Famous Mii

I am not sure if anyone has posted about this before, but I found a website of mii celebrities and politicians etc. that people have created. They are pretty funny so if you haven't seen these it is worth a little looksee.

Here are some of my favorites:




For Adam:

Fashion not so forward

I had a lot of time on my hands today because I was the only person in the office so I decided to spend some of that time online shopping, when I came upon these wtf articles of clothing that I felt obligated to share. I would like to think that these looks were Halloween costumes but no, this is marketed as everyday atire.
First is the Harem Paint

Which might go well with Turban Hat if you wanted to be some sort of Middle Eastern character for Halloween? I am not sure, pretty much grasping at straws here.

Next we have the Cocktail Pillbox Hat, which is a lovely and versatile addition to anyones wardrobe really.

And if you are feeling especially slutty, try this little number

Don't forget the shoes!



So I should have my new wardrobe in about 5-7 business days, woo hoo!

Looks like Warren Jeffs will be spending some time in jail, possibly even receiving a life sentence, after being convivted of being an accomplice to rape. Jeffs is the leader of polygamous Mormom sect in Utah where he performed the wedding between the victim and a 19 year old man, when the victim was 14 years old.

The defense said authorities were persecuting Jeffs because of his religious beliefs, which include practicing plural marriage as the way to heaven. "His church, his religious beliefs is what's on trial here, and it's being dressed up as a rape," attorney Walter Bugden argued.

This was not a polygamous marriage, it was only one husband and one wife in this instance therefore his religious beliefs are not what was in question, the following quote address what is:

She said she repeatedly told Jeffs that she did not want to be married and was uncomfortable with her new husband's sexual advances. Jeffs advised her to pray and to submit to her husband, learn to love him, and bear his children -- or risk losing her "eternal salvation," she said

When a 14 year old girl is told by an authority figure to have sex even though she is terrified and doesn't want to do it or she will go to hell, is a pretty clear cut case of rape.
Religious sects like this one are so dangerous because you are indoctrinated into these beliefs from birth and are not allowed to think any differently because if you do you are told that you are going to be burned in hell for it. For women this is especially destructive since they are the ones that typically hold no power and are told to submit to husbands or any other male figure.

Some followers play the tapes all day long, listening as a droning Jeffs describes a woman's duty to be submissive, "Negro" devilishness and the right of God's anointed leader to "rule in all areas of life." Jeffs drove home the first point during a home economics class taught by his first wife, Annette. Jeffs ordered male students to join female classmates in the meeting hall. Jeffs grabbed his wife's long braid and twisted it, sending her to her knees. A man has a duty, he said, to be a leader. And a wife needs to be submissive, no questions asked.
"He left. The boys left. She got up, fixed her hair and went on talking," said Jessop, 31, who witnessed the display. "She was a fun person. I think that is why he did it to her."

Maybe now that he is going to jail he will see what it is like to be submissive.

Hey Kim Catrell, the 1980's called, they want their suit back.

To the leaf blower man who believes that 4:30 AM is a reasonable time to blow leaves, trash and debris around the parking lot: GO FUCK YOURSELF. It is not a reasonable time, in fact it is pretty much the very worst time to be engaging in such a loud obnoxious activity. The last 2 hours of sleep are some of the most crucial hours of the night. Being woken up at that time and having to hear a leaf blower which is a noise that makes me angry at 4:30 in the afternoon, really makes my blood boil which in turn makes it damn near impossible to fall back asleep.

This on top of the reel pride festival extravaganza last night that had club music bumping until a little after 11. Now that didn't bother me nearly as much because 11 is not that late, even though I was already in bed. I think my day of exercise Saturday took a lot more out of me than I thought because I was exhausted all day Sunday and was really just looking forward to going to bed early and enjoying my clean sheets I just changed and getting a good nights sleep. But no, stupid leaf blower man decided to cut the wonderful silence of the night with a sound just slightly less obnoxious than a Harley with its engine revving or a garbage truck. I thought about yelling something but he wouldn't have been able to hear me and I even thought about going out there and having some words but that didn't seem safe so I just fumed in bed for about half an hour.

This is not the way I like to start my week, so I got coffee this morning to make me feel better. That helped along with having Donavan McNabe as my FF quarterback. I am currently 2nd out of 10 in my pool so I am not doing so bad at the moment.

And leaf blower man you better watch your back, there is some vigilantism coming your way.

Happy Thursday!

Any ideas what his expression is saying? To me it almost looks like the look I get from people when I tell a joke that they don't think is funny, not that I get that look very often or anything, just saying...

Tiger beware

I am excited because tonight I have my first golf class. Annie and I signed up for a Women's beginning golf course which we will go to for the next 6 Wednesdays and hopefully learn some skills. I have been golfing before and have had informal lessons so I am not completley clueless,but it is always good to work on your fundamentals. In 6 weeks we should all go golfing so I can dazzle you with my extraordinary golfing abilities;)

Chicken Police

Turns out chickens are good for more than just eating and laying eggs, they also break up bunny fights, without the use of tasers. Police officers around the country take note.

Daft Hands

I was rather impressed. It starts slow but stick with it, I would never be able to do this.

Dodgeball!

I had more free time then usual today at work and came across the 2007 Fresno Grizzlies Dodgeball Tournament. I am intrigued! The winning team gets to play an exhibition during the Fresno Falcons game at the Save Mart Center. Of course the last time I played dodgeball was PE in high school and I was definitely not very good but it would be fun to watch. If anyone is interested in checking it out with me it is on Sunday October 6th.

Also the Big Fresno Fair is comingup soon. I didn't make it out to it last year so I am excited to make up for lost time. The infomercial exhibit hall, the animals, the food, the hoochies dressed in their finest sluttiest gear...ahh good childhood memories.

Bourne or McGyver?

I came across a recent poll by the McCormick Tribute Foundation that found that 27% of American's polled (no sample size given) would want McGyver with them in the event of a disaster. The very resourceful fictional character beat out Indiana Jones, Jason Bourne and Bond for this title (albiet with a small percentage).

I had a mad crush on McGyver when I was a kid so I am pleased to see he still has some clout but I would have a hard time choosing between McGyver and Jason Bourne. Bourne can kick some serious ass but Mcyver can get out of any situation with a string and a toothpick. It is a tough call but I think Bourne wins on sex appeal. He has major man points and by the looks of that picture above, McGyver may not measure up as much in that category. Weeeeee!

Update

So the ride to and from Porterville wasn't incredibly horrible, but it definitely had its moments. Susan drove and she doesn't go a mile over the speed limit and feels it neccesary to read every road sign we come across outloud. I also had to listen to John Tesh radio and heard the Whitney Houston song "where do broken hearts go" 3 times, not exagerating. After much thought I believe that broken hearts in fact do find their way home and find the love thats waiting there for them.

Also I finally got my internet working at home. Now I can waste even more time online, woo hoo! This was probably not the best week to stop smoking though. I was on the phone for 2 hours with the comcast guy trying to get it to work after spending 40 minutes in the phone earlier that day trying to get a replacement modem. Driving 3 hours with Susan was certainly stressful as well and I could definitely use a cigarette right now and the liquor store is so close....

that is not funny, seriously it isn't

I am fuming right now and have no one to vent to but my blog.

