American Gladiators: Awesomely Bad or just Bad?

Last night was the new season premiere of American Gladiators and it was a two hour event of, well, over the top cheesy competition. Now I know that the show is never going to be a quality show. I would compare it to a reality show like "Rock of Love", where you know what to expect, you sometimes wonder why you are watching such crap, but you cant look away. The only difference is that after watching "Rock of Love" you feel an urgent need to take a shower, but I digress.They advertised that they had new events, new Gladiators and a new Eliminator. I wasn't very impressed with any of the new events, but they did make the rock wall enormous.

The two winners from last season also debuted. "Jet" is the female winner and damn she got really cut over the break, her abs are amazing. The male winner "Rocket" also debuted but he is such a small guy compared to the other Gladiators that they will probably only use him for the rock wall. By far the most uneccesarily dramatic debut of a Gladiator was "Phoenix". She appeared in shilloeute and she was wearing these big angel-like wings. Then these two explosions occured and produced big balls of fire and Phoenix flew through the air and landed in front of the flames, ready to kick some ass. I died laughing, it was so ridiculous.

Also funny was one of the contestants was doing Assault, which is the game where you try to shoot the Gladiator while being shot at, and the girl picked up the shoulder rocket and shot it backwards. She had a hard time at the eliminator too, falling on her head twice.

One thing that really annoys me about the show is it appears being physically fit is not nearly as important as having a good story. Every contestants has had some sort of obstacle they had to overcome to be there. Thats nice and all but they dont neccesarily put the best athletes in which makes it less competitive. For example they had on a guy last night that had one leg amputated from above the knee. He did well in some events but watching him try to finish the eliminator was just painful. He was obviously struggling and started falling and staggering a lot and at the end they had to stop the treadmill ramp for him to get up it. He finished and everyone was cheering for him but I felt bad for his competition. That guy won but he beat a guy with one leg, not much to brag about and they cheered more for the one legged guy then they did him.

Also either every contestant on the show failed speech class or the writers are horrible, but they should eliminate all talking and interviews from the show. The hosts are bad and the contestants say the most idiotic and lame things that I feel embarassed for them.

Nick and I discussed this via text message last night but it appears you have to be stoned and or drunk to be able to watch this show. I would add that it is also better if you are stoned or drunk with other people so you have someone to make fun of it with. Having said that I will still watch it and I still think it would be kinda cool to be on the show, I just need to put on 30 pounds of muscle and experience some sort of tragedy before I would have a chance to be on it.

Moms and Bachelorettes

Just a reminder to not forget that Sunday is Mother's Day. (My Mom rarely takes pictures but I got her drunk enough to take this one so I decided to post this rare event) I will be taking my mom shopping and then lunch and a movie tomorrow which will be nice since at work we don't get much quality time and I did hang up on her this week, which I feel kind of bad about. So make sure you give some accolades to your mama and if you are a baby mama yourself (sara and soon to be Annie) Happy Mother's Day to you as well.

Also this weekend I have a second bachelorette party of Heathers to go to (and we arent even close friends!). I will probably be checking out of that early because I went to the first one when I didnt want to go which was in Shaver and it was very lame with everyone asleep and in bed at 10 pm (at a bachelorette party, shesh!). I have only myself to blame for this though. The reason she is having another one was because she went to the one Kendall and I threw for Melissa and had a lot of fun and told me thats what she had wanted her bachelorette party to be like. So this is attempt #2 at fun. Honestly I dont blame her though because her first one did really kind of suck, which wasn't her fault, and to follow that up with the awesome and amazing party Kendall and I threw was just like salt in the wound. She actually told me that exact thing, she was drunk at the time though so she might have been being dramatic.

So those are my plans for the weekend, throw in some yoga and lifting and it will be Monday before I know it. And speaking of Monday, American Gladiators starts up again on Monday, woo hoo. There are new events and everything!

Happy Friday!

Postcards From Yo Mama

Hilarious website, especially after the phone call I had with my mom the other day that led me to hanging up on her because she couldn't find "gmail" on the google website. I needed her to give me the tracking number in an email while I was driving so I told her to go to Google and click on gmail. She couldn't figure it out. I was so frustrated after several minutes of me saying "Mom it is right there it says gmail, it's on the top left you just need to click it" at increasingly frustrated tone I told her "forget it I will just come back and do it myself" and hung up. How can you not figure that out??

So this website aside from having a great title has posts from people who submit a correspondence that they have had with their moms where their are technologically challenged or have some ridiculous if not well meaning advice. You know the embarassing, eye rolling stuff that moms do.

Take a look-see, I promise you'll chuckle.

Music

I have been listening to a lot of The Black Keys lately. I really like the raw blusey rock sound that they have. When I was a kid I listened to a lot of classic rock like Creedence and the Stones and I am always drawn to that sound of music. So here is a video for you to take a look and a listen to in your free time.



Also Fraud is going to be playing at Toykyo on Saturday May 17th with Docabilly. You all know my feelings about Toykyo but I am planning on going to that show with my big pregnant friend Annie (her husband is the lead singer for Fraud). As long as we get there early enough to get a seat I should be good.

Oh and the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is in SF on August 22nd through the 24th and is boasting a pretty solid line up this year featuring the likes of: Radiohead, Beck, Tom Petty, Jack Johnson, Manu Chao, Ben Harper, Widespread Panic, Andrew Bird and a ton more. I would like to go to this as well.

That is all.

