or anything to what I've written. And it's not really a novel, but a memoir. But, I'm still aiming for the 50,000 words by the end of the month.

K-Fed wants sole custody of children and spousal support

Yes, you read that right. The sponge just gets spongier. In further proof that this guy just needs to get a vasectomy and stop passing his trashy genes onto unsuspecting offspring, he actually thinks that he should have sole custody of the children. Somehow, I don't think that his track record really qualifies him to be a sole parent, let alone a sperm donor.

Public service announcement: Women, K-Fed is not father-material; stop having sex with him.

On a related note, I wonder what kind of spousal support he'll get. I mean, Britney Spears was clearly the bread winner in that couplehood, so unless she had a really good prenup, she'll probably have to do something to keep him in the lifestyle to which he's become accustomed. Poor girl. As much as I love to hate her, and hate to love her, she was just a girl when she got married and started having kids herself. I think we all have someone in our past that we regret; it's just that most of us didn't have it broadcast from here to Timbuktu. But good for her for kicking him to the curb - where he deserves to be picked up with the rest of the trash.

And somewhere, Shar Jackson is smiling...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Aside from this really crappy cold/flu thing I have at the moment, today is quite a good news day:

• Rumsfeld is out!
• Democrats won control of the House
• Democrats are close to winning control of the Senate
• People around the world are cheering the changes

Now, let's just hope that the democrats can get us out of the mess we've been led into by the republicans. I'm sure that they won't be effective on every front. After all, Bush still has his line item veto power. And things, such as prisoners in Guantanamo, prove that this administration has no respect for rule of law and civility. But, it's a start!

The Pineapple Express and Election Day

Western Washington is a ginormous mess today due to rains and the resulting floods. After reading this article, I asked myself why anyone would be crazy enough to actually go to the Seahawks and Raiders game at Qwest field. They should just dress those people into some straight jackets and bus them off to the looney bin to deal with their obsession. Or someone should kick Paul Allen and the designer of the stadium for building it without a roof - for a sport that takes place in SEATTLE in the FALL.

On the bright side, tomorrow is election day, so the crap-ola political ads will finally be over. I was listening to an audiobook, Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff recently. I thought it was quite eye-opening that during the naturalization process, everyone is instructed to say that voting is the greatest right in our country, and then when Rakoff walks out the door and asks for a voter registration form, there were none. As he points out, you'd expect that they would be clipped to the other paperwork they receive or at least have some in the lobby. But according to his account, he was informed that the church group that used to hand them out no longer does so. I guess that could be a good thing if it was the crazy religious right handing them out. Who knows?

I definitely have no room to talk about the outcome of this election. I am not voting this year, although only partially due to my own doing. Due to some mix up about my name change, address change, etc. after the divorce, I didn't receive my absentee ballot this year. In the past, whenever I moved and updated my driver's license, they automatically updated my voter registration at the same time. Considering I have moved every year since starting college ten years ago, I have some experience with the process. I assumed that this time was no different. However, I didn't receive my ballot at the same time as everyone else (in mid October). Now, here's where my responsibility comes in. I downloaded a form to send to my county to have everything updated, but I forgot to print it out in time to be sent in and updated for voting in this election. So, I will be ready for the next election, but not for this one. At least it's not a presidential election, although there are some important offices at stake this year.

The odd part is, they had no problem finding me for jury duty. Blech. I get to take part in that fascinating process later this month.

NaNoWrimo Progress

Count em' - 6005 words! Only 43995 left to go...

NaNoWriMo

A friend at work told me about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, so I decided to give it a try. I have no idea if I'll get to the 50,000 word limit, but I figure it's a good way to get that "one day, I'll write a novel" thought out of my head and onto paper (or rather my computer screen, but ya know what I mean). If anything, it will get my creativity flowing again, since I seem to get a little caught up in the logistics of writing rather than the craft itself. And the best part is that this is all about quantity over quality, and no one ever has to see what you've written!

Anyhoo, this means that I probably won't be posting on my blog or commenting on my friend's blog entries as frequently during November, but I'll try not to fall off the face of the earth entirely. Wish me luck!

Hell House

Thanks A. Your blog entry, Hell House . . . sincerity that freaks me out, got me thinking (and inevitably writing) about how crazy religion can be, and how it affects public policy.

I grew up a religious person, but I no longer consider myself so. I still believe in a higher power, but I don't think that God (or whatever you choose to call him/her) gets too caught up on the logistics. And more often than not, I find that people use religion as a veil to avoid things that they don't understand, and to foster an environment of discrimination and hatred based on their beliefs. It enables them to dismiss personal responsibility for their thoughts and actions, instead attributing everything to God.

Here's my God infomercial:
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Are you tired of having to think for yourself? Do you want a book that provides all of the answers you just don't have, but you're dying to know?

Do you need a reason to...
...discriminate against people with different beliefs?
...have another child conceived through incest, rape, or from an unhealthy relationship?
...start a war?
...blow up buildings that house businesses, such as Planned Parenthood?
...hate gay people?
...refuse to do parts of your job, such as dispense prescribed medications?

Then, the bible and religion are for you! Join this flock of sheep! Whenever you feel the need to think, just point to a sentence in the bible, and all of your fears will just fade away. You're not personally responsible for anything, anyway.

After all, God didn't write the bible himself, but instead left that important task up to a completely objective group of individuals (who I'm sure had no interest in spicing things up to further a religious cause). And, YOU (out of the other bazillion people on the planet) are most certainly right in all of your beliefs! Don't even consider that there may be another view point that you should at least respect even if you think it's a bunch of hooey. March onward, making your religious beliefs the tenets of public policy to rule over them all! Who cares if your beliefs restrict the beliefs and abilities of others - remember, you're right!
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
I wrote a blog entry a long time ago about how ridiculous it is to believe that you can read the bible literally: http://ar-kay-tee.blogspot.com/2005/07/why-reading-bible-literally-is.html. And I think that the problem is getting worse, because people don't want to spend the money on education. The end result is that their kids grow up without the ability to analyze, so instead we have this nation of idiots who will point to a couple of sentences in the bible to "prove" their point instead of looking at the whole meaning of something and using a little brain power.

I keep wondering how much worse this can get. And unfortunately, I think we still have a long distance to go. Why can't people understand that their personal beliefs are fine for them but should not dictate law for everyone else? I had an interesting conversation with a conservative friend awhile back. The one thing that we could both agree on is that laws at the federal level shouldn't dictate policy for moral issues. Such policy should be made at a local level, where like-minded people can get together, discuss the issues, and make policies that make sense for their lives. Now, if only we could get everyone on board with that.

A Photographer's Life

Last night, L. and I went to the UW to hear Annie Liebowitz read the introduction from her new book, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005. The reading was very moving, not only because the introduction itself was moving, but because she was in a very emotional place having come back to rainy Seattle - the place where her partner, Susan Sontag, was treated at Fred Hutchinson's before her death. Annie apologized a few times as she was unable to hold back tears, but none of us in the audience could blame her. As photographs came and went on the screen, she shared some insight into her life, her family, and her work. The whole experience was very moving, and I was honored to have her sign my book.

After the reading, L. and I walked around campus a bit. It was the first time that I've been back to campus in a long time. And it was the first time that I've been back without C. As we walked through Suzzalo and the Quad, I had an interesting sense of emotions from the past and the present. The fact is, that C. was a half of my college life. I have a lot of memories of campus being with my sorority sisters and other girl and guy friends, and a few memories with guys I dated briefly. But C. was a significant part of college years, whether I like it or not. And since C. worked at the UW for most of our married life, the only times I was back on campus were for things having to do with him - his thesis presentation, graduation, etc. So, some of those places on campus hold ghosts for me, but by walking around and facing them, they start to lose power. Now I have a new memory to think about the next time I'm on campus, and it has to do with sharing a lovely evening with my boyfriend, hearing a world-renowned photographer share a piece of her life.