So one of our superintendents Mike comes in this morning and the subject of CPR comes up. So Mike says "hey, how do you give CPR to someone who has AIDS" and then he proceeds to make a stomping motion on the floor and everyone laughs. Of course I argue that it isn't funny which is even more hilarious to them. The more appalled I was, the harder they laughed. I tried to explain why that wasn't funny, even though it may seem obvious to most people, and I didn't get anywhere which is even more frustrating. Sometimes we laugh at things without thinking about it and once one realize what it exactly is we are laughing at we correct ourselves but no, they still thought it was funny when he told it again to someone else.

Call me uptight but AIDS just isn't a funny subject to me. What is even better is that I have to drive to Porterville this afternoon with Susan to attend a training. 3 hours in a car with Susan, fucking fantastic.

Kasey's Fall Preview

Every few months or so I like to evaluate the way my life is going and make some tweaks and changes to make sure I stay on track with how I want my life to be. This usually happens four times annually with the coming of each season and as fall approaches (not quickly enough though, I am ready for cool weather damnit!)it is time once again to re-evaluate.

Health:I am quitting smoking, this really needs to be done. An occasional smoke is alright but I can't buy cigarettes or cloves anymore because if I have them I will smoke them.
I walked to Starbucks Sunday morning and there was a race going on. Seeing all of the runners made me miss running. Now that the weather will start cooling down it will be easier to get some runs in so I am thinking of running in the Trail of Two Cities Half Marathon in November. Since it is a relatively short distance I should have enough time to train. I ran 4 miles on Sunday in the heat and was good so working up to 13.1 is definitely do-able.

Finance:
I really need to focus a lot on this. Too many times recently I have thouh where is my money going. Might be a good idea to look into that. So I am cutting out the little extras, including limiting my Target and Starbucks visits and paying more attention to where my money is going. This will be rough for me because I really love to shop and I havent bought any fall/winter clothes yet. I do not want any debt though and I am becoming close to creating some.

Volunteering:
For about 4 years now I have wanted to volunteer somewhere and I just haven't gotten around to it. This is due entirely to procrastination on my part. My sister volunteers at a childrens shelter once a week and has for about 2 years and she loves it and I very much admire that about her. I don't know where though, any suggestions? I volunteered at St. Agnes once and it sucked because I had to answer phones and page doctors. If anyone knows of any little gems of volunteer opportunities, please let me know.

Hobbies:
I have wanted to take up golfing for awhile. Annie and I signed up for a golf class at Fresno Adult School - not sure how much help that will actually be but should be fun anyway! I want to get to the point where I can play a round with my dad and not annoy him with my lack of skill and knowledge.

So thats it. No drastic changes, just getting myself back on track on some things.

Office Antics

My Mom and Susan have been looking at email forwards for the past 30 minutes and laughing loudly and in my opinion obnoxiously. I don't understand why forwards are just so damn entertaining for everyone over the age of 45, but apparantly they are. When my mom opens her email account and she has at least 30 emails every other day, all of which are forwards, all of which she finds it neccesary to show Susan. At least I have the common decency (and common sense) to pretend I am working when I am messing around online.

Update: My mom just asked me what LOL meant. She thought it means Love You Lots. I know. This is what I have to deal with.

The Universe (nerd alert)

For all of you nerds out there, I came upon a fascinating series on the History Channel this weekend that I had a hard time turning off. It is called The Universe and the episodes that I saw talked about all of the planets individually as welll as meteors and their impact on the earth, and the galaxy and super massive black holes. I don't know where films like this were when I was in school but I don't remember the ones I saw in science class being nearly as interesting. If they had maybe I would have had a much more useful and lucrative science degree instead of nearly useless communication degrees.

Tonight at 8 they are showing The Universe: Beyond the Big Bang which looks to be one of the better episodes:

Interviews with the world's leading physicists and historians are woven together with animated recreations and first-person accounts to explain concepts such as the formation of galaxies, the creation of elements and the formation of Earth itself.

(I am still trying to figure out who is giving a "first person account" on the Big Bang but I am definitely intrigued!)I love this stuff because it is so interesting to me that people have figured this out and yet is hard for me to even grasp the concept of infinite space and other galaxies and so on. So if you have some free time tonight, give it a watch.

Tuesday

I think the coffee is finally starting to kick in this morning so my thoughts are starting to contain an element of clarity instead of the convoluted nonesense that was me earlier in the morning. Not sure why I am so tired, I went to bed before midnight but my diet has sucked lately so that probably has something to do with it. Anyway here are a few of my Tuesday morning thoughts:

- Turns out I am in no hurry to become domestic, not that this comes as a big suprise but having to take care of 3 dogs and a household for 5 days reminded me how much work it is to be a homeowner and even a pet owner. I may be 27 and some may say already late in becoming domesticated but I am going to appreciate my freedom for as long as I possibly can.

- My diet has gone of course and I am needing to remedy this. I usually eat 6 times a day and pack a lot of fruits of veggies in, but I haven't been doing that lately which has made me feel sluggish and crappy. Diet and exercise are so closely linked to how I feel that if I get off track even slightly, I feel in it everything I do.

- I am excited that we are already in September because fall is a great time of year. I haven't been enjoying any outside exercise or activities because it has been so damn hot, my apartment is sweltering and driving is miserable. Lets be honest, I am also very excited about buying fall clothes and shoes. Ooh shopping, I am giddy!

Thats about all I've got. Really I just got tired of seeing Britney's ass on my blog and had to replace it with something.

Ya'll I feel like I am forgetting something today....

Perhaps this is what Heather had in mind when she said
"I think wearing a high heeled shoe with a skirt above your knee is trampy"

Did you ever wonder...

Did you ever wonder what the bells mean at Trader Joes? Well I have and today I found out what they mean:

It’s a kind of Trader Joe’s Morse code. Those blustery PA systems just didn’t feel right to us, so we came up with a simple system to communicate – island style. One bell lets our Crew know when to open another register. Two bells mean there are additional questions that need to be answered at the checkout. Three bells call over a manager-type person. Honestly, it’s much easier than the ole message in a bottle trick.

So there you go, in case you were wondering.

The weekend (yeah I know it is only Tuesday)

It looks like I will be house sitting for the parents from Thursday night until Monday. I am not that excited about it since they live so far away but when your parents ask you to do them a favor, they have that whole "I created you" thing to hold over your head that you just can't argue with.

Since it is labor day weekend and it will be hot everyone is welcome to come keep me company and swim and BBQ and play wii and play horseshoes or whatever else tickles your fancy. Just an FYI.

Umm, riiight

So this has been making the rounds so you may have already seen it, but if not prepare to either laugh or cringe, I did both.

Me, myself and I

I have been meaning to post lately but everytime I go to post something I realize I have nothing to say. Since I have been tagged by Adam I thought well what better subject to write about? It is all about meeee.

The rules:
- Each player starts with eight random facts about themselves.
- Those who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight facts and post these rules.
- At the end of the post, choose some people to get tagged and list their names.

1) I really don't like doughnuts or any other pastry. I generally don't like anything sweet to eat in the morning, but I love eggs and hashbrowns.

2) My middle name is Luanne which is a combination of my mothers middle name (Anne) and my Grandmothers middle name (Lu). I also don't understand why some people are so embarassed of their middle names that they won't tell you what it is. Unless your middle name is Bumsucker or something it is just a name so what is the big deal? And if your middle name is Bumsucker, then you should be obligated to tell your friends because it is just selfish to keep something as funny as that to yourself.