Cinco de Drinko Lived Up To Its Name

A quick recap of Saturdays fiesta was requested so here it goes:

Highlights: The mustaches (they were a much bigger hit than I expected!), Heather dancing on a table, Dennis decapitating Paco the Pinata, Ed telling a story about getting hit "harre" at a counter in "bay ers feel" (you really had to be there but it was hilarious-ask Woody), yummy salsa, I think there was a little Mario Kart but it is a vague memory for me, there were only 3 beers left.

Lowlights: Food was a bit of a problem - my kitchen is just too damn small and I didnt have enough room for everything, someone enjoying the food and alcohol so much that they decided they wanted to taste it again coming back up, Ed getting pink chunky fluid on my bathrobe.

Overall I know I had a pretty good time and hopefully everyone else did as well. To be honest it didnt go exactly as I was thinking it would, but I still had a lot of fun. My thoughts on Sunday morning at about 3 AM was "I will never do this again" but after getting some sleep I think this will become an annual event, with some minor changes:

-Less food, sorry that you all brought stuff but there ended up being too much food and people seemed like they would rather drink anyway so it wasn't worth the effort or expense. Next time it wil be limited to frozen things that can be put in the oven.

-I think there needs to be a requirement to go out later in the night. I understood that people didnt want to because they would be spending money and at my place they werent, but I think this just encourages people to drink a bit too excessively. Also I like to be able to go home and go to sleep when I want to (selfish but true).

Everything else will be the same except I will buy more mustaches. I am anxiously waiting for the Art Hop exhibit of Adam with the mustache placed on various locations on his face. I also look forward to Katie getting a patent for texturized tattoos. What a creative group we are, especially when there is tequila!

If anyone has pictures please post or send. I know Kendall had her camera but we may not see them for a few months so if anyone else was taking pics, please let me know.

A Thursday Night in Tower

Last night I met up with Adam and Mike at Ed's Art Hop Show. The building the show was in Severence which is a beautifully restored old building where they have dance/music classess in. I have been walking by it for quite sometime and it was nice to go in and see it from the inside.

Eds work was up in the hallway and I would imagine a lot of people will have a chance to see it since his work will stay up for a little while and there is a lot of traffic in that building. Maybe something will come of it, but at the very least people who might not otherwise get a chance to see it will have that opportunity which is very cool. One piece that was new to me was the large one at the end of the hall and I can't remember the title but it had something to do with the war. I really liked that one because the wood was imperfect and the reds were really beautiful.

After the show the boys and I went to Mings for some dinner. I had some chow mien and a crap load of celery but I was starving so it hit the spot. While we were there Ed asked me if I had heard from Monica about the tattoo. I told him that I hadn't and don't really know whats going on but I haven't been proactive about finding out what the deal was since she told me she would call me when it was done. Maybe a minute and a half after that conversation my phone ran and I got a voicemail from Monica saying that my drawing was finally done and I could come in and see it whenever I was able to. Since Sara is getting her ink done with Monica on Sunday, I will stop by and see it then while I watch sara get a needle stuck in her. So I am happy now, although I am a little low on the cash flow at the moment so I may have to put it off for a little bit. I really just want to see what she came up so I can see what it will look like.

With that and the Cinco de Mayo party, I think I am going to have a good weekend:)

A Pain in My Freakin Neck

For the past couple of months every few weeks I get what a kink in my neck. More specifically the pain is in my lower neck near my shoulder blade. Movement of the neck however is when I feel the pain so I refer to it as a pain in the neck. It feels like a kink you get in your neck when you sleep on it wrong, so that is just what I thought it was.

This morning I woke up feeling fine but while I was walking into the office all of the sudden it sort of seized up and I felt a sharp pain when I even slightly moved my neck. It loosened up a bit but if I try to put my head all of the way back or all of the way down, I can feel the pain shooting down my shoulder blade and and lower neck. Since I had been awake for about an hour at that point I am suspicious if it had anything to do with the way that I slept.

Also it is in the same exact spot every time it happens and if it was from sleeping wrong I would think it wouldnt be in the same exact location. The pain will gradually decrease but it will hurt for a good 5-7 days if not more which makes me think maybe I strained a ligament or something and if thats the case what am I doing to cause this? I have had my mom rub the area and she can feel knots and says it is really tight so I have her really dig into it as hard as she can and it hurts so good but only while she is doing it. Afterwards it gets really sore like a bruise and continues to hurt like a strain at the same time.

Basically I dont know what the cause is and I dont know how to treat it. Any thoughts and or suggestions would be appreciated. I have thought of going to get a massage or even a chiropractor (I know people have some opinons about this) but so far I have just been putting up with it until it goes away and I need to be more proactive.

More on Cinco de Drinko

Yesterday I purchased a pinata much like this one. He is a pink, yellow and blue burro that I have named Paco. I have to tried to not get too attached to him though since inevitably we will be hanging him from a tree and beating him with a stick until his insides spill out. No one ever believes a pinata.

As I was doing a little research about the origins of the pinata there was something about Aztecs and clay pots filled with water or something, I am not really sure because I got bored until I found the song you are supposed to sing while hitting a pinata:

Dale, dale, dale,
No pierdas el tiro
Porque si lo pierdes
pierdes el camino.
Dale, dale, dale
Dale y no le dio
Quítenle la venda
¡Porque sigo yo!
¡Se Acabó!
¡Sigo yo!

which translates as:

Hit it, hit it, hit it (or Go, go, go)
Don't lose your aim
Because if you lose it (your aim)
You will lose the path.
Hit it, hit it, hit it (or Go, go, go)
Hit it, He didn't hit it
Take away his blindfold
Because it's now my turn!
I'm next!