Jon Stewart's commentary on shenanigans before the elections

This is one of the best ones I've seen in a long time: Something's Fishy.

I especially love how he talks about the names from a tragic typewriter accident. Hilarious.

Hasn't New York had enough?

Geez - this must have been an unwelcome flashback: Yankees pitcher dies as plane hits NYC building.

Runaway bride is insane

You've got to be kidding. Jennifer Wilbanks, the woman who ran away right before her $500,000 wedding and got the whole nation looking for her, is suing her ex-fiance. What does she want? Aside from a few typical things like furniture, etc., she wants WEDDING SHOWER GIFTS and what she considers her share of the money that her ex-fiance made from selling the story. HUH?

OK, first off, the wedding shower gifts should have been returned to the people who gave them. That's just proper etiquette when the marriage isn't fulfilled. It's kind of like returning the engagement ring to the guy if the girl calls off the wedding.

Second, was she the one who was ultimately wronged in all of this? I don't think so. Her poor ex-fiance, family, and friends were worried sick when she took off, and she wasted a ton of people's time. Additionally, she wasted valuable resources by taking important people, such as police, away from things that matter to search for her sorry butt. If anything, she should be paying THEM.

Someone needs to take her and lock her up in the loony bin where she belongs. And then lose the key.

Eat your leafy greens

So, we're supposed to be eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, but we keep getting hit by the E. coli bug. First spinach, and now lettuce. L. and I spent almost an hour last night trying to figure out if the lettuce that I'd bought the night before was part of the recall of the Foxy brand of lettuce. Of course, when you buy the lettuce and put it in it's own bag, the only identification on it is the little band around the lettuce, and all that read was the Safeway logo. Not too helpful. And a quick check on the Safeway Web site didn't lead to any information about the recall, so we still don't know whether Safeway sells that brand of lettuce. Also not very helpful. At the very least, stores could post something on the Web sites when there are recalls to address whether or not they sell that product.

I definitely think there needs to be more work put into the safety of the food that we eat. I had two friends who got sick from the Jack In the Box outbreak in 1993. They shared a hamburger and ended up getting sick. One of them was in the hospital for awhile. I definitely don't want to end up in a similar situation because of something I ate.

Sunburn update

Well, my upper back has gotten to the ever-so-attractive peeling stage, but my butt and legs are still on the tender side. I avoid sitting at all costs, and apply a very mild lotion with oatmeal (to help with the itching) every couple of hours. I'm really looking forward to having this over with. It's definitely an inconvenient place to be burned... Ugh.

Back from Kauai

Well, my Hawaiian vacation is now officially over :( Tomorrow, it's back to work and the real world. But, I must say that the vacation did me some real good and I'm looking forward to going back to Hawaii again to see another island.

Kauai is the island best known for it's tropical plant life and beauty, and it really was amazing. We went on a tour of the Allerton Garden, of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. Our tour guide, Phil, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and we had a great time despite the morning rains. In fact, the rain likely made the tour a bit nicer since it kept the hot sun at bay for the beginning of the tour.

L. and I also went to see Waimea Canyon, which is the grand canyon of the pacific. It was nothing less than incredible. I've never seen the actual grand canyon, so I have no basis for comparison, but I was blown away by the view at Waimea.

Aside from that, L., his parents, and I all drove around the island and saw so many different things and ate at some of the best restaurants. The luau we went to was a blast, and I even tried Poi, although I can honestly say that I have no idea what the big deal is about. It doesn't taste like anything and it has a strange texture. But, I highly recommend the Smith Family Luau if you go to Kuaui because they have beautiful gardens and performances that honor all of the cultures that have contributed to the rich island life.

On the last day, L. and I went snorkeling at Poipu beach, and saw the most incredible fish. It was so cool to put your face under the water and see a whole different world below. And to my relief, we didn't see any sharks! But, the unfortunate thing was that between the two times I went out, I didn't cover my back and legs well enough with sunscreen, so I burnt on my back and the back of my legs and butt. I can tell you that it made for a very uncomfortable journey home, and I still can't lay on my back. I dread putting clothes on tomorrow to go to work b/c it's going to be an interesting mixture of pain (in the places where I burned really badly) and itchiness (where I'm starting to heal). I haven't had a sunburn in over five years, and I tried so hard to avoid it on this trip by wearing SPF 50. But, I just didn't cover myself well enough after getting out of the water the first time, so I'm suffering for it now. Thankfully, L. has been taking good care of me and I am starting to heal now, but I still have a ways to go.

The weird thing is that I can't remember my password at work, so I can't check my email. Tomorrow I'll have to deal with the fallout from that, but I couldn't care less tonight! I checked my personal email, but haven't read everything or responded to anything yet. I got a lot of email while I was gone, but I'm trying to extend my vacation as long as possible, and part of that is being without technology. For the first time in a long time, I didn't have any access to email and I didn't even mind! Usually I'm so connected to everything online, that I get jumpy when I haven't had Internet access for one day, but this vacation forced me to disconnect and enjoy my surroundings. It was a welcome change for once. I know that everyone is wanting to know how the trip was, so I figured I'd at least write a blog entry about it tonight. But, I promise to get caught up on email throughout the week, so if I haven't responded to you yet, I will get to it as I have time. Just be patient with me :) I've got a lot of stuff to do this week!

Crazy

Wow - talk about something you wouldn't expect:

Group urges prosecution of 83-year-old Nazi: Deported woman served as WWII prison guard, married Holocaust survivor

Aloha

That's really the only Hawaiian word that I know, so I'll make good use of it when L. and I fly to Kauai next week! Judging from the names of the places around where we're staying, I'm going to have a fun time trying to figure out pronounciation.

Hawaiian person: "alsmei weoiwei woaifnoai asoidfrneoi aofoafnei woeinei"
Me: "Aloha"
Hawaiian person: "No, weoiwnei hweoiwrnowei wheiewo woanfeowiheoi sdaovcnxieihei"
Me: "Aloha"
Shark that the Hawaiian person was trying to warn me about right before he bites off my leg: "Aloha"

Hee hee hee - if you picture that in cartoon format, it's quite entertaining :)

-or-

Me: "How to you get to the beach from here?"
Hawaiian person: "Start out at woeineeihei, then take a right on yeaoiaowei. Follow that until woeineoeieoijwoeiweoiei, and hang a sharp left onto waoeiwenoweonwoiafdmei. You'll see woeianrfaoiaweonweaieoei beach straight ahead."
Me: "Thanks and aloha."

I have a lot of stuff to finish up at work before I leave. However, my brain seems to have started the vacation without my body. All I can think about is plopping my ass down on a spot of sand next to the ocean and reading a good, non-work-related book. I'm also looking forward to exploring some of the local tourist places, and snorkeling (while hopefully not getting eaten by a shark, but more about that later). Not to mention spending a whole week in paradise with my wonderful boyfriend and his wonderful family!

We were online last night looking for various things to do. I definitely want to do some horseback riding on the beach, and there are a ton of beautiful natural things to check out such as waterfalls, rivers, etc. And of course, no trip would be complete without a luau, so we found one of those, too.