3) When I was in 6th grade I was at an awards ceremony for honor roll or something and they would call you up and you would stand on choir risers until everyones name was called and then there would be a round of applause. I was one of the first people called so I was standing at the very top of the risers and after standing up there awhile I started get antsy and I took a half step backward but missed the riser and lost my balance. I did the arm windmill thing and flailed about and as I was going down grabbed the two people next to me which helped me because I was able to step down on the rolled up wrestling mat and pop right back up. However the people next to me were not so lucky. They both fell on the mat and took down the two people next to them. Luckily the domino effect stopped there but it was obvious I had something to do with it because I was standing at the top of the risers with no one around me with a beet red face.

4) I hate 80's music.

5) My favorite ice cream is baskin robbins peanut butter and chocolate.

6) I like saying the word "Entrepenuer" with a french accent.

7) I have the complete set of every episode of the Golden Girls and have probably seen every episode at least 5 times.

8) When I was in 4th grade I broke my arm, burned my face on an enchilada pan that was coming out of the oven and fell and scrapped my knee all in the same month and was interviewed by child protective services because my teacher thought I was being abused. Nope, just clumbsy.

Well I think everyone I know that has a blog has been tagged now except Kendall and Nick so I will tag them, but Kendall hasn't posted since August 3rd and Nick doesnt even have time to sleep right now so this probably wont be a priority for them.

So there it is, random information about me!

Yee Ha! I am off to Texas ya'll!

In case you didnt know I am flying to Austin tomorrow for my sisters formal wedding reception. Well, formal is a relative word, more official at least then the disaster that was their wedding reception in Fresno, but it will still be fairly laid back. The good news is that the bar is open and my brother-in-laws favorite drink is a jack and coke. The other good news is my dad has had no hand in planning this one so I have a feeling things will go much more smoothly. I get back Monday so if I don't see you tonight I will see you next week.

Rant

I have been very frustrated with my Dad at work lately. He has this pattern of giving me these projects in which I am told I have full control, he doesn't give me guidelines just a general description and basically says to run with it. Then, later down the road he won't like something that I have done and tells me to change what I have done to what he wants.

For example, I was told that I needed to get our website up and running and create a new logo. He gave me a business card of a company that does both logo design and website design and told me that they were reccomended by another company we do business with. So, I call them up, tell them what we want and get pricing for everything.

My dad looks over the pricing and signs the contract. The first step then is to design the logo. I am told we get three logo concepts and three revisions - all of this my dad is aware of - so I tell them we want something construction related that is similar to another logo from Fresno Builders Exchange. They send three possible logos over and I take them to the staff meeting for feedback and to see what everyone thinks. We decide that we like one in particular and change some fonts and the placement of the graphic. They send back a revised version and my dad says he wants to see it in three different colors. So I send that info back and they send me the updated logo. That would be the third revision, therefore any more design changes would cost more money.

Well this is when my dad decides that he doesn't really like the logo and has looked online at other logo creation companies and randomly finds one that does packages for logo creation. Then he tells me he was unhappy with the logos they came up with and that he thought they weren't very good. This is his fault for first of all not telling exactly what he wanted in his logo when he obviously has something in mind, second not saying anything about not liking them on the 1st draft instead of waiting for the 3rd when at this point it will start costing more.

Then he asks me to research the cost of both and I tell him that it will 2-6 hours more work at 96/hr for the company we have been working with thus far (we will have to pay $192 regardless for the work they have already done)and it will be $200 minimum to go with this online company and start over. So I was apparantly defending the company we have been working with because I was explaining that we didn't tell them what we wanted so it isn't their fault they didn't get it right, particularly when we had them revise one logo concept twice when it wasn't even what he wanted!

So now he knows what he wants and wants to go with the other online company. But the icing on the cake is when he tells me that I can do what I want and the decision is up to me. Uh no actually it isnt because you just told me what you wanted to do (and yes I told him this) - he didn't respond. He either needs to actually let me run with it or tell me what he wants but this false independence is just depleting my motivation since I know he isn't going to like whatever I do anyway.

Um, I'd rather be single

Just when I thought strategies to meet people couldn't get any more strange, I found this article about zapping. Now I am generally not opposed to things like online dating, that is how my sister met her husband and I know of several relationships that have developed after meeting online that have been good experiences, but putting a necklace around your neck and going around to other people and "zapping" them to see if you are compatible just seems awfully odd to me.

The premise is this: "Before parties, guests register online and complete questionnaires. The answers are then transferred to digital memory devices — red, plastic squares slightly larger than a matchbox — that the guests wear like necklaces. During a party, people point their devices at one another to check how compatible they are. The devices flash red, yellow or green, depending on their level of compatibility."

So I guess this just takes the whole idea of talking to someone to get to know them to see if you are compatible completely out of the equation. Who has time for that anymore? Also if some computer based compatability system does not think you will get along with someone you basically get the red light. Personally I would rather be making that decision myself, regardless of the mistakes I will make along the way.

On another note, I was shopping this weekend and was in the Express dressing room when I looked up at an advertisement they had on the door about their new line of jeans. I literally laughed out loud when I saw the one that had a guy in a pair of jeans walking down the street with a text overlay that read "I have nicknames for all of my jeans. Today I am wearing Johnny Dagger". Umm Yeeeah. I should have had a career in marketing, apparantly it isn't very hard to be successful in that field.

Just a little something to get you thru the day

Please to enjoy! I will be wiping the drool off my desk now.

If I only was a blonde...

I have been having fun with this makeover website that shows you what you look like with celebrity hairstyles. This is me as Rachel McAdams. With hair like that the logical next step is a boob job! If you are interested in some shits and giggles, go here and do your own hair makeovers.

Target Story #2

After last nights disaster of a Target story, I decided to give story #2 a shot on my blog where there will be no interuptions. Also I write stories better than I verbalize them. It still isn't a knock your socks off story but here it goes anyway.

So yesterday I was in Target and when I went to the cash register to pay there was only 3 registers open and some fairly long lines were forming. I had just come from the gym where I did a pretty intense leg workout and was a bit wobly and I was starving so I really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I took my place in line and after a few minutes a Target employee approached me and said that they can help me at the jewlery counter. I thought sweet, I wasnt even next in line so this will shorten my waiting time for sure.

I walk over there and the girl working is looking at some leopard print purses on the other side of the counter and she sees me and walks over and starts ringing me up. We exchange pleasntries and she hands me my reciept but instead of putting my merchandise in a bag and handing it to me she says something and walks over to the purses. I didn't quite get what she said but it sounded like she was asking an opinion on something so I assumed she was talking to someone on her headset and had run out of bags or something so she was going to get one. She walks out of the counter and around the other side, grabs the 3 purses she was looking at and brings them over and says to me "which one do you like better?" and then continues to tell me about the fact that she really likes leopard print and these bags were on clearance for 4 bucks and she has a bigger one in this same line but she wants one for going out because that ones is too big, blah blah blah. Well I cant go anywhere because my stuff is still not in a bag and this chick is talking to me like we are old girlfriends getting ready to go out for the night. I tell her I like the smaller one the best because it has a better shape or something, which then leads her to give me a detailed description of her likes and dislikes plus the advantages and disadvantages of each bag. Then she starts holding them up to herself in front of a mirror to see how she would look carrying each bag. At this point my stomach has started to eat itself and my blood sugar is dropping and this girl won't shut up about these stupid 4 dollar clearance bags like they some Dolce & Gabana $1,000 handbags! I think I told her about 7 times which bag I liked in hopes of ending the conversation to no avail. I dont even know why she was asking me because at the moment I was definitely not the picture of fashion. I was wearing a sweaty wife beater and running shorts, not someone you would think to ask for fashion advice. She should have asked the tall girl with the big fake boobs that was prancing around in her booty shorts and heels but she was probably busy telling the 5th person of the day her mechanic story (I left that part out of the story last night, she repeated the story loudly on the phone to 3 different people so I had to keep hearing about the mechanic asking her to ive him a show).