Quite a literal song isn't it?

I also found the worlds biggest pinata which I frankly didn't understand.


You would have to hit it with a tree in order to get it to break open and unless Paul Bunyon is around that just isn't going to happen. This pinata may be big but is it an actual pinata if it doesn't fulfill its pinata destiny of getting strung up and repeatidly hit? I think not. Nice try Six Flags but I don't buy it.

On a more practical note, I think we may be able to string the Paco up on a high branch in the tree just east of my apartment but I am going to need a fairly long rope which I don't have. Any of you boys have ropes laying around we could use?

Do You Suffer From Word Rage?

I have on several occasions had conversations with people about words that are irritating and even cringe worthy to hear. It has always been an interesting topic to me because I wonder what is it about a word that can be so damn annoying. Is it what the word means or connotes? Is it simply the arrangement of the letters that make an unappealing sound when spoken? A negative association perhaps?

The word "moist" seems to come up most frequently in these discussions as being rage inducing. "Moist" definitely has a dirty or sexual connotation to it that might gross some people out but "wet" can mean the same thing but doesn't get the same negative reaction. The other word I hear frequently is "suckle". I don't like this word either but "breast feeding" doesn't bother me. I also had a friend who hates the word "Chico" with a passion but can't explain why. If I ask her she just repeats the word in a sour voice a few times and will say "ugh it's just annoying".

So I bring this up because I am curious if there are any words that cause word rage in any of you and if you have any thoughts on why this happens.

Have a moist day my sucklings!

For Adam...

...and his deeply passionate, unyielding love for belts cinched around the waists of the ladies. Please to enjoy.

Belts: New Ways to Cinch the Look by INSTYLE magazine.

I Have No Patience

At least when it comes to certain things and people. Tennesse at work can irritate me so very much and it is sometimes hard to hide that annoyance. What it probably boils down to is just a personality conflict, some aspects of his personality just clash with mine and he isn't a bad person but I kind of want to strangle him sometimes.

Case in point, there is a project we started 3 weeks ago and for this particular project my mom is handling the submission of the submittals and I am doing everything else. Although this is unusual to break it out this way, this is the 4th week of doing it. I on at least 10 occasions since we started doing the project have had conversations with him about my mom only doing the submittal submissions. Last week alone there were 4 conversations we had about it, the last one coming on Friday when he gave my mom an RFD that should have come to me. So I wrote him a note that said what I was responsible for and what my mom was responsible for so he could reference it since apparantly it is too damn hard for him to remember and in addition we also had another verbal conversation about it. So I come in today and there is an RFD in my moms inbox. I cannot begin to tell you how annoying this is, I just dont get it, really how hard is that to remember? It has been 4 weeks effing figure it out already. Does this effect my job that much, no but it irritates me that you can keep making the same mistake over and over again.

Along with this he has a very meek personailty and has no ability to be direct. It takes him forever to get down to what he needs or wants from me at work, he circles around the airport but does not take it in for a landing. I wish I could record a conversation with him so you could fully appreciate this. What would take my dad 2 sentences to say will take him a good 3 minutes to spit out and will usually end with me saying something like "so you want me to call him and tell him to pick up the submittals?" and him nodding yes.

I just want to say fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! I also realize that I probably have the ability to not let this annoy me so much but right now I am getting some perverse pleasure out of bitching.

It's Official, My Truck is Cursed

I drove my crappy S10 for 10 years. In that amount of time I wasn't in any accidents, and I didnt have any dings or scrapes. I have had the Silverado for only a few months and already it has been hit at least twice. I woke up this lovely morning to find a large black scrape on the drivers side door. The scrape is probably 2-3 feet long and it may buff off but it isn't coming off my any scrubbing I can do. At least the paint wasn't scrapped but c'mon, people stop effing hitting me!

UPDATE: I have found that with gasoline and a lot of elbow grease the offending mark is coming off. I scrubbed for about 10 minutes and took off maybe 5 inches of it though so it is a slow process and my arm is tired. I had to stop when the fumes from the gas started making me light headed. I now stink of gasoline and I will probably have to take two more times actrually get it done but at least it is coming off.

Austin Air Sex (yes Air Sex) Championship

I was looking at a link my sister sent me about a show that she was going to go to at the Alamo Draft House and as I was browsing through the other shows I came upon this gem, The Austin Air Sex Championships. It is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of pretending they are playing a guitar a la Air Guitar, they'll be pretending to make love with a partner that isn't there.

Here are the rules:

Time: Contestants have a maximum of 2 minutes to perform an air sex routine. This can include all phases of an air sex encounter: meeting, seduction, foreplay and intercourse, or you can simply cut to the chase.

Music: Competitors must perform to music, you can either bring a CD of your performance track with you, or you can choose from our selection of air sex music. You may also include an audio prelude to your performance, maximum of 30 seconds.

Other Rules: Unlike air guitar, there are not many other rules. Props are allowed, teams are allowed, talking is allowed. The only important rule is that all sexual climaxes must be simulated, not real.

Contestants are judged on believability, sexability, and overall entertainment value.

You know this would be incredily funny and uncomfortable to watch.