We also came across something called "snuba", which at first I thought it was a misspelling of "scuba". But, I was wrong. It's actually a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. Your air regulators are attached to long hoses that hook into an air supply on a raft, so you don't have to wear all of the scuba gear. You just wear the mask and the regulator, and the raft floats around with you. Of course, you can't dive as deeply, but that's fine with me. I'm already freaked out enough about swimming in the ocean as it is. After years of watching Shark Week, and the ever-so-interesting dance of "check out these monster sharks eating everything and everyone in sight" to "sharks aren't people-eaters, they just mistake us for seals", I'm a little uncertain. I am, after all, entering their domain. And I'm not sure how flattering I find the comparison of myself to a seal. So we'll see how snorkeling goes. But, snuba is an interesting idea.

I haven't been on vacation to a tropical place in 10 years. The last tropical location I went to was Puerto Vallarta with my family and best friend after high school graduation. It was a wonderful trip until the last day when my friend got rather ill (because she was allergic to orange juice and we happened to drink quite a few Tequila Sunrises during Happy Hour the night before). It was not fun to think about having to take her to a Mexican hospital, and trying to explain to her parents how she got so sick. But, luckily she pulled through.

We were also flying standby, and the flights were completely full, so we ended up having to stay an additional night. The up side of that was that we stayed in a beautiful little apartment downstairs from a woman who worked for the same airline as my family. She felt badly that we couldn't get on a flight and offered the place to us for a song. We all agreed that it was far more lovely than any of the places where we had stayed before. So, it's funny how sometimes the unexpected things are what really become memorable. What a fun trip...

Even Barbie scoops poop

I just saw a Barbie commercial for Barbie and Tanner, who is apparently Barbie's dog. It started out normally, with Barbie in some nice park setting, etc. All of a sudden, they show the dog pooping and Barbie scooping up the poop and disposing of it in a nearby tiny trash can. Is this a statement on the world today, as far as trying to teach kids something that should be common sense in the real world? Or has the fantasy of Barbie ended?

Can you imagine pitching this idea to the people at Mattel? Maybe it went a little something like this:
Guy 1: "Look guys. Barbie's been everywhere and done everything now. It's time to think outside of the box. What else can we do with her?"
Guy 2: "President of the Free World Barbie complete with Air Force 1."
Guy 1: "Nah, we all know a woman can't be president."
Guy 2: "Why not? They make less money than men, so we could save the nation a bunch of money right there!"
Guy 1: "She'd get PMS and take it out on the nation. Or worse yet, get pregnant and take maternity leave. Let's leave those kind of experiments to bigger, more progressive countries, like Sri Lanka or China."
Guy 2: "Fine. How about Trailer Trash Barbie and Wifebeater Ken? Trailer and skanky nightclub with stripper pole sold separately."
Guy 3: "Sex and the City Barbie with Emotionally Unavailable Ken. Complete with cigarettes, condoms, laptop, and limo. Barbie's friends and their diner hangout sold separately."
Guy 1: "Hahaha guys. Seriously..."
Guy 2: (Accidentally pokes his eye with a very sharp pen) "$h!t!"
Guy 1: "Brilliant! Barbie can shovel poop! I can't believe we've never thought of that before!"

All I know, is that my Barbie dolls were far too sophisticated to scoop poop. I mean, what if it got tracked into the dream house or the Ferrari? None of my Barbie dogs pooped. I mean, ick...it would like totally ruin Barbie's manicure and couture. Totally.

John Mayer and Jessica Simpson?

Together? Seriously? Yuck. I thought Mayer would have better taste than that. It strikes me the same way as when Ben Afflec and J. Lo got together. Bummer.

Now, back to the real world...

What's up with the long wait list for the dermatologist?

So, I have this spot on my nose that keeps breaking out, and I decided that I should probably get it looked at. Third time is the charm in my book. I've had lots of pimples in my life, because I happen to have oily skin (thanks to my parents). But, I've never had a pimple go away and then come right back again a few times in a row. I've also never had one that hurts b/c it's just burried. Maybe it's just the particular spot on my nose, but I can definitely tell that it's there.

After talking with a friend who had a similar problem, she said she finally had to go to a dermatologist to get it taken care of. So, I got a few recommendations from people I know and all of the dermatologists were booked until early to mid October. I guess business must be good for the skin doctors. So, I have to hope that this darned thing will go away again so that I don't have to live with it until my appointment. And then hopefully the doc can do some test to figure out what the heck is going on.

I never really thought I'd have to go to a dermatologist for anything, unless I found something weird going on with a mole or something. But, it's probably a good time to go and figure out how to take good care of my skin so that I age well and don't end up with skin cancer or something.

Now, I just need to make a dentist appointment. Ugh.

Doggie driving lessons

Well, at least people in other countries do some incredibly stupid shit, too: Car crashes when woman lets dog take wheel.

Weird day

Today was a really weird day. I got some interesting news from someone, though I can't even allude to what it is. Suffice it to say that it was shocking in some ways, and not so shocking in other ways. I am supportive, but sometimes it's just hard to know how to categorize certain information, you know? Anyway, it was that kind of a day for more reasons than that. Just interesting stuff going on in the lives of people I know...

Shoe woes

As many a friend has pointed out, I have a wonderful collection of shoes. Tonight, L. and I went through every pair and I got rid of a few that I just never wear or that have inflicted their last blister on my poor feet. (And yes, I have a fabulous boyfriend to sit with me while I go through my shoe collection, no matter how boring it is to him - God bless that man!). However, there are a few pairs that I continue to keep and even wear, despite the fact that they end up killing my feet by the end of the day. Dumb, I know, but there is just something about heels that can make one's attitude quite spicy.

In any case, I always wondered how stars, such as Sarah Jessica Parker, could constantly wear such strappy heels and not want to cut their feet off at the end of the day. I was happy to see the comment in this picture gallery that even she admits that the Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo shoes have wreaked havok on her feet. So, it's not just me! Thank God.

I can say that I've been a big fan of the recent trend in flat shoes, even though I still go gaga over the heels in the shoe store. But, now that I intersperse flats and heels, things seem to be getting a little bit better. I just hope that designers continue to make cute flats for those of us who have done such damage to our feet by wearing adorable heels.

One year

So, it's been exactly one year since my marriage ended. Well, technically, since C. left - our divorce wasn't actually final until December. But, the day that he left really was the end for us, and the time was really just a formality of selling the house and getting through the waiting period for divorces in Washington state.

I took some time to reflect on things today and to think about how different my life is now than it was then. I think overall, this last year held some really wonderful things for me, and I'm definitely happier about my position in life than I was before.

L. asked me the other day whether or not I was still disappointed about my divorce. It was an interesting question, because on one hand I am disappointed and probably always will be in some way. The disappointment comes from the fact that I had to get divorced at all, especially when I wasn't even given the chance to try at all. The hardest part for me will just always be how it happened, and not that it happened. I don't really know how to explain that, but that's really what bothered me the most. You can get over a person, but sometimes it's just hard to get over the circumstances. And, of course, since my dad left my mom in a similar manner, I have double experience with these circumstances. So, the fact that I was able to move on at all is somewhat of a miracle to me.

I'll probably always have some doubts, but as my counselor said way back when (very wisely, I might add), love is, in the end, just a leap of faith. You can do all kinds of things to ensure that you don't repeat patterns in the next relationship, but there's never a guarantee. It kind of sucks that that's the best a trained professional can come up with, but it's true. So, as she said, you just accept it and move on, otherwise you miss out on all kinds of wonderful things. And it turned out that she was right. I might have missed out on L. and all of the wonderful experiences that we've had if I had decided to stay in a rut.