Finally she decides to take my advice and get the smaller bag and manages to get my merchandise in a Taret bag so I can be on my way. So instead of getting to the front of the line and getting out of there quickly, I was discussing handbags with some random chick for a good 5-10 minutes. When I walked past the registers as I was leaving there wasnt even left in line anymore. So thats it. Target story #2. I think that went better than Target story #1 myself.

Frick! Frick! Frick!

My Ipod froze in the middle of my workout yesterday and has yet to unfreeze. It is stuck on a paylist, not playing which means I can't just wait for the battery to run out and for it to shut down before I charge it up and start using it again like I usually do. This has happened before but it usually doesn't freeze for such a long period of time. My Ipod is a crucial part of my workout! It keeps me going and prevents me from having to talk to other people at the gym ( I hate gym chat, I am there for one reason and hearing about your cats is not it). Hopefully when I get home for lunch it will have unfrozen, but I am not very optomistic at this point.

Just a few light hearted musings

I was asking my Dad this morning about Fantasy Football because I am going to be in a league this year and have never done it, and after we discussed some of the ends and outs he said, "Kasey, I used to think I would have liked to son but you pretty much take that role on as well as any guy would." This made me laugh. I truly enjoy doing "boy" things and I always have. I love watching sports, I love participating in sports,I love competition (you know thats all boys like to do right?). Obviously I am generalizing gender differences here (Adam, no need to jump on that one I am well aware)but those things and activities that are typically assigned to male gender roles are thing things I like to do most. I wonder though if that is something innate in me or if I was socialized to be that way as my Dad tried to fill the void of a son. I suspect both. I played with barbies from time to time growing up, but mostly I was out in the dirt getting into things and playing sports which I had an interst in and thankfully my parents encouraged. I was very much a tom boy in elementary and jr. high and even high school (this was before I found high heeled shoes and dresses). I like to have my feet in both worlds so to speak and be able to participate in both. Yes I like shopping and getting pedicures and talking to my girlfriends in my bra and underwear while we have pillow fights but I also like fight scenes in movies, football, trash talking, weight lifting and scratching my ass while burping (ok thats a lie, I really dont enjoy scratching my ass but I will do it from time to time). I don't know where I am going with this. In fact I am pretty sure I am going to get a few lessons in what it means to be a male or female with maybe a little gender socialization thrown in for good measure. Perhaps I am the female Adam Carrola, muhahahaha! I am going to go scratch my ass while I have a pillow fight now.

My birthday is coming up....

So Nick introduced me to this website that has a lot of really cool and sometimes random gifts. I came upon this gem and it cracked me up. I can't say it is a bad idea though because on more than one occasion I have accidently pulled out or dropped a tampon in front of people. My favorite story about doing this was when I was at Trader Joe's and I was looking for a pen to sign the receipt and I pulled it out and was positioning it to sign when I realized that it wasn't a pen at all. The guy at the cash register said "Here, try this" and handed me a real pen while laughing, and naturally he was cute.

Adam, I think this might also be a great and fashionable tamponica case as well.

Running Revisted

I have been re-thinking my approach to fitness lately and even though I have loved running in the past, I believe it is time to take a break from it. I have always known that long distance running can have negative health effects but I have brushed that aside because I also got a great deal of mental benefits from running. It has been a good stress reliver and there is something about spacing out and day dreaming while listening to my ipod that is just good for my soul (I say, tongue in cheek). I talked to my trainer about my running several months ago and she warned that if I do a lot of long distance running and aren't vigilent about my diet and getting plenty of rest etc., it can have a negative effect. That was about 2 weeks before the anemia kicked in. The period of time before my marathon and several months after I never felt very healthy. I was exhuasted all of the time, I felt weak, and I kept getting sick. Before my trip to Europe I decided that I would take a break from running since I wouldn't be able to run over there anyway, and pick it back up in August to start training for a fall marathon. Well in the past few months that I haven't been running I have felt a lot better physically. I am not as tired, I have more energy and I feel stronger (plus the dark circles are starting to go away so 5 people a day arent commenting that I look really tired). I know that part of the problem with the anemia was my diet wasn't supplying my body with enough iron, but even with efforts to change that it didnt make a big enough difference. I was also unable to weight train as much because when I did leg work, my legs were tired the next day and I wouldn't run as well. Right now I am doing 45 minutes of weights or exercises that incorporate squats/lunges or the medicine ball and 30-45 minutes cardio on the bike, eliptical, or walking on an incline uphill almost everyday and despite working out more than I did when I was running, I am not experiencing any knee or hip problems that I was before and I have more energy. I also see my strength improving and muscles developing where there used to only be scrawny and I like the way it looks. I also feel I can be less stringent on my diet so although I am still keeping it healthy, I don't have to scrutinize the carbs and the protien like I have had to do in the past (although I still need more protien). The bottom line is I feel and look better now than I did as a runner. I still think I would like to run the Fresno marathon next year, but I may hang it up after that. Besides I can still get my mental breaks from walking around the neighborhood with my ipod and I won't be limping afterwards.

Two Things...

It's baaack. My replacement phone came in the mail yesterday so you can now start using that number again. Unfortunately all of the voicemails you left me will go unlistened to.

Second, the combination of a vanilla latte and a Chocolate Almond Fudge Cliff Bar tastes like charcoal. You have been warned.

Birthday

Sunday is my birthday, woo hoo the big 2-7. For those who are going to be in town I think I might see if people would be interested in getting some thai food and having some drinks on Saturday night. Let me know if you are going to be around!

Safety Dance

This is one of my favorite music videos of all time. I have been working on our safety program and I started singing this song, truly a comedy gem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg

The Phone Fiasco Finally Coming To An End?

I have been hoping for over a month now that my phone would be waiting for me in my mailbox one of these days, missing me as much as I have missed him, however I have accepted the fact that that outcome was not to be. I am curious as to where exactly it is at this particular moment, the bottom of someones desk drawer perhaps, circling the globe in a bin of international mail, sitting in my mailbox at this very moment (this is probably the most likely scenario) - I don't know but after a month of using my Zach Morris phone with the shark screensaver it is time I move on. I cancelled my phone Wednesday and thanks to Mike for getting me the make and model of my phone, a replacement refurbished phone should be delivered (in the mail naturally) to me Monday or Tuesday of next week. Of course this did not come with complications. After going through the automated service and while waiting to talk to a customer service rep, the line disconnected and I had to go thru the process again (this also resulted in my saying "you have to be fucking kidding me" loudly in the office - oops). They are also charging me $50 to replace it, even though I have insurance on my phone that I pay 10 bucks monthly for. Their website states "A $50 non-refundable deductible per approved insurance replacement applies". So what exactly is my insurance covering then if I have to pay $50 for a replacement phone that isn't even new but refurbished? I think Apple and AT&T have the same customer service plan.
On a brighter note I no longer have to be embarassed when using my phone in a public place, I can proudly accept calls, have a musical ring, and check the time without pulling that monstrosity out of my purse. I am not putting this all to rest yet though, I still have to get the phone next week. At least this time I have a tracking number.