American Gladiators Is Coming Back

Yes indeed American Gladiators was not just a filler while the writers were on strike but will make a triumphant return on May 12th. The female contestants might want to be careful with the newest female gladiator though. Erin Toughill, allegedly beat husband Clark Bevans on their honeymoon and has filled a restraining order against her. Bevans claims Toughill went "insane" with jealously, and accused him of being "a pedophile, sociopath and homosexual." Aside from allegedly beating him on several occasions, Bevans claims Toughill smashed the windshield of his RV. He also says Toughill "bodychecked, hockey style" a trainer at Gold's Gym he had dated years before. Kind of makes Helga look a lot less intimidating (still wouldnt want to run into her in a dark alley though).

Also did anyone catch that Kobe Bryant scored 49 points and 10 assists last night against the Nuggets? Damn that guy is good. I also heard he did it all with a tray of nachos stuck to his foot.

Speaking of the Lakers,there is a Lakers versus Clippers exhibition game at the Save Mart Center On October 9th. I have never seen a pro basketball and this may be the closest I ever get so I think we should go, well those of us who are still around that is. Tickets range from $12 to $250. Dont think I will be going for the $250 seats unless I find me a sugar daddy but I can at least afford the $12.

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

Cinco de Mayo is coming! Cinco de Mayo is coming!

In case you didnt know, the holiday of Cinco De Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. Not being of Mexican ancestory I don't have a strong tie (or any tie at all for that matter) to the original meaning of the holiday but I like the celebrate the culture of Mexico. They after all are our closest foreign neighbors and they make some damn good food.

I want to have a Cinco de Mayo celebration on the Saturday before the 5th, which would be the 3rd of May. You cant take tequila shots on a Monday night and expect to go to work in the morning, it just isnt going to happen so Saturday works better. I want to make dinner and have drinks at my place, maybe a pinata, and and then we can wander around to our usual locations and continue the celebrating.

Before I send out an evite though, will people be around and interested?

Restaraunt Review - Agave Grill

Susan from work had her 60th birthday over the weekend so we went to Agave Grill on the corner of Shaw and Minnewawa today for lunch to celebrate. This location has had many different restaraunts take up shop there in the past, it was a couple of different chinese food places and way back it used to be a steakhouse. Unfortunately it doesnt seem like restaraunts have much luck at that location.

When we walked in the first thing I noticed was that it was very spacious and very clean. You could tell that it had just been rennovated and there were some cool decorative mexican touches but it also had a modern feel to it, especially in the bar which had a very nice full bar and 3 HD flat screen tvs, I could see myself hanging out there. There were also a couple of murals that were painted on wood that were beautiful and the owner told me that it was done by a local artist.

We were seated in a large dining room but it was pretty empty. The salsa they served with the chips was very good and they also served refried beans with the chips. The menu was pretty extensive and had some more adventorous items that I was tempted to try but was afraid of how my stomach would react. The Pina de Mariscos appetizer is a half a pineapple with shrimp, scallops, octopus, green olives, and pineapple covered with a layer of melted jack cheese. They also had a large seafood menu that included sea bass, octopus, crayfish and abalone.

I went with my standard mexican food choice of chicken fajitas. Fajitas are hard to screw up but when you find a place with a good marinade, they can be really good. They came out sizzling with fresh homemade corn tortillas that were very soft, a side of rice and beans, guacamole and a small salad with a refreshing cucumber dressing. The veggies consited of your standard green peppers, tomoato and onion. The marinade they used was excellent and had a lot of flavor. Usually chicken can be bland in fajitas and also greasy but these were neither. The guacamole was also fresh and cooled down the sizzling fajitas nicely. I very much enjoyed what I ate.

My dad got the Tacos Puntas Agave which are tacos made of charbroiled beef, crispy bacon, bell pepper and melted cheese and although they could have been filled a little more, the flavor was good according to him. Other people in our party ordered nachos (which by the way are huge) with pork,a carne asada burrito and chile verde. Everyone seemed to enjoy what they ordered and the service was fast and friendly. We also ordered flan for dessert but I didnt have any because the texture of flan grosses me out but it was presented very nicely with a chocolate and carmel sauce and Susan has yet to stop talking about how good it was.

On my way out I chatted with the owner and picked up a flier on their happy hour which is from 4-7 Monday-Thursday and from 3-6 on Friday. The owner showed me the drink specials and they dont look bad. Margarita Mondays have a variety of margaritas for 5.50, 16 0z draft beers for 2 bucks on Tuesdays, Well drinks are 5.50 on Wednesdays which is also ladies night, shots of tequilla are only 2 bucks on Thursdays and all happy hours include 2 bucks carne asada tacos.

I reccomend checking this place out. They have good mexican food with a bit of a modern influence and the service could not have been better. The atmosphere is nice, not overly done but nice enough to hang with the north Fresno restaraunts. The prices are pretty reasonable and range from a 6 dollar tortilla soup to 19 dollars for the Filete Relleno. Most dishes average about 10-12 bucks though. Since restaraunts notoriously fail at this location I wanted to get the word out because its a great place and I hope it does well. I would happily return.

The Life of Kasey

Kendall and I often talk about the fact that we could write a really funny book about all of our bizzare and ridiculous experiences we have had with boys over the years. Yesterday I had an experience that could definitely be a part of that book.