I think that where I am right now is really how my life is supposed to be and how I always wanted it to be, and I was just never going to have it this way with C. Being single opened up some doors for me, such as meeting people who I never would have met otherwise, and experiencing things on my own for the first time in my life. And I'm with someone now who enjoys spending time with me and makes me a priority in his life. I can't even begin to explain how great that feels. I didn't even know what I was missing until it hit me smack dab in the face. It's weird how you can be going along with the status quo so long that the deficiencies become the norm.

Anyway, it's been a tough year in a lot of ways, since grief doesn't always make sense. But, I made it through and had some really great things happen, which reminded me that when one door closes, another one will open. I'm still not sure if I'll ever entirely figure out what went wrong with C., but at least I'm closer to understanding myself and knowing what I need to be happy. And I guess that's the best lesson I could have learned from all of this.

Oh, and I'd just like to say thanks to all of my friends and family who stuck by me and helped me through the tough spots. I am definitely a lucky girl to have such great people in my life.

Outrage over picture of baby breast-feeding

The response to this picture on a parenting magazine is completely stupid. Are people really so uncomfortable with seeing the side of a mother's breast when she's feeding her infant?

I had to laugh at the following:

• One mother who didn't like the cover explains she was concerned about her 13-year-old son seeing it. "I shredded it," said Gayle Ash, of Belton, Texas, in a telephone interview. "A breast is a breast — it's a sexual thing. He didn't need to see that."
• "I'm totally supportive of it — I just don't like the flashing," she says. "I don't want my son or husband to accidentally see a breast they didn't want to see."
• "Gross, I am sick of seeing a baby attached to a boob," wrote Lauren, a mother of a 4-month-old.

I mean, seriously? People are seriously offended about this? Don't these people have lives? A breast doesn't always have to signify a sexual thing, and breast-feeding is natural. I've never seen a woman just whip it out in public. Most women try to be as discrete as possible, while serving the needs of their babies. I honestly can't understand how people would be so squeamish about such a thing.

Thoughts on teen pregnancy and legislative waste

The senate just passed a bill that would make it illegal for someone to help a girl cross state lines to have an abortion without parental consent. Bills like this raise many questions for me. Is there such a problem with teen pregnancy in areas that outlaw abortions that a large number of girls are affected? Or is this just a political ploy to get people outraged over an issue that is really almost a non-issue? If it's the former, then there is a larger problem of trying to address the issue at its root - dealing with teen sex, teen pregnancy, and ineffective parenting. If it's the latter, then it's just another waste of time that I'd rather not be paying for with my tax dollars.

If a teenage girl gets pregnant, doesn't that say something about her parents and their role in her life? At a high level, it makes sense to have parental consent, but I'm not sure that it's always feasible or even healthy when you dig deeper. Most of the people I have known who got pregnant in their teenage years were of the following situations:

• Girls whose parents were overbearing, thus forcing rebellion out of the girl in her attempt to regain some control over her own life.
• Girls whose parents didn't care enough to set any boundaries or could not enforce normal boundaries, in which case the girl got out of control.
• Girls whose parents were also teen parents, which usually meant that they were struggling to make ends meet and couldn't really raise their children effectively.
• Girls whose parents were abusive, physically and/or mentally.
• Girls who had no self esteem (for a variety of reasons) and were searching for acceptance through sex. Sometimes this also led to delusional thoughts of having a baby in order to experience unconditional love.

Of course, there are exceptions, but those buckets account for a lot of what I've seen in my 28 years. I had one friend my around my sophomore year of high school who always talked about how great it would be to have a baby, but not in that "someday" kind of way. She really wanted a baby sooner than that, even though she knew that family would flip. All I could really think of was how much work a baby is, and why would you voluntarily take on that responsibility in addition to preparing yourself to make a good living and be a successful adult? Luckily there was a sane part of her that won out, but the drive was really there and she was missing a lot in her life that she later figured out through counseling. I'm happy to say that she has done really well for herself, so I can't even begin to think about how different her life would have been had she gotten pregnant and had a baby.

I dunno. I look at all of the people and groups who think that abstinence is the answer to the teen pregnancy problem, and, I agree that abstinence really is the only way to avoid pregnancy altogether (save for Mary in the bible you know...). However, I disagree that abstinence alone is the answer, because although we are human, we still make mistakes and we still have the drive for sexual intimacy. That drive doesn't just pop up one day - it's with us, in our genetic make-up, since birth. I remember learning in a sexual psychology class at the UW that babies touch their genitals, because it feels good and sends pleasure responses to their brains. It isn't until they have the mental capability and the social construct to condemn the behavior that they realize it's "bad", and of course, that social construct is different depending on the culture involved. But in the social construct of the US, we're essentially trying to get an age group that is in the stages of development to always make the "right" choice, and that's just not always going to happen, especially when it's a matter of morals stemming from an artificial social construct versus a matter of innate urges stemming from nature.

Ignoring the problem by saying that abstinence is the only answer is just plain irresponsible. You have to teach kids to understand their options, and understand that if they do have sex there is a possibility of pregnancy and disease, the likelihood of which increase dramatically when no contraception is involved. No one really wants their teenagers to have sex, but that doesn't mean that teens won't have sex. But it is really up to the individual family to mitigate the outcome of those issues rather than waste taxpayer dollars on endless discussion and attempts to pass legislation. I'd rather they discuss ways to help parents have more services and tools available to them so that they could be more effective parents. That would alleviate a lot more than just teen pregnancy. Because, at the end of the day we're just not all going to agree on these moral issues, and I don't think it's the job of the government to make moral policies - that is the job of families and local communities.

The South Park "Spontaneous Combustion" Episode

"On this blessed Friday, let us give thanks for stuff and things. Lord, is it so much to ask that you not let us suddenly burst into flame for no apparent reason? I mean, come on! Amen."

Doggie news

Moose, A.K.A. Eddie on the TV show Frasier, has died. He was such a cute dog, and apparently lived to be quite old for a dog at 16!

And, a new dog has been dubbed the ugliest dog: Archie. I'm not sure why they always turn out to be Chinese crested. Sam, the dog who had the title before was also a Chinese crested. I guess they just don't age well or something.

My mom's toy poodle, Diego, continues to be adorable and is doing very well at his dog training classes. He still gets a spray of the bitter apple puppy spray on occasion, but mom says he's coming right along with his training. He's definitely a smart little pooch. My cousin just got a bichon frise, Wolfgang. He's quite cute as well. So now at family gatherings we'll have a little black toy poodle and a little white bichon frise running around.

All of these dogs are what my friend, E. refers to as "snack dogs", but I just love them. I'd take them over a big dog any day - I mean, what fun is a dog if you can't carry them around with you :)

Britney Spears poses nude for the cover of Harper's Bazaar

Based on recent photos and her interview with Matt Lauer a few weeks ago, the photo on the cover of this magazine must have taken some hefty touching-up. Also, what's with the black hair? Talk about unflattering and bizarre...

Republicans on viagra and other musings

It seems that one of the republican party's poster children was caught with Viagra without a prescription. I really can't imagine why anyone one have sex with Rush Limbaugh, although I suppose there are crazy enough people out there who would do it. Ann Coulter comes to mind.

A friend of mine once referred to Coulter as his ultimate "hate-fuck". This means that she is someone whom he hates so much that the sex would be really intense and amazing. Yeah, I dunno either; I tend to avoid people who I can't stand. You know, I actually found Coulter's books in the Nonfiction category at Barnes and Noble the other day. I have to say that if I think she'd fit in much better in the Fiction section, which by definition is for "literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact." (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.) Anyway, from what I can tell of her latest book (Godless: The Church of Liberalism), she'd rather put all of us liberals in a neat little bucket that reads "Godless", simply because we don't subscribe to the opinion that we need to push our religious beliefs (or choice to abstain from religion) on the whole country in the form of legislation.