New Zach Galifianakis Video

It took me awhile to download this and then the sound wasn't working on the computer I was using so I could watch it but couldn't hear it. Despite that fact it still looked pretty funny and Zach Galifianakis is hilarious so hopefully you all can enjoy this more than I was able to. Let me know if it is funny!

Forget the black hood and the scythe, the grim reaper is a cute furry cat...much creepier

So I found this article and I thought it was interesting. Apparantly there is a cat named Oscar who lives in a nursing home in Rhode Island that predicts the death of patients. It seems that Oscar will curl up next to patients and in at least 25 cases, those patients will pass away. Other than those instances of death, Oscar is aloof and not friendly with people. Obviously not a scientific study, but who knew the grim reaper was so cute.

Egged

Someone egged my truck last night. I didnt notice it this morning because it is on the passenger side of the truck but I noticed coming back from lunch today. As if that truck hasnt gone through enough already. I don't think I have pissed anyone off lately so I believe I fell victim to a random act of egging (damn Tower rats). I also dont have time to get it washed today because I am going to the gym after work and then race home because I am meeting a friend for dinner. I heard eggs can really f-up paint jobs so I wonder how long I have until it is a permanant egg stain.

Phil Hansen Art

I came across this guy in this Yahoo article and thought he had some very interesting techniques and really cool pieces of art that I was fascinated by. According to the article his breakthrough piece was a time-lapse video of a two-day project called "Influences." where he painted 30 pictures on his own chest, one over the other, with each picture representing an influence in his life. When he was done, he peeled the quarter-inch thick layer of paint from his skin and cut out a silhouette of his own profile. The video was streamed more than a million times on the Web — a cyber art phenomenon in which both process and final piece were revealed. He also did a portrait of Kim Jong Il using 500 cc's of his own blood. Check out those sites for the rest of his work, it is worth a look.

Wii me!

Wii has some new accessories (coming out around Christmas probably) to go with the remote and nunchuck that look pretty bad ass. Check the article out here.

keeping the lumber industry alive

Where all the paper in the world comes to die, Tennesse's office. What you cant see is the floor, which is covered in paper except for a walkway down the middle. If you also notice the file cabinet in the back, it is completely empty. It drives me crazy.

Diesel

One of our subcontractors brought his puppy Diesel into the office today. He is an Anatolian Shepherd and unbelievably only 5 months old. Currently he weighs 80 pounds but will probably get to about 175. Normally adults will reach about 150 in this breed but this guy is a monster.

Something is different...

So as is the case in all areas of my life (jobs, places I live, hair color, furniture arrangement etc.) I needed a change. Notice I added links to your blogs and the time of the post is now listed. Please to enjoy my new blog template!

Work Update

So I have posted many a time about my frustrations at work (if I could remember to label my posts more than 5% of the time you could all read all about it). This week things have taken a change for the better in the form of increased responsibility and a slight (cost of living) raise - and no that is not cleverly disguised nepotism, everyone got a raise. I get very bored doing the same things at work everyday so when I am given projects (like remodeling the new office)I am much happier. Work has been a little slow for me lately so any extra project is greatly appreciated. The company picnic is next weekend and I am in charge of planning it. I actually think I will probably have more fun planning it than I will attending it. I just have nothing in common (besides a bloodline) with anyone at work. I am by far the youngest - the closest person to my age is 30 and he has 5 kids. I am also horrible at small talk, I can never think of a thing to say. Maybe I should incorporate some drinking games or beerpong, that might help.
Also I attended a OSHA seminar yesterday on heat illness prevention so now I need to create a training program (hey what do you know I am using my degree) and train my supers on what the requirements are. Most of it is common sense but as with all things that involve the government some of it is also completely asinine. Take for example the shade rule. You have to provide shade for your employees, but they are strict as to what constitutes shade. It has to be provided by something that is directly overhead so the shade created from the side of a building or a big truck does not count. The minimum fine for even a minor infraction is $18,000 and can go up to $85,000. Yikes. In addition to heat illness prevention the boss man has given all OSHA compliance to me. Yup, I am the safety officer of Mark Wilson Construction. I asked if I could get a badge but was turned down. I think I might make my own. All kidding aside this is an important responsibility as keeping the IIPP updated and training the employees is often a full time position in a lot of organizations. I have to o through 80 hours of training myself. Sure it is somewhat tedious but my masters is in training and development so it is something I enjoy doing.
Finally I am also in charge of getting our website up and running after a 4 year hiatus. Yes it is true we don't have a functional website. After a lot of arguing with my dad to convince him that despite the fact that I have a masters it doesn't mean I know how to build a website, I am going to a company out of Visalia specializes in just that. A lot less work for me but I am writing all of the content and getting pictures taken from all of our old jobsites. I will send you all a link when it is up and running again.
I think thats it on the work front. Thinking of drivin to Ikea tomorrow and getting some stuff for the apartment.I haven't taken a road trip in awhile and it might be nice to go for a drive and get new stuff.

Firing Customers?

I just read this article about Sprint sending letters to 1,000 customers informing them they were being "let go" because Sprint could not meet their needs due to these customers numerous complaints. I thought this was an interesting customer service strategy. Sprint apparently has a reputation of having poor customer service (what cell phone company has a good customer service reputation though really) however I think they may have the right idea. What is probably most frustrating about cell phone companies is their air tight contracts that you get stuck in without any hope of getting out of unless you are willing to fork over some dough. A customers only option really is to complain - which gets them nowhere. Clearly these are unhappy customers who are probably frustrated by being stuck in a contract anyway and may be happy to be able to find service elsewhere. Sprint is also paying the balance of their bill and are waiving the early termination fee. Sounds like a case of the squeaky wheel getting the oil to me. Sprint should probably work on their customer service so they don't have these unhappy customers in the first place but we all know people who feel the need to complain about everything and are never happy with anything.I wouldn't want to deal with them either. I have always had a problem with the customer is always right philosophy because customers are just assholes sometimes and having worked in customer service I was annoyed when the person who bitched - regardless of how outlandish- got what he/she wanted just to shut them up. Sure word of mouth can come back to haunt you but I think in this particular case, Sprint is doing both themselves and their cutomers a favor with this policy.

TO CAP or not to cap...this is my question

So I have thought this a few times and maybe I am an idiot and just don't realize that you can do this, but why in Word can you not change capital letters to lower case letters (or visa versa) without havinbg to erase it and start the word or sentence over. This is more of a work related annoyance because sometimes I will have everything in caps and then decide it doesnt look right and want to change it but then I would have to do the whole thing over again. It seems like a feature that could be created. You hip people with your Apple products are probably able to do this already. Damn you Bill Gates.

Annoyed

My truck is once again in the shop. Seems it is time to get a new vehicle, but I wanted to wait until the fall to do so and was hoping to get through the summer. No word on the exact problem, but it is some kind of electrical issue.