I was at the gym and when I am there I always have my ipod on because I really hate working out without music and it can keep people from talking to me. However that didnt deter Harold from chatting it up with me yesterday. Harold is an older man, probably around 60 and as I was stretching he started talking about how I was in good shape which quickly turned into a "I have this friend who I play basketball with who has a crush on you". He then continues to inform me that this guy is about 20 years old, very shy and he thinks he is a little slow or mentally retarded (his words exactly). At this point I am not sure where he is going with all of this but I am not comfortable where this seems to be going. He keeps talking and I am not able to get a word in whatsoever.Eventually he gets to his point, which apparantly was asking me if I could be nice to him to give him a little extra confidence.

I had no idea how to respond to this. There were other people around who could hear this conversation so I didnt want to be rude but I also really didnt want to have to talk to this guy because it will be awkward as hell and I dont want him to think that I like him. I appreciate that he is just trying to help out his friend but it puts me in an awkward situation. I go to the gym 6 days a week and I know the guy he is talking about and he is there probably just as much and at the same time as me so it isnt like I will be able to avoid him ever. I tried to tell Harold that I was seeing someone but he made a joke about how it doesnt matter since I am not married and then suggested that I just pay him some compliments but let him know I have a boyfriend. WTF?

The conversation ended with him telling me, not asking me, that he would introduce us sometime and he left. Effing fantastic. Lets take the one place I like to go to get away from all the bullshit and heap it in. I dont think I will be able to avoid this at all so I am sure I will have an update of the awkward interaction to entertain you all with. *Sigh*

Quick Weekend Recap

The big wedding extravaganza in Pasadena this weekend as my very good friend Melissa married her fiance Dan. I am usually not a big wedding person but I had a really good time at this one, I pretty much only drank champagne for 3 days though so maybe that had something to do with it. In any case Melissa looked stunning, the ceremony was in a beautiful garden setting and everyone had fun. Here are some pictures (by the way I uploaded them in reverse order and didnt feel like changing it so it starts with the bouquet toss):

Bouquet toss that I missed because I went upstairs to get my purse at the wrong time. Kendall looks aggressive but she lost out to the girl in the blue dress.



Kendall and her mom, my mom and I at the reception. Our moms were the second and third people on the dance floor (they apparantly enjoyed cocktail hour).



The happy couple Melissa and Dan right after getting married.



You cant see the setting very well but it was in a really pretty garden with lots of flowers. This is Kendall and I And Melissas sister in law.



Kendall and I posing in our dresses at the hotel.



After the rehersal dinner we hung out in the lobby at the hotel (more drinking).



Melissa and I at the rehersal dinner.

I dont have any good or juicy stories to share, but apparantly there was some drama with my exboyfriend, his girlfriend and I that I wasnt aware of until my friend Allison took an elevator ride up with a couple who were talking about the drama with Chris's ex girlfriend. I thought everything was fine though so who knows.

All in all it was a good weekend and the wedding season has now officially begun, oh yeah.

Really?

Fashion above all else is subjective. We all have our own ideas of what looks good and what we find to be attractive, but every once in awhile I will come across something that baffles me. Steve Madden is one of my favorite shoe designers. I have several pairs of his shoes and frequent the website to see new the new styles that come out. Ok, actually I am on their mailing list and I saw an email from the company with the subject "Cutting Edge Peep Toes". I love me a peep toe so I was looking forward to seeing the new "cutting edge" styles and was disappointed to say the least to find these:






What the hell is that? It looks like the freakish offspring of roller blades and legos. Cutting Edge, really? Who wears these and what do you wear them with?

The description for the last pair reads like this: Get ready to cause a fashion stir with every step you take in these super chic booties. Wear them with a sweet summer dress or a pair of super skinny jeans for a fierce fashion statement.

A sweet summer dress? I don't get it. Steve Madden, these need some work.

My Better is Better

Nike premiered this new commercial for their SPARQ (speed, agility, reaction & quickness) training line during the NCAA basketball tournament. The first time I saw it I was at the gym so I couldn't hear the song, but even without it I love this commercial. The song by the way is "List of Demands" by Saul Williams in case you were wondering.
Nike has always had pretty strong and memorable marketing campaigns. They have done a lot of campaigns with professional athletes but it is the commercials where they focus more on normal people as athletes that I like the best and I feel are most effective. It is a lot easier to relate to the weekend warrior than it is the professional athlete who gets paid millions of dollars to stay in good shape. This ad makes me want to go work out so I can fulfill all of my amateur athletic potentional (seriously, I really do, I am lame). The other commercial I like right now is the mother riding her road bike and her family is following her as she rides. I actually am not sure what the commercial is for (the car maybe??) but I like that they use a woman and a mother as the athlete and role model of the commercial. Bravo.

Weekend Recap & Jaywalking

It was the first really warm weekend and I took advantage of that by going to the Grizzlies game on Friday and playing some golf with Nick and Potter yesterday afternoon. Ed posted a nice recap of the Grizzlies game on his blog so I will not repeat any of that except to say "Hey remember when Kobe Bryant jacked your nachos?". Priceless.

I hadn't swung a golf club since last fall which was painfully obvious yesterday at Hanks Swanks (whatever that place is called). The first tee off involved about 8 or 9 whiffs before I shanked it off to the right. The only real golf highlight for me was one drive that hit the flag and using Nicks Cobra that made an oh so pretty sound when you hit it. It was a good time and I definitely think we should do that more often. The night concluded with Nick and Adam both falling asleep on my couch watching MXC (awww). It was a busy weekend and everyone was a bit tuckered.