Dear Ann - I am liberal (which by the way, is not a dirty word), but I am not Godless. If it is impossible for your little brain to understand that a liberal system of government can co-exist with varied religious beliefs, please make sure that your books are categorized where they belong - as fiction. Thanks!

Oh, and for those who would like to know the actual definition of liberal and conservative, here ya go (also from the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.):

• Liberal: "favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded."
• Conservative: "favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change."

Bean town

Wow, it's been awhile since I last posted a blog! It's all for good reason though - I got sent to Boston, MA for a conference last week, and had a great time. I've never been to the east coast before, unless you count Florida, which I don't since Florida is kind of its own special place. I've been really impressed with Boston. The people are friendly, and the service around town was great.

I took a red-eye flight on Sunday night and arrived in Boston around 6:00 AM eastern time on Monday morning. Although I was squished between two strangers, the flight went really smoothly and all of the children on the plane were pretty quiet. This is in stark contrast to Kati's and my flight to and from Orlando a couple of years ago, where one mother allowed her child to scream almost non-stop on both flights. Don't even get me started - I realize that traveling with children is very difficult, but she became completely offended when passengers around her offered suggestions to try and help the poor kid. Blech.

Anyway, I got to stay at the Ritz Carlton (near Boston Commons) and found the room pretty nice. It wasn't anything all that special, but the bathroom was amazing. I imagine that the bathroom is probably about the same size as my bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen combined. I took advantage of the nice bathtub on Monday night and it was quite nice. The hotel staff were friendly, and the concierge was a total sweetheart to give me some stamps from his own personal supply so that I could send a couple of postcards.

While in Boston, I wandered around Boylson and Newbury street quite a bit. Newbury street has the best shops, including 1154 Lill, where you can design your own handbag! I designed one and it will be delivered to me in about 3 weeks. The gals that work there were really great, and they help you pick out nice fabrics and explain the whole process. I highly recommend it if you're ever in Boston. They have a store in Chicago, too :) I also had a blast in the northend, in Little Italy. There were some great restaurants, and the famous Mike's bakery. We went into the bakery, but I didn't end up getting any canolli because I'm allergic to cheese. But they looked delicious.

Other than that, I was interested to see that there is a Dunkin' Donuts on just about every corner here. Apparently Dunkin' Donuts is to east coast as Starbucks is to Seattle. You literally don't have to walk across a street to find one. I'm not sure what the whole appeal is, since I've had Dunkin' Donuts at home and didn't find them to be anything special. But maybe I'm missing something...?

We had issues with a strike going on with the shuttles that were supposed to take us to and from the center to our hotels, so I started taking cabs instead. Most of the drivers were pretty quiet, but I met a really funny one on my last day. He was from South Carolina and as friendly as can be. I got all kinds of advice about life, most of which I take with a heaping spoonful of salt, but he was definitely a colorful fellow.

The conference was really packed with people, and I met a lot of customers while hanging out to my team's product booth. I was actually sent as an attendee, so I didn't need to be at the booth, but it was fun to hang out and talk between attending sessions. I went to most of the sessions led by my product team and took a lot of notes about things people were interested in. I finished up my trip report today and sent it to my team members so that they get the information they need.

Although I had a great trip, I was definitely looking forward to getting home and seeing my friends and family. It's funny how you miss people even when you're just away from them for a short amount of time :) Plus, I was starting to get sick, so all I could think about was curling up in L.'s arms and getting some rest.

Scary news

Holy crap...Anna Nicole Smith is pregnant. Here is one really good example of why I think the ability to have children should be something that you have to earn rather than something that is just biologically possible. I shudder at the thought. I know that she already has one son, but based on her TV show, it looks like she was less of a parent and more of an annoying whirlwind in his life.

Difficult to explain

How would you go about explaining that you are a scientist working on creating artificial penises? Can you imagine the introduction at a dinner party?

"Hi, I'm Randy. I create artificial penises for rabbits in a lab."
"Hi Randy. I'd shake your hand, but..."

It reminds me of that part in the movie Clerks where Dante and Randall are watching the high school guidance counselor perform the egg endurance test. A woman comes up to the counter and explains the odd behavior, then ends with, "It's important to have a job that makes a difference, boys. That's why I manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination."

Man, that movie had a plethora of great quotes...

Make English the official language of the US?

Sorry E. - I didn't see your question about this until today, as I've been pretty busy as of late. But here is my take on the argument against making English the official language of the US...

First, this link has the pros and cons of making English the official language of the US: http://immigration.about.com/od/ussocialeconomicissues/i/OfficlEngIssue_2.htm.

Personally, I don't think we need an official language, because it would be just one more way for people to discriminate against people of other cultures. The first point in that article that it would ease racial conflicts is just dumb; ebonics aside, black and white folk speak the same language and there are still plenty of conflicts.

And the second point is only partially true. Many immigrants, once they reach the US, do end up learning English, but it is a process and it doesn't happen overnight. The ones who don't learn the language are usually elder members of a family and they are part of an immigrant community in which there are native speakers who do learn English. Learning English is vital to an immigrant community, but not everyone in the community has to learn it.

As it is right now, it's not like we're doing a ton to help people along. It's not as though we have signs in other languages, or products in other languages (like Canada), or that we would have to provide an interpreter for someone interviewing for a job if they didn't speak English. English is already pretty much a requirement for people living in the US. The literature available in other languages is usually linked to services that serve a large immigrant population (such as classes, naturalization, etc.) or services that concern the health of individuals (hospitals, and such). I think that is reasonable even if we had English as the official language, because it would still be necessary for people who are just arriving here or even just traveling. Making English the official language wouldn't get rid of the need for those services altogether.

English classes should be free and accessible to those who want to learn. I find that most of the people who bitch and moan about immigrants are the very people who support legislation and tactics to undermine successful integration of immigrant communities. My mom (among many other people) recently had to fight a huge uphill battle when the Bush administration threatened to cut the majority of funding that they use to help immigrants learn English and to help adult students learn basic skills. Luckily that legislation didn't go through, but it was very close and would have been a death sentence to those programs. For background, you can check out: http://advocatesforabe.blogspot.com. (On a side note, by cutting that funding, they would have not only lost the ability to help immigrants but also native speakers who need help learning basic skills, such as English and math. How do we expect people to get off of programs, such as welfare, if they don't have the skills to do something that would make it worthwhile for them to get off of welfare?)

People in the US need to get their heads out of their asses and realize that we are citizens of a global community, and we should act accordingly. Helping people to learn a language so that they can be a successful part in our corner of the world should not be such a threat. I fear that making English the "official" language would just be an added excuse for people to discriminate.

Good lord...help us please

I can't say that I'd be surprised if Jeb ran for president in 2008, but we're screwed if another person from this family leads our country. But then again, what do I know? According to shrub sr., Jeb would be "awfully good". So there we have it, folks...I think that "awfully good" should just about do it...

>:-p

Odd headache remedies

I've dealt with headaches, including migraines, all of my life. Usually Ibuprofin takes care of my headaches and sometimes a good cold wash cloth on my forehead or the back of my neck feels good. Other than that, I've found very little that actually gets rid of a headache. When I was in middle school, I found out that I had an allergy to dairy products (cow dairy products, specifically), so I cut those out and things got a lot better.