This actually isn't what I am annoyed with. I can't change the fact that it isn't working, I just have to accept it and get it fixed. What I am annoyed with is my Dad. I was talking with him about how to get the truck to the shop and he used the word "morass" and I asked him what that meant and he laughs and tells me I should have gotten a discount on my degree. I was pissed. Anytime I don't know a word or how to do something or how to spell something he always makes the comment in one form or the other that implies that I should know more for having a masters degree. I once again reminded him that my degrees in communication do not make me an expert at everything (including building websites which I should apparently know how to do too since I use the internet)and that he doesn't need to insult my intelligence if I don't know the definition to a word that is somewhat obscure in the first place. He started talking about how politicians use that word but I didn't let him finish because he wasn't going to address the reason I was pissed and would have just kept the "joke" going.
Perhaps I am a little sensitive but I have always felt that my parents were somewhat dissapointed in the fact that I didn't finish my PhD so comments like that sting me. When I did decide to not return to school it was a really difficult decision for me. I don't like to quit and I didn't want people to think that I couldn't hack it. When it came down to it though I was miserable and unhappy in that enviornment and people can think whatever they want about my reasons for not finishing. I haven't second guessed that decision and have been considerably happier (despite the work grumblings)since then and I know it was the right choice. I definitely get my guard up though when my intelligence is called into question. My parents also believe (especially my mom) that I should get my life figured out already and she is frustrated with my choices. Well unfortunately life isn't simple and I don't want to have a life or a career that is mediocre so that is going to take some time. Apparently this concept is difficult to embrace from my Mom who has never had a career goal. Raising children was what she wanted to do and she did a great job but having kids has never been something I just can't wait to do. Perhaps someday but I am not going to look for fullfillment in my womb.

Maybe I should rename this post to "Dear Mom and Dad"...

I apoloize but I couldn't resist...

I realize that Britney Spears is not a worthy topic for posting and I will receive a lot of eye rolls and groans from most of you who read my post (yes, all 2-4 of you)but since most of you probably don't follow the goings on in Hollywood (or at least try to pretend you don't) you are missing out on how truly crazy Britney Spears has become. The following is a qoute from her website in which she states the following in regard to the incident when she attacked the paparazzi with an umbrella soon after shaving her head:

"I apologize to the pap for a stunt that was done 4 months ago regarding an umbrella. I was preparing my character for a roll in a movie where the husband never plays his part so they switch places accidentally. I take all my rolls very seriously and got a little carried away. Unfortunately I didn't get the part."

What the fuck? I don't even know where to begin with this. First, were this true it sure has taken quite awhile for her to let it be known. Personally if I was made out to be a crazy whack job I would defend myself soon after the incident and not wait 4 months down the road to mention it. Second, how do you switch places "accidently". Is that like Freaky Friday or something? I know she isn't the brightest girl but a more sensical explantion of this supposed movie might have helped her case. Third, what are all of these "rolls" she speaks of? Is she talking about rolls of fat perhaps, maybe dinner rolls or is she referring to movie roles and in that case have there been any other movies she has been in besides Crossroads? Fourth, "Unfortunately I didn't get the part". Yes, it is awfully difficult to land a part in a movie that you have conjured up in your imagination.

I think it should also be known that I am exceedingly bored at the moment as work is incredibly slow so I have a lot of time to read up on ridiculous things. Ridiculously entertaining things that is;) Well if Heather reads my blog perhaps she will appreciate it. I suspect you all will too but admiting it may be the problem...

Good Times

A big thank you to Adam and E for stepping up and hosting the 4th of July get together yesterday. The food was delicious and everyone had a good time, so thank you for getting us out of the heat and for entertaining us.

Good luck today at your show Adam, I can't wait to see all of your work and remember I have dibs on your artist statement!

Finally, the pool party at the Wilson residence on Saturday appears to still be on. I will probably get there late morning/early afternoon and you are all welcome at anytime and since there will be drinking, people are welcome to crash there so they don't have to drive home. Bring your own towels because I am not sure how many we have and since we will have access to a good grill, lets grill up some tri tip or kabobs or something like that. Oh yes and wear sunscreen so you dont eat up looking like a beefeater like me. Human skin was not meant to be as pink as mine is right now.

4th of July

With the 4th of July fast approaching and previous conversations suggesting we find a place with a pool and/or air conditioning, I can offer both. My parents are going to be in Shaver Tuesday thru Thursday and said it was cool if we wanted to hang out at their house for the 4th. My dad has a kick ass BBQ and we can hang out at the pool all day. It is a good place for a party and I would love to host so if nothing else has come up since we last talked about it, let me know if you think you would be interested.

Its not you, its me

I am not sure why but I have been in a grumpy all this week so if I have been bitchy or distracted or have been sighin a lot, its not you its me. I have been sooo bored too. It probably doesn't help that the apartment is in disarray and it is about 100 degress in there at all times so I have no motivation to do anything but lie in bed with a fan on me watching Sex in the City. Around dusk it is usually hotter in my apartment than it is outside but I can't open any windows because Sophia jumps out of them. I am also frustarted at work because I am not being challenged and there is no social interaction to distract me. Yeah, things could be a lot worse, and these are small things I know. I don't think you should ever be totally satiafied with your life though, thats when things get really stale and you stop trying new things and challenging yourself. I think thats exactly what I need, a new challenge...

I said time out!

I was browsing through the news headlines and after filtering through all of the Paris Hilton articles, I came upon this little gem that made me chuckle.

Back to Cali

Well after a whirlwind 10 days of a touring around Europe I am back and am happy to be home. I had a great time and I am so thankful for the opportunity to see other parts of the world. I will probably not write about the details because it would be easier to just talk about that when I see people. Also, I forgot my phone at a hotel in London (brilliant, I know). It has supposidly been mailed back to me but I havent receieved it yet. So, in the meantime I am borrowing my moms work cell phone so you arent going to be able to reach me on my cell. Anyone know how long it takes to mail something from Europe to reach Fresno?? I will text everyone my temporary number so you can get a hold of me (I know you have all been dying to talk to me right?). Ok then, back to work, will talk to everyone soon!

Europe here I come!

Although everyone already knows this, I will be taking a brief leave of absence so I can tour thru Europe with Kendall and a bunch of 15 year olds. We are leaving tomorrow to LA and we will take an overnight flight to London and arrive Tuesday morning. I don't think I have ever been confined anywhere for 13 hours so hopefully I don't get clausterphobic. I brought some tylenol pm with me if I can't handle it because I think getting a cocktail may be frowned upon. After London it is off to Paris, Florence, and Rome! Until a week from Wednesday, Ciao!

People of the week

Since I missed last week and I will be gone for two weeks, I have chosen two people of the week. These aren't individuals, but groups of peopole who are doing some very cool things for kids.

First, a group of teachers from San Diego wanted to improve the performance of their students who were strugling to meet standards. Their solution was to spend 25 minutes at the end of every school day to help students one-on-one. 25 minutes may not seem like a lot, but that adds up to 3 weeks of extra teaching time that they are not getting paid for. I have a great respect for teachers and I especially respect this group for putting their students in front of themselves and giving them the time they need to improve and it seems to be working as dramatic gains have been shown. What is unfortunate is that the educational system isn't able or is unwilling to provide more for these teachers and every teacher for that matter for all the hard work they put into their job and the difference that they make in the lives of their students and ultimately in society.

Second, the Make-A-Wish foundation has fulfilled the 150,000th dream for sick kids. Currently, the foundation grants one wish every 41 minutes, but is able to fulfill the dreams of only about half of the children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses every year. I also think this is a great organization that makes a difference in some very sick kids and their families.

Cheers to making a difference in the lives of kids.