We also discussed the origins of the "jaywalking" this weekend and I did a little research and came up with this explanation:

"The complete Oxford English Dictionary traces the word jaywalker back to 1917 and labels it 'originally US'. There is a cross-reference to the word jay, which has a number of slang senses. The relevant one is 'a stupid or dull person, a simpleton. Also (as adjective) dull, unsophisticated; inferior, poor'. This is labelled 'US colloquial', and there is evidence of use from 1900. So persons who stupidly ignored traffic regulations were given (in Boston, it seems) this compact name.

So now we know, and knowing is half the battle.

Blah, Blah, Blah

A Couple of things:

1. I should get my replacement phone today, however since they werent able to tell me if it would be one or two days (meaning Friday or Saturday) I had them deliver it to my apartment and not at work in case it came on Saturday. Naturally fedex tracking says it should arrive today before 3 which means I will not be there to sign for it and I doubt they will leave it without a signature. Therefore I probably wont get it until tomorrow. In the meantime you can get ahold of me using my old work phone. Let me know if you need that number. Also, my SIM card was damaged so I am going to need to get everyones numbers, again.

2. I will be buying a new ipod today. Thats a nice chunk of money I did not need to be spending.

3. Anyone else see the weather report for the weekend? We are making our way up to the 90s, woo hoo!

4. The remnants of the cold/flu/whatever the hell it was that kicked my ass all week is still lingering annoyingly. My nose is drying out so it feels like when you jump in a pool and forget to plug your nose and the water goes up it, all of the time. Everything tastes funky, I couldnt even enjoy peanut m&Ms because they didnt taste right. I haven't had a full nights sleep since Monday night and it is starting to make me crabby. Ok I will stop moaning now.

Porn: It's Not Just For The Sighted Anymore!

Have you ever felt bad that the blind population can't enjoy watching porn like everyone else? Yeah, neither did I, nor was it something that crossed my mind until I heard about Porn For the Blind. Yes indeed you can hear narrated porn clips, not just audio files of porn but someone describing what is going on (in a very monotone voice). Even better is that these are not professionals narrating but the website actually requests people record their own narrations to post on the website. You too could do something good for the blind community and narrate a porn clip for them to enjoy.
Seriously though if porn doesnt offend your senstivie nature, take a listen it is hilarious.

When Zombies Attack

Having a little more energy today I cleaned and did some laundry and got my bridesmaid dress altered and after all of that I needed a nap. I flipped the tv on and put on Dawn of the Dead which I had never seen before (for those who dont know or dont remember its the quintessencial zombie movie).
I really like scary movies and dont get freaked out or have nightmeres but I think the drugs may have been in overdrive because I had a horrible dream, not quite as disturbing as Adam having bored sex with me while Ed watched and blogged about it though.

I dreamt I was walking to Landmark and stopped at the cigar shop across the street to buy congratulations cigars because Brian knocked up some girl and was going to be a dad (I know, that alone makes it a blog worthy dream). While I was in there this zombie guy came in and everyone ran in the back so I followed and the guy in front of me slammed and locked the door so I was stuck in the store with the zombie guy. I was looking around frantically for a way out and when I found an open door I went through it and I was in roller town, except everyone skating was a zombie (it was very Michael Jackson Thrillerish).

I tried to blend in and act dead but they eventually figured it out and when I went through another exit it opened into Landmark and I ran in but it was empty and when I looked outside, all of the dice riff raff were outside playing dice and I tried to get outside but it was locked. I started pounding on the window and the riff raff looked up and Ed asked me to get bar snacks. I am yelling at them that I am being chased by zombies and to open the door but Ed insisted I get bar snacks before he let me out and everyone laughed. Thats about the time I woke up.

Odd to say the least but thanks for the help guys. I will haunt you all if you ever let me die of a zombie attack because I didnt have bar snacks, believe that.

Back Among The Living

After having my ass kicked by the worst cold I have had in awhile, I think I am finally on the road to recovery. I havent eaten much in the past three days nor have been sleeping more than an hour or two at a time but my symptoms are definitely subsiding so now I just need to get a good nights sleep and eat so I can get some energy and I should be back to normal.

I still do not have a working phone though. I couldnt bring myself to drive all of the way to work so I could use a phone to call about getting my phone replaced. I usually skip on insurance and extras like that when I purchase things but thank god I got insurance on my phone. I will have a replacement by Saturday at the earliest so dont forget about me when you are going out this weekend! I want to go too so someone send me an email or stop by and let me know whats going on pretty please. I cant stand to be cooped up in this apartment much longer. I will also need to replace my ipod which is pissing me off. Moral of the story, dont put water bottles in your purse.

Bad Run of Luck

So yesterday and today havent been so great. Yesterday a water bottle spilled in my purse and soaked both my phone and my ipod. Both are now permanately out of commission. Also my grandma went to the hospital yesterday because she was having chest pain. As of last night there was no news, but it sounds like it could have been a heart attack.

So today I woke up with a really bad cough and didnt go into work. I went to get my phone replaced and they told me that since I have insurance I had to call and have them mail it to me, which will take two days. Well I didnt realize it until I got home but I cant call because my phone doesnt work. So I am at home without a phone, I dont know whats going on with my grandma and I am working on hacking up a lung.

Anyway if anyone needs to get ahold of me, online is going to be the only option for a few days at least.