Anyhoo, I found this article kind of interesting because people have all kinds of ideas about how to get rid of a headache or prevent them. I especially liked the line, "If your tresses were spread by the wind, stepped upon by a man or picked up by a bird and used in the construction of a nest, you could expect a headache." And coming in on a close second, "Wearing a tight hat was thought to bring on headache, although once the headache arrived, binding the head with something else—a red bandana, a blue kitchen towel, a hangman's noose—might be a potential cure."

Funny what people will think of...

Drop in teen pregnancy due to lower sperm counts?

This article has some good food for thought. I don't know if I would have ever thought about the possibility of teen pregnancy being an indicator of fertility...

http://www.slate.com/id/2140985/?GT1=8190

Why would anyone wear this?

Really...why? And why would Sarah Jessica Parker, of all people, wear this?

http://movies.msn.com/movies/Undressed?GT1=7701&photoidx=1

Ugh. I know that she wears some crazy stuff in Sex and the City, but the stuff she wears in everyday life tends to be much better. So, this is just inexplicable.

Abundance of celebrations

Although I have a family member or friend who has a birthday pretty much every month throughout the year, March and April tend to be the busiest. And no sooner am I done celebrating both my mom's and my step mom's birthdays in April, then I have to turn around and come up with a creative something-or-other for Mother's Day for each of them in May. Then we have Father's Day stuff in June, and my step dad's birthday in July. I think there should be a rule that parents can't have a birthday one month away from Mother's Day or Father's Day; I can't just keep cranking out the ideas...

Observation

I just saw a KFC commercial and realized that the song they're using right now is Sweet Home Alabama. A song about Alabama for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Hmmm...

And this is why I read online newspapers...

Man, son, neighbor swallowed by cesspool: Trip to get Sunday paper from lawn turns into scene ‘like a horror picture’

Life update

It's been awhile since I've posted anything about me personally, so why not?

The last couple of months have been pretty darned good. I'm another year older, which happens to us all. L. took me out to the Metropolitan Grill for my birthday, and treated me to some beautiful roses and one of the adorable Coach wristlets that I had my eye on for awhile. My friend A. hosted a birthday shindig with my friends and family, so that was really nice of her and we had a great time afterward at Theatresports and Howl at the Moon. And my mom made me my favorite home-cooked meal and a cake. It was all just perfect!

L. and I enrolled in the second session of swing dancing classes. It's getting progressively more complicated, but still extremely fun. We're now learning the shim sham, which is a non-partner dance, and it's something that totally confuses me, but I hope to figure it out before I'm old and grey.

The weather is starting to get nicer again, so I'm enjoying being outside more, and Kati and I are going to start our weekly walks back up again. Green Lake just isn't so fun when you have icicles hanging off of your eyelashes...

Work is going really well, and it still presents many challenges for me. Our team has been really busy, but we still manage to have some fun. I got news that I'll get to go to a conference in Boston later this year, so I'm really excited about that. I've never been on a business trip before!

And, I finally have all of my furniture. My condo is completely furnished. I wasn't sure that I'd ever see the day, but my bookcases finally came and they're perfect. I may have spent a lot of money on them, but they were sure worth it in the end. I love my home and love having people over to see it. I find it interesting that everyone finds something different to talk about when they first see my place. Some people notice the colors first, some notice the decorations, and others notice the furniture. It's fun to guess what they'll point out first :)

So, that's me for now. I hope things continue to go well, and hope that they go the same for all of my family and friends as well.

Bathroom woes

Is it that hard to actually get a paper towel into a waste paper basket in the bathroom? Almost every time I walk into the women's restroom at work, I find paper towels on the floor. Now, if the garbage can was a bazillion feet away from the door, I might be able to understand the difficulty because I, too, use the paper towel to grab the door handle on my way out. However, the garbage can is right next to the door. It can't possibly be that hard - no one has arms that short. And the issue isn't that the garbage can is overflowing, either. It absolutely baffles me.

And, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I really hate it when people don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom. I get really grossed out when I hear someone flush, and then walk right out the door. I don't care how good you are - you simply can't use the toilet without touching something that I'm sure others don't want to touch. I realize I might sound really anal about this, and I guess I should just own up to the fact that I am really anal about that. So there. I may be anal, but you won't find me spreading urine and feces around.

It's also really gross when you hear someone walk out the door without flushing. What's that all about? I had a friend in grade school whose family lived by the motto, "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down." I hated going to the bathroom at her house, and would always flush before and after I used the toilet because I simply couldn't deal. I suppose for guys it's not such a big deal, but sometimes girls have to deal with a little splash. But, that's one thing if you, as a family unit, agree to live by. It's a completely different story at work. Just flush.

Whew. This has been weighing on me for awhile. Glad to get that off of my chest.

Finally...

I'm going to get a haircut on Monday. It's been a couple of months - possibly longer, actually - since I've had a cut, so I'm in pretty dire need. Luckily with long hair, it's usually not a huge deal to go so long without a cut, but it's definitely time to get my style cleaned up a little and the ends trimmed off. I use good hair products, so I don't have a lot of split ends or anything, but I do need to have the layers re-done so that my hair will style better.

Car annoyances

I'm fairly annoyed with my car lately. Ever since I was rear-ended before Thanksgiving, it's been making some strange rattling noises. The repair shop replaced the exhaust system and the bumper, but there is still something going on. The other day, I had the hood open and shifted the gears around while L. took a look at the engine...turns out that the whole engine is moving when I go between reverse and drive. So, I need to take it to the dealer and see what they say. Last time I took it in (due to a very serious service-needed light), I ended up paying almost $900 for a cleaning of my clogged fuel filters, and servicing of the brakes and steering. I'm not looking forward to this next visit, but I suppose I'll have this car for at least the rest of this year, so it'd probably be good to ensure that it continues running smoothly. I hate cars...or at least the whole servicing of cars. But, I'm one of those people who refuses to get out of her car and onto a bus, so I suppose that's the price that I pay...along with the sudden raise in fuel prices this last weekend.

Yay!

Poll: Bush, GOP hit new lows in public opinion

I tell ya - it's been really hard to go about my daily chores with my fingers crossed all this time, but maybe it's finally paying off ;)

Funny signs

Thanks A. - these are friggin' hilarious :)

http://mistupid.com/stuff/ready.htm

Handwriting

Do you ever have one of those days where you're really impressed with your handwriting? Yesterday was like that for me. I was especially happy with the way that my "4" was turning out, although I can't explain exactly why I decided to change the way I write 4s. Ah, the mysteries of life... I'm also getting used to writing my new last name, and I like the way the signature is turning out.

Can you tell that last night was my night to pay bills???

Buy a new car - get a free teddy bear

L. bought a new car today and negotiated to get me the cutest teddy bear :) I've named him Herrington - adorable!

Scientology

Rolling Stone recently did an article on Scientology. With all of the hoopla it's been getting due to weirdo Tom Cruise and now with Isaac Hayes pulling out of South Park, I found it to be quite an interesting synopsis of the religion. People are free to believe what they want, but I do find it unsettling if it is true that this is a religion that cannot handle criticism or discussion. As with most things, I'm sure that you have to take this article with a grain of salt, but I'm sure that there is also truth to it, and it's pretty creepy.

If I got to a certain level in a religion and heard the story about Xenu, I'd laugh my ass off. I'd also be wary of a founder who's quoted as saying, "I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is." Perhaps the most interesting thing was the information about L. Ron Hubbard's autopsy: "In Hubbard's system was the anti-anxiety drug hydroxyzine (Vistaril), which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric and pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years." That would be like being a Christian, and getting to heaven only to find out that Jesus has been up there sleeping around and murdering people. Ya know, the whole practice-what-you-preach thing.