I like the word fuck

I also want to work here.

sometimes I want to strangle my mom (longest post ever)

Family time has not gone well with the Wilson's lately. My sister is here in town and my parents threw her and my brother-in-law a wedding reception on Saturday. I was witness to all of the hard work and money they put into getting the house looking nice and making all of the arrangements and everything was set for a good event. That is until my dad got involved. Now my dad is usually pretty dependable so although my mom and I questioned some of his ideas in regard to him being the MC of the event, he would respond "Don't worry, it will all make sense and all come toether". So despite our doubts, we let him run with it because he was so excited about doing this for my sister and has never done anything crazy before, we felt we could trust him. That was our first mistake. I won't go into detail but basically the theme was talk a really long time if you are up and talking in front of everyone and if it doesn't make any sense then thats even better. It was literally one embarassing distaster after the next and the night ended when a vase of flowers fell over and short circuited the dj after the 3rd song. My dad could not have been any further was so far off the mark with all of his ideas, and it resulted in my sister being incredibly embarassed, my mom in tears and me in desparate need of a stiff drink and a smoke. I am really not exagerating either. So ever since then things in my family have been tense. Take this conversation I had with my mom today:

"Hey mom I ordered more paper plates yesterday because we ran out"

"We ran out? I thought there were some in the back"

"Oh, I didn't know you kept plates there I thought you kept them in the kitchen"

"Didn't you look?"

"I didn't think to look because the only thing in the back is cleaning supplies and I didnt think they would be kept there-"

"You should have asked me"

"You haven't been here in 4 days-"

"You could have called, I have a phone" (by the way this was said almost viciously)

"I wasn't going to call you about every little thing. It is not big deal we will eventually use all the plates" (had I called her about paper plates, I guarantee she would have bitched about me bothering her about little things when she was taking some time off)

"We don't need to spend a lot of money on supplies and have a bunch of extras that arent neccesary and you go and order-"

"Dude mom we are talking about paper plates, I don't think it even cost 5 bucks. You want me to pay you 5 bucks and take the plates home I will" (yeah sarcasm galore)

"Don't say that" (non verbals here were pricelss, I thought her head was going to explode and daggers literally came out of her eyes)

At this point I am mad because she is being unreasonable and lame for no reason and I can't even get that across to her because she is hell bent on getting pissed off at me. Pretty much a pattern with her, I get most of my moms wrath in the family although I am not really sure why.

"You are being ridiculous mom, this is paper plates we are talking about"

Then she storms away I eat my hot pocket, just about boiling over myself but knowing I can't say anything because of 1)the fact that we are in the office and 2)she is thinking so irrationally because of her emotions I am not going to get anywhere. About 5 minutes later she comes in and apologizes. The stress and disappointment from the weekend has begun to overwhelm her and she took it out on me, and the paper plates of course. This happens a lot and she always apologizes later which is cool, but man I really want to strangle her sometimes.

Rant Concluded. Oh, families:)

Help Wanted

About 2 years ago I aquired a digital camera from a friend of mine that is supposidly a pretty decent camera. The problem is I have been using point and shoot digital cameras for years and now I don't remember how all of the functions work anymore (i.e. adjusting the apperture, manual focusing etc.). I tried awhile back to read the manual and figure it out but I got frustrated and gave up. If anyone knows anything about cameras and would be wiling to take a look at it and help me out I would really appreciate it and reward you with beer or a cocktail to show my appreciation. Muchas Gracias!

Ahh the Chuckster

Ok for some reason I can't embed this but I thouht you all might be entertained by an ever so articulate and witty Chuck Liddell, well when he isn't falling asleep during the interview that is.

Busy week ahead!

This is going to be a rambling post, you have been warned.

So Thursday my sister and her new husband are coming to town so we can throw them a reception (they were married in Costa Rica in April). I get along really well with my sister so I am very excited to see her and I very much like her husband Chris too. They met on Match.com, but I like to say that I was the real reason they got together because she wouldn't have gone to Texas if it hadn't been for me. Texas may not have worked out so well for me, but it has worked out very well for my sister. That reminds me, I have to write a toast. Damnit.

So Thursday I am taking them to dinner, Friday I am having dinner with Kristens new in-laws and meeting them for the first time then I am going to join Kendall's b-day extravaganza, Saturday is the big reception, and Sunday it is a day trip to the cabin. I wonder how long it will take before we are all sick of each other. My mom and sister have similar personalities so they have a tendancy to butt heads, which usually leaves me in the middle to calm everyone down. I am definitely the peace keeper in the family and the one that everyone complains to. I put all of that communication training to good use in my personal life at least.

Ok this is starting to sound like a Dear diary post, time to stop.

Person of the Week

Well I thought about having Samantha Larson be my person of the week for being the youngest non-native to climb Mt. Everest at 18 years of age, but it has been all over the news lately and I wanted my post about someone a little lesser known.
Then this kid came along - Jamison Stone - who claims to have killed a 1,051 pound wild pig. If true this is certainly not a worthy of being a person of the week, unless the enormous wild pig was on a rampage and threating the lives of children (it wasn't), but I thought the picture was worth sharing. Young Jamison will no doubt grow up to be an overweight, sweaty, beer drinking southern stereotype so hopefully he is enjoying 5 seconds of fame. Oh yeah he also said he shot the huge animal eight times with a .50-caliber revolver and chased it for three hours through hilly woods before finishing it off with a point-blank shot. How pleasant that must have been for the pig.
So the title of Person of the Week goes to 14 year old Catlin Snaring for wining the National Geographic Bee. She is only the second girl to win this title and answered every single question she was asked correctly throughout the bee. The question she won the competition with was "What city, divided by a river of the same name, was the imperial capital of Vietnam?" -- And in case you were wondering, Hue is the answer.

My hiatus

So I have been on away from blogging for a short spell so allow me to catch everyone up on my goings on:

• Got my truck back with a newly replaced clutch and something fixed on my muffler and it was indeed a chunk out of my pocket. She drives pretty now though and I even took her to Red Carpet today (more on that later) to get her all shiny.
• Had tonsilitis last week and then had an allergic reaction to the amoxocilin that resulted in a lovely itchy rash on my back and stomach. Switched perscriptions and naturally the new perscritpion wasn't covered by my insurance yada yada I feel much better now.
• Back to Red Carpet. I rarely go to what I call the extaravagant car washes, but the truck was running like new so I thought it should be sparkling like new too. So when I get back in the truck and did the cursory once over, everything appeared good and clean so I tipped the guy a few bucks. As I am driving away I realize that my stereo is not playing the Muse cd that I had left playing but was instead playing the White Stripes. Strange, but I thought that perhaps while cleaning they had accidently hit a button and changed it to the radio. The radio was not playing however and when I ejected the cd, it was a burned cd I had made awhile back that I hadn't seen in months. I had moved all of my cd cases to the bed of my truck prior to it being washed as well so there were no cd's in my cab at the time of washing. I thought perhaps I was losing my mind (or maybe just smoking too much lately) and was not actually listening to Muse when I got out - but I know for a fact that I was, plus I certainly don't remember changing the cd to that particular one since I hadn't listened to it in a very long time so no my mind was indeed intact and functioning properly. As I was driving I was looking for my Muse cd, wondering if they had taken it or where it could possibly be. When I stopped I checked all of my cases, no Muse. I looked in my disc man, no Muse. At this point I am thinking it sure is strange that someone would steal a burned Muse cd, replace it with another one and hope I wouldn't notice?? So when I got back to work I looked around the cab of my truck and there it was, my Muse. It was under my seat so apparantly one of the Red Carpet employees (now a fan of the Muse perhaps) ejected Muse, found a cd that must have slide under my cd awhile back and switched them. It is all very strange. I also dont think they did that great of job inside the cab, too busy laughing at their prank but I would have been the crazy lady making a stink at the car wash had I gone back and complained. Yes I believe one of your employees switched my cds...
• I need to get working on my person of the week! Maybe I should change it to Person of the every 2 1/2 weeks or so. Hmm, doesnt really have a ring to it.