Final Game

The Jayhawks will be taking on Memphis tonight at 7:21 PM for the finals of the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament. Adam has offered up his place to watch the game so I will leave it ho him to set the time of when he wants people over. Also
do we want to order pizza or something or just eat on our own beforehand and bring drinks and snacks?
Also I need everyones 10 dollars so I can pay our winner Annie so if you havent already paid (or made a partial payment) please do that soon.

UPDATE: I forgot the game was in San Antonio so it is actually a 6:20 start time.

Mmmm Blissful Sleep

So I know that I missed a good time last night and some great bands but I was just entirely too tired. I had looked forward to going to sleep the whole day and I even skipped the gym because I was too tired, and thats some serious business for me.

It is my own stupid fault though, I stopped taking my iron supplements because I just got lazy and it caught up to me with a vengence this week. I just do not get enough iron in my diet so I need to get used to the fact that if I continue to exercise as hard as I do, then I need to always take my supplements. So I started popping them again and had red meat two nights in a row for dinner and got a lot of really good uninterupted sleep last night and woke up feeling great, better than I have in a long time. So sorry I missed out, but I really needed to stay home.

Only one more day to the bachellorette party extravaganza! I have to say I am pretty proud of the way Kendall and I have pulled this together. Every detail is planned out including labels I made for the water bottles and a going out mix that Kendall put together that we are going to send home with every girl. If I had enough patience to deal with Bridezillas and/or snotty women I could see myself planning parties like this for a living, it is a lot of fun and I like being creative. Lets be honest though, keeping my mouth shut when some crazy, demanding, hard to please person is yelling at me for not having the right shade of purple would probably be too big of a challenge for me.

Ok thats it. Party on.

Ha!

I just thought about Adam walking around in high heels and socks at Landmark last night. Then I thought about the random group of guys walking around in dresses looking for money because they lost some bet that they said had to do with the March Madness Brackets but I have my suspicions. And now I am thinking about the ever so painfully hilarious ass slapping session at the end of the night. Good times in Tower as always:)

Ed, where are the pictures?

Tattoo Update

When I got back to my truck after the gym yesterday I had a voicemail from Monica. She said that she had been sick and just got back to work last week so she hadnt even started it yet but was planning to in the next few days and she would give me a call when it was done. Although I still think she should have contacted me earlier and I have had to wait entirely too long already, I was satisfied that she at least let me know what was going on (thats all I really wanted in the first place).

I am going to give her another chance because I do think she will do a good job and I liked the initial very rough sketch that she did do...I am starting to get excited again:)

My Brother in Law is One Lucky Bastard

My brother in law Chris is a big fan of the HD tv show Three Sheets (see clip above)hosted by Zane Lamprey. If you havent seen this show, I guarantee you will like it and probably even love it. It is a drinking shows where the host Zane travels around the world and gets drunk, but he is really truly a funny guy. Kendall introduced me to the show awhile ago and I have been a fan ever since.
So Chris is on the email listserv for the show that tells him when a new show will be coming on and whatnot and he got an email awhile back about a contest they were holding. He figured what the hell and entered it. On Monday he got a call saying he was a finalist and last night he found out that he won. His prize, a 3 day all expense paid trip to New York to be in Zane Lampreys Pub Crawl. You can buy tickets to this event for $1,800 but they only allow 50 people to sign up.
If you want to look at the website with the info go here. If you don't have time or interest in looking at it, I will briefly summarize. You stay with this group of people for 3 days and everyday you go on a pub crawl to different bars and pubs that are represntative of their countries of origin and drink and eat with the host of the show. Since Chris won, everything for him and my sister will be paid for - this includes the food an alcohol at all locations. They have games and prizes throughout the weekend too. It hasn't been determined whether or not they will make an entire tv show out of this, but more than likely they will at least show some of it in an upcoming show.
So congrats to them. Lucky bastards indeed.

Quickie

Do you find laughing at people trying to master the english language funny? Of course you do! I found a website (Engrish.com) can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design. It is good stuff.
You can also buy products with some of the slogans they have found. My favorite t-shirts include:

"Got to Hell!! Damn Human!"
"I am the national treasue and I hate noise"
"Don't worry, be sex"
"Elvis is dead, Sinatra is dead and me, I also not so good"
"What kind of word is this? Its kind of crap!"

Please to enjoy!

I Don't Mean To Bitch But....

Ok I am seriously getting perturbed by Monica now. I called yesterday and she wasn't there but was coming it at 4, so I asked if I could leave a message so she could call me so I wouldnt have to take a chance that she would be in the middle of a tattoo if I called back. I was very pleasant when I called and gave the receptionist my name and number and the tattoo I was getting and asked that Monica please give me a call to let me know what the current status with my drawing was. She never called me back. Tomorrow it will have been 3 weeks since she told me she would have it done and I have left her two messages that she hasnt returned.

Artist or not it is unprofessional and inconsiderate to ignore your client. I gave her my $50 deposit that I have a reciept for and she will be getting a lot more of my money when she actually does the tattoo but that apparantly doesnt mean much. I am to the point where I would rather go to someone else who will gee I dont know, communicate with me and let me know whats going on. I dont feel like she cares very much about me or the tattoo that I am getting and it makes me a little uncomfortable. If I had gone with just about anyone else, I would have a peacock on my back by now. It doesn't look like I would get my $50 deposit back because they have a non refundable deposit clause, but at least I could be comfortable with the person who is going to be permanately inking my skin. I am giving her a few more days and then I am done.