I realize that all of the world religions have weird stories and corrupt people, but at least in most of them you can discuss and criticize without being turned away or sued. And most people can admit that certain things they believe in don't necessarily make sense, but they have faith so that's what they go on. Based on this article, it sounds like the people in the Scientology spotlight are unable to even admit that certain things about their belief system are odd. And that they don't really question where the things they believe in come from. I suppose that Scientology, like other belief systems, serves a purpose for the people who belong to it, but I can't figure out what the hook is on this one...

Need to go grocery shopping

Ever stare endlessly into your refrigerator and pantry, and find absolutely nothing that looks remotely interesting to eat? I'm there right now...

Wash your hands

This is just not good - only 83% of American adults wash their hands after using the bathroom: http://health.msn.com/guides/coldandflu/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100110402

I've said it before, and I'll say it again (especially since I'm down with the flu right now) - people, wash your hands. It's one of the best ways to keep from getting sick and passing sickness around to others.

...now, back to bed.

The absence of arm muscles

Apparently I don't use the muscles in my arms for - well - much of anything, I guess. On Sunday, L. and I walked the trail around his housing development, and played around with the various exercise stations along the way. They had stations to work your arms, abs, legs, etc. I found that I can't do one friggin' chin-up. I was never good at chin-ups, even when I was in my best physical condition, but I could usually do a few before falling to the floor. Now? Not even one - I did do the one where you just kind of hang there for as long as you can - which admittedly was not very long. Let's just say that I wouldn't be getting any presidential fitness awards at this point in my life.

On the bright side, I still have good ab and leg muscles. This means that while I still can't really lift much of anything (like my purse) today, I was at least able to get my cardio in last night and can walk without looking like Frankenstein. Dance class tonight should be interesting, though...

All in all, this just means that I need to step up the effort with the weights at the gym...hopefully I'll be able to comfortably put my coat on in a day or so, and then I can start building up the muscles in my upper body again.

Me, me, me

Thanks A. - this site is pretty cool :) It tells you all about yourself based on your birthdate...

Your date of conception was on or about 2 July 1977 which was a Saturday. You were born on a Saturdayunder the astrological sign Aries.

Your Life path number is 8 (see more below about this).
Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path number 6.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 1 & 5.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 7 & 9.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2443592.5.
The golden number for 1978 is 3.
The epact number for 1978 is 21.
The year 1978 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/7/1978 and ending 1/27/1979. You were born in the Chinese year of the Horse.

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 26 March 1978.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 30 April 1978.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 8 February 1978.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 14 May 1978.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 21 May 1978.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Monday, 2 October 1978.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Saturday, 22 April 1978.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 7 February 1978.

As of 3/13/2006 2:26:55 PM ESTYou are 27 years old.
You are 336 months old.
You are 1,460 weeks old.
You are 10,215 days old.
You are 245,174 hours old.
You are 14,710,466 minutes old.
You are 882,628,015 seconds old.
Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.99804305283757 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)

There are 12 days till your next birthday on which your cake will have 28 candles. Those 28 candles produce 28 BTUs,or 7,056 calories of heat (that's only 7.0560 food Calories!). You can boil 3.20 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1978 there were approximately 3.1 million births in the US.
In 1978 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1978 in the US there were approximately 2,152,662 marriages (10.1%) and 1,036,000 divorces (4.9%).
In 1978 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000).
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

Your birthstone is Aquamarine
The Mystical properties of Aquamarine:
Aquamarine is often used to experience love and mercy. It is said to help ease depression and grief.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources):
Jade, Rock Crystal, Bloodstone

Your birth tree is:
Hazelnut Tree, the Extraordinary
Charming, undemanding, very understanding, knows how to make an impression, active fighter for social cause, popular, moody and capricious lover, honest and tolerant partner, precise sense of judgement.

The moon's phase on the day you wereborn was waning gibbous.

All about life path 8:
The Life Path 8 suggests that you entered this plane armed to lead, direct, organize and govern. You are very ambitious and goal-oriented. You will want to use your ambitions, your organizational ability, and your efficient approach to carve a satisfying niche for yourself. If you are a positive 8 you are endowed with tremendous potential for conceiving far-reaching schemes and ideas, and also possessing the tenacity and independence to follow them through to completion. In short, you were born to be an executive.

You know how to manage yourself and your environment. Your ability to judge the character and potential of the people around you is an asset used to your advantage. A large part of your success in life comes from how hard you work. This Life Path is the most prone to producing workaholics. But your ability to spot good people and engage them in your endeavors is a special trait not to be overlooked. There is an inspirational quality in your makeup which allows you to become a great leader. You are practical and steady in your pursuit of major objectives, and you have the courage of your convictions when it comes to taking the necessary chances to get ahead.

With the Life Path of the number 8 you are focused on learning the satisfactions to be found in the material world. The Life Path 8 produces many powerful, confident and materially successful people. Most of your concerns involve money and learning of the power that comes with its proper manipulation.

This Life Path is perhaps the one that is the most concerned with and desirous of status as an ultimate measure of success. You want to be recognized for your hard work and achievements. The attainment of honors and acceptance into the club of executive leadership is all important. For this, you may find yourself very well suited to compete in the business world or in the political arena.

In relationships, you are frank, honest, and steadfast. You may be very much in love, but watch that you are not too busy and preoccupied to show it. Being the lavish provider is not always an adequate substitute for showing your devotion and affection in more personal ways. You have a great need for close personal relationships to mitigate and somehow soften your nature. You must find the time for love and keep it as an important project in your life.
The negative 8 can be dictatorial and often suppresses the enthusiasm and efforts of fellow member of the environment. Often, the strength of their own personality excludes close feelings for other people with whom they come in contact. Material gains and rewards often become issues of utmost importance, even to the neglect of family, home and peace of mind. Dedication to success can become an obsession. Emotional feelings are often suppressed by the negative 8, resulting in isolation and loneliness. All Life Path 8 people must avoid discounting the opinions of others.

Dare I dream?

In election year, GOP wary of following Bush

Is it possible that republicans are finally waking up to the nightmare in the White House? It's hard to tell whether they mirror the public in recent polls that put president shrub's approval rating at 34%, or whether they are now just trying to save their own asses from a horribly sinking ship. The more that I think about it, the more I realize that the sinking ship analogy is pretty apropos.

Before Titanic left the dock and also early into the voyage:

• You had people who questioned the decision to set sail without the proper safety measures and a lack of previous successful voyages (democrats and independents).
• You had people who crafted responses to assuage the fear that anything would happen to the unsinkable ship (Karl Rove, Scott McClellan, etc.).
• You had people who either couldn't be bothered to care about the lack of safety boats on board or people who simply believed the responses about the unsinkable ship (republicans).
• You had the captain and other related individuals who ignored warnings about icebergs in the area, and ordered additional burners to be lit because it would be way cool to get to port earlier than anticipated (president shrub and his cabinet).

While the ship was sinking:

• You had the women and children getting onto the lifeboats first (democrats and independents).
• You had the men who tried everything to get onto a lifeboat (the republicans now turning away from their fearless leader).
• You had people, such as the captain and the band, who went down with the ship (the republicans standing by their fearless leader, president shrub and his cabinet).