Monday, bleh

My poor little truck finally crapped out on me yesterday. Just last week I made the comment that it was funny that Potter's car broke down when it was brand new and my old, high mileage truck was still going strong so I guess I asked for it. On Monday afternoons my mom takes a friend of the family who has Downs Syndrome out for the afternoon to do things and yesterday they were going to get their nails done. Well something came up and my mom wasn't able to make it so she asked me if I could take her place. I of course took her up on it and when we got in my truck to leave the nail place I couldn't get it into gear. I tried forcing it, but to no avail, it was AAA to the rescue. I will find out today what the damage is, but I am sure it will be cringe worthy. He has been a good little truck to me since 1998 and has driven me cross country and back twice and this is the most major problem I have ever had with it. Perhaps it is time I face the fact that our relationship may be over and it is time that I move on.

the weekend

This weekend, Kendall and I ventured down to Los Angeles to help celebrate our good friend Melissa's graduation from USC pharmacy school, congrats to her.

(Melissa is the dork giving the thumbs up in the background)

When we arrived, her entire family was there as well as her fiance's family and all were blissfully drunk while Kendall and I were stone sober and crabby from the long week and the drive. So we quickly grabbed a glass of wine to counter the Debbie Downer-esque attitudes we were sporting. Soon, we were happy clams.

What made it a little awkward was that Melissa's fiance's brother is my ex-boyfriend and he was there with his new girlfriend whom I have never met. This is the first relationship he has been in since me, and I don't think she was all that thrilled to meet me (understandably). She was also apparantly pretty drunk so I really didn't get to talk to her much. They seemed happy though and a much better match then he and I were so cheers to them.

The next day we went to the beach in Santa Monica and set ourselves up for the day.

Kendall and I are "amazing" at this beach game as my excellent form while the ball sails past me in this picture shows. Kendall also has some skills she was showing off.

I also went for a barefoot run on the beach while I was there and my calves are still tight and sore from it, but I don't often get that opportunity so it was a happy time. Unfortunately I did see a dead seal that had washed up and there were seagulls eating it so the ambiance was kind of ruined after that.

Other beach activities were volleyball, flying a kite, and I actually got in the water for the first time in years. When I do go to the beach I usually don't get in the water because it is too cold but I polar beared it and got in and it felt very....refreshing (sorry, no pictures of that).

Then we all went to dinner at Bubba Gumps and had a lot of shrimp. Our waiter also quized us

in Forest Gump trivia, and we all got the question "Which leg did Lt. Dan lose in the war?" I answered the right leg. I am a smarty pants aren't I? Damn that waiter and his trickery.

Then we walked around the Pier for awhile and came back to Melissa's condo and hung out. Melissa's new puppy Lucy is the most adorable puppy I have ever seen and Melissa's sister little dog was there as well, but I wasn't a huge fan of her because she was a little yippy white dog with a bow in her hair (too much foo foo for me) .

And seeing as I seem to post a lot about old people, Melissa's 83 year old Grandma Helen was also there and she was a spitfire. She asked if any of us had tattoos and then proceeded to announce that she has always wanted to get a bumble bee tattoo on her shoulder. Go granny!

The trip concluded the next morning and the drive home was uneventful, although Kendall and I did see a big rig being towed and the front of the cab of the truck was facing traffic which was somewhat unerving. We (Kendall might have actually had the idea- I cant remember) then had the brilliant idea that this would be the perfect opportunity to scare the crap out of someone if they were sleeping in the car by pulling up very closely behind the truck cab, screaming at the top of your lungs and breaking until the person wakes up and sees this huge big rig right in front of them. We did a dry run where I pretended to be sleeping and I think you would probably crap your pants. Unfortunately it it isn't very often that you have that opprtunity so I can only hope the opportunity presents itself again at some point and that I am not the one sleeping.

I also had dinner with my parents for Moms Day at Million Elephant. If you havent tried their mango and sweet rice, you should definitely order that someday. Also finally watched Tao of Steve last night and it was pretty funny although I started dozing off towards the end so I think I missed some things.

Good weekend.

if you have some extra time...

Well there has been a furry of posting by me today, but I found this website that is kind of cool and I thought I would share, although I wouldn't be suprised if some of you have already heard of it. It is a project that challenges you to get out of your comfort zone and interact in different ways with the world (ie going around and taking pictures blindfolded). Take a look see.

hee hee

Was browsing thru some news stories and this headline caught my eye. The assosciated picture they use is also fantastic. This is journalism at its best.

Taste and Toast of Tower

Kendall and I decided to venture out to the Taste and Toast of Tower event last night, here are our stories:

One of the stangest places for wine tasting was the International Furniture Store (Yes, they have leather). They had two tasting stations set up and a long line snaked thru the store. The first taste was decent, however unmemorable cabernet (mabye?). As we were standing in line for the second taste however, our patience began to wear thin. The one man that was pouring was really going thru the pitch as thoroughly as he possibly could and the tasters seemed completely oblivious to the long line of tasters waiting for their turn, our impatience growing with each irritating second. A rather high pitched bell rang each time someone came or went from the store, which was particularly brutal when it got stuck and rang continously for several minutes (ok probably only 7 seconds or so but my patience was really low at this point. I just wanted some friggin wine!). A group of 4 tasted every wine selection and happily listened to the man pouring give the history, discuss the flavor and talk about all the other typical wine chatter for each bottle. As we sloooowly progrssed to the front we thought our saving grace would be the cheese and cracker platter we were approaching. As Kendall and I grab some cheese, I notice that something is amiss but am unable to put my finger on it. Then Kendall being the brilliant cheese connoisseur that she is, identifies the unnaturally orange substance as Kraft American cheese slices, cut into fours. Finally making it to the wine, we took a quick swig and walked away. This is how it is done people. You are at an International Furniture store that has a life size ceramic dalmation dog and is serving Kraft American cheese slices, this is clearly not Napa Valley, keep it movin!

Besides the Kraft American cheese fiasco, most of the other restaraunts offered some great food. Typhoon had pad thai (or pad tay which is apparantly from Tayland - we actually overheard someone pronounce it pad tay) and some apple peanut thing, a potato chip with a spicy sauce and a tea. I believe this is the best food we had all night although Veni's also had a nice little spicy pulled pork taco that was also pretty good.

Besides the food and the wine it was also fun running into people; John Mayer- So are you gay because you were wearing a pink shirt and talked sort of fem (Yes Adam, I took away some man points for the pink shirt)-just wondering; Wally-you are an anomaly with your unibrow and lack of those typical good looks but you are still most adorable and and sigh inducing; boy wonder, hard to get a word in with you but I hope you enjoyed your shot of patron you crazy animal.

We got a bit of a late start so several places ran out of wine (boo hiss) but it was an enjoyable and entertaining time. And cheers to the Tower Theater ball finally being lit up:)

Person of the Week (5 days late)

I have been busy at work and forgetful and unwilling to get online at home lately so I missed my person of the week last Friday. This one comes to me via Miss Kendall Kelly. It involves an old lady, a marathon runner, and a criminal getting busted. A week after running the Boston marathon at the ripe old age of 70 Judy Brenner chased down and caught 18 year old Curtis Smith who had stolen whiskey from the liquor store where she works. Curtis definitely lost a lot of man points in that incident! Ouch.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13216147/detail.html

Bravo Judy!

(By the way, not all my persons of the week will be old or runners. It has just worked out that way so far)