In other news the bachelorette party planning is going well. There is even a possibility that we might be taking a trip into Tower Saturday night. So if you see a big yellow stretch limo taxi with 13 drunk girls getting out of it, be afraid, be very afraid.

Someone Has a Case of the Mondays (Hint: Her name starts with a "K")

I woke up with bad alleries today. The sneezing, the stuffy nose, itchy eyes, the cloudy head, all the classic symptoms are present and accounted for. It could be worse but I dont like to take allergy pills because they always make me sleepy and/or makes my nose uncomfortably dry and boogerific. It can be a tough call but right now I am going the non-medicated route.

I also realized today that I am one of those people who needs caffeine in the morning or I am grumpy. I am not sure when the change from "coffee drinks are a nice occasional morning treat" to "I think it is in everyones best interest not to talk to me until I have had caffeine in some form or another" officially occured but I fear I have gone to the dark side. The dark side of coffee deliciousness where energy is plentiful and people are a lot less annoying. Does this mean I am an adult or an addict?

Basketball Update

Here are the latest and greatest in rankings:

Annie - 40
Ed - 38
McNally - 37
Kasey - 35
Katie - 33
Kendall - 33
Mike - 32
Nick - 31

Games continue today. And here are our winning picks per Eds request:

Nick: Kansas over Tennesse, Xavier over Kansas, Kansas over Xavier
Mike: UCLA over Memphis, Georgetown over UNC, UCLA over Georgetown
Kendall: UNC over Kansas, Stanford over UCLA, Stanford over UNC
Katie: UCLA over Stanford, UNC over Kansas, UCLA over UNC
Kasey: UNC over Kansas, UCLA over Texas, UCLA over Kansas
McNally: UNC over Kansas, UCLA over Texas, UCLA over Kansas
Ed: UCLA over Stanford, UNC over Kansas, UCLA over UNC
Annie: UNC over Georgetown, UCLA over Texas, UCLA over UNC

Belly, Bachelorettes and Basketball

I haven't updated or even looked to see who won the 3rd round of games yesterday because I had a mild case of food poisoning yesterday (shrimp tacos) and the toilet was my friend for awhile. At least I wont have to do any sit ups for a few days after the workout my stomach got.
Then there was bachelorette party madness after finding out the bride thinks that I do not care about planning it and that I am not happy enough for her that she is getting married because apparantly I am bitter that I am single. I can't even begin to tell you how much that pissed me off. I have already put in a ton of work in planning this party for her that she doesn't know about because she shouldnt be involved in it at all. She needs to trust Kendall and I, show up and have fun. The party is going to be awesome and she just needs to chill the fuck out.
I know she is really stressed because of the wedding and her job right now so I tried not to be too offended by her crazy talk and everything did get worked out but wow that was really offensive. She needs to be less crazy and I need to be more super excited about everything having to do with the wedding and that should make everyone satisfied.
So I will get to some March Madness updates and Ed's request later today. Right now I am kind of backed up at work and dealing with bridezillas.

LeBron James-Gisele Bundchen-Vogue-cover

Recently (I believe it was the April issue), LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen were the cover models for Vogue magazine. I remember when this cover came out because it was somewhat groundbreaking since it was only the third cover to feature a man, the other two men featured being Richard Gere and George Clooney. I remember thinking to myself that it was pretty cool that a black man was on the cover (considering this magazine has more of a white readership and I would venture to say mostly women) and also that he was an athlete, not an actor or a model. The issue of the magazine was a "Shape Issue" with "Secrets of the Best Bodies: LeBron & Giselle and The Worlds Top Models and Star Athletes" being the cover story. I didnt think much of it until people started getting pissed that it was racist.

So I took another look and apparantly the problem is that LeBron is remniscent of King Kong while Giselle plays Fay Wray, the damsel in distress. That would have never crossed my mind, but having that pointed out, I can see the similarities. But to me it shows a strong, powerful, perhaps dangerous black man with a dainty, beautiful smiling happy women. She really doesnt look like she is in much distress to me and the guy is a professional athlete, it would make sense that he has an intense persona, plus he is actually dribbling a basketball in the shot.

What people have been complaining about though is that is racist. I didn't see any complaints that it is sexist because a woman is being "possessed" by a man, even though it is racist for the same exact reason, which I found interesting. I think that to most people it shows a two rich and recognizable celebrities with good bodies. I think it would have been more effective and better for women if they had reversed this and showed the body of a female athlete with the male model but its a high fashion womens magazine, female athletes arent the ideal.

A black journalist wrote an article that made a good point that the people who get mad that this portrayal of negative stereotypes are also the same people who laugh at Tyler Perry's portrayal of " a single mama with three baby daddies, her loud-mouthed, weed-smoking, gun-toting Latino best girlfriend, a deadbeat daddy, a drunk sister and a deceased father who was a pimp-turned-preacher" in his recent movie. I suppose it is all dependent on the source. The comedy is written and produced by a black man while almost certainly the photographer and editors of Vogue are white.

I really don't have a main point with all of this, I just find the discussion intriguing and would be interested in hearing what other people think.

My Sponsorship Kit Came!

A month or so ago I posted about how I signed up with Women to Women International to provide financial and emotional support to a disadvantaged woman and yesterday I got my welcome kit with a picture and description of the woman I was matched with. Just to recap how this program works, women sign up for it and it lasts a year in length. During that time they go through this program to get life and job skills so they can be self sufficient and provide for