Thinking back over the last 6 years with shrub in office, I wonder how it could possibly have taken people so long to question his "leadership". Oh, I know all about framing, and I know that the republican party does a fabulous job of framing issues in such a way that they can easily mislead the flocks. And when you're talking about a party composed, in part, by such groups as the born-again Christians, "flock" isn't an inappropriate term. These are people who read the bible literally; if they can't bother to analyze a historical book that was written by scads of people in a different language during a different political and cultural time, and then translated over and over, then why would we expect them to analyze anything else? I'm not attacking their belief system, because I do believe in freedom of religion in this country. I am, however, stating that I think it's ridiculous to take anything like the bible at face value. And I do disagree with them trying to force their religion on everyone in the country by turning their beliefs into laws.

But, I digress. I just hope that when it comes to election time in November, people take a deeper look at what's going on in our country and feel as disgusted about the failure of our government as I do.

Curfew

Every once in awhile, I catch an episode of The Girls Next Door, the show about Hugh Heffner's three girlfriends. On the episode I saw tonight, the girls headed out to Lodi, Bridget's hometown, where they met up with Bridget's family and friends.

When they got back to the Playboy mansion, they all talked about how Hugh was OK even though they didn't make curfew, because they were in constant contact with him throughout the day. Curfew? Are they 16 years old? On second thought, don't answer that...

And one of his girlfriends, Holly, was freaking out on the way home because they were having movie night at the mansion, and she was worried about who was going to sit next to him. Apparently she had heard stories from ex girlfriends who said that they were gone one night and were then booted out the next day. She also mentioned that she's never been away from him for a night, and they've been together for 4 years.

Not that anything about Hugh Heffner and his girlfriend situation speaks to a normal, healthy relationship, but all of that pretty much shows how weird the whole situation is. I mean, if it works for them, then whatever. But a couple should be secure enough to be apart every once in awhile, and at a certain point, shouldn't one grow out of the whole "curfew" thing?

Bizarre...

America's Next Top Model

I know that it's completely stupid, and a total waste of my otherwise precious time, but I love watching America's Next Top Model. A new season started tonight, and they got the number of girls down to 12. It looks like it will be quite an interesting season, and there are some really ferocious personalities.

Jade and Gina completely annoy me, and since they are polar opposites, a lot of the drama tonight dealt with one or both of them. But thank goodness they sent the über conservative girl back to Spring, Texas where she can live in her perfectly black-and-white world without danger of coming into contact with someone who might actually prove her wrong or challenge her opinions.

I'm not sure yet who I want to win the the competition, but I'm sure that over the next couple of episodes, I'll have a better feel who should get it. I've been correct in three of the seasons, and come close in the other two, so not a bad track record.

Dear Coach,

Why must you tempt me so, with your adorable new offerings for spring?

http://www.coach.com/aspx/content/product.aspx?product_no=1448&category_id=73
http://www.coach.com/aspx/content/product.aspx?product_no=8063&category_id=68
http://www.coach.com/aspx/content/product.aspx?product_no=1004&category_id=68

Swing dancing lessons

I recently started taking swing dancing lessons with my boyfriend, L., and it's a total blast! He has already taken numerous lessons and been swing dancing for several years, so thankfully he's already got the whole lead thing down pretty well. He's just taking the classes for my benefit so that I can learn.

As we were in class yesterday, I realized how much more difficult it must be to learn the lead part. Not only do you have to know the steps, but you have to be really aware of hand and arm position so that the person following can figure out what the heck you want them to do. Now in many things in life I'm a leader, but here is a case where I'm just glad to follow. It's pretty cool how you can tap into another person the way that you do in dancing.

Also, I now have two really cute pairs of dance shoes - one that I use in classes and for more casual stuff, and a pair of fun, sexy heels for a night out. I like any sport where I get to wear cute shoes and dance with my handsome guy :)

Men's shaving commercials

What's up with men's shaving commercials? Is there a reason that they always have to be so corny - they always show the close-up of the amazing razor, illustrate how incredible an experience it is to shave with the thing, and then end with the beautiful woman in awe of his newly shaven face.

Come on. I don't know one guy who likes to shave. I suppose that's why they have to try and entice men into shaving with the stupid commercials, but no one is buying into that. I'm for truth in advertising - tell it like it is. Guys, shaving sucks, but your significant other will appreciate it and be much happier to get close to you when you're not all prickly. It's the same reason that I go to the spa to get my legs waxed - I don't enjoy it in the least, but it's for a greater good.

So wrong

Hmmmm...what's up with Italy? Thanks for posting this, A.

This is so wrong. A guy forced his step daughter to perform oral sex on him and received a lighter sentence than normal simply because she wasn't a virgin. He argued that her previous experience should be considered. Wwwwhhhaaaa? Since when is virginity a factor in determining the sentence for a pervert in a sexual abuse case?

And equally disturbing:
"In recent years [the Italian supreme court] has ruled that 'an isolated and impulsive' pat on a woman's buttocks at work did not constitute sexual harassment, and returned a verdict that a woman could not have been raped because she was wearing skin-tight jeans."

Right. I know that every time I wear skin-tight jeans, I'm just asking for it. And why should I mind if a co-worker pats my ass?

That would be me in a parallel universe. In this universe, here and now, I'll wear what I please and I'll promptly kick a guy in the balls if he grabs my ass. Sho' 'nuff. Let's hope that Italy gets its act together and stops taking the women's movement back to the dark ages.

My 60 GB iPod

I got my 60 GB iPod this morning!!! Thank goodness I overslept, or I would have missed the delivery guy. Of course, with my job there really isn't any concept of oversleeping as long as you make the meetings and get your work done for the week, but I still have a general time by which I like to be in the office.

Anyway, back to the amazing iPod. This thing is incredibly sweet! After having the iPod mini for the last year, I'm used to the non-color display, smaller window, etc. My new iPod actually shows the album covers, plays videos, and displays photos. To friggin' cool, man. Plus, it's got the black front with the silver back, and I had it engraved with, "laughter is the music to which the heart sings" because ya'll who know me know that I love music and a good laugh. I'm a very happy girl today :)

My 100th post

Bask in the glory...my 100th completely unimportant musing on blogger.

Sing-alongs and Lullabies

The album that Jack Johnson did for the new Curious George movie is really good. Very fun and relaxing - I highly recommend it.

On a related note, I ordered a new, kick-ass iPod and should get it in a few days - wahoooooooo!!! 60 GB of media, here I come!

Ashtray ads

Can we please call an end to the ads from this place? http://ashtraymouth.com/

The first time I saw one, my boyfriend and I were at a movie enjoying refreshments during the ads and film previews. Up pops these disturbing dolls, one of whom shoves a pile of shit in her mouth. Ick.

A couple of weeks later, I was stuck behind a bus on the way home that had the same doll with the shit in her mouth and the caption, "Kissing a smoker is just as gross."

Hmmmm. Really? Dunno about that. I've kissed smokers, and while not my favorite thing, I'm sure that I'd pick kissing a smoker over kissing a freaky doll with something nasty in its mouth. Ugh. The whole campaign is just not good...

On a related but much nicer note, keep up the good work E.! I'm very proud of you for quitting smoking b/c I'd better have you around when we're old and senile :)

Congratulations all around

Wow! Seems like a lot of people have some great news going on as of late...

First, congrats to E., who scored a fab 82% on his Japanese proficiency exam. You are my hero.

And congrats to Kati, who will be starting a new job at the end of the month in a totally new field that she has been madly studying about recently. Perhaps at some point in the near future, we'll even get together and talk in person (the shock, the horror!) ;)

Wahoo! Oh yeah, and I got a promotion (no title change or anything, just a bump in responsibility), so I congratulate myself on that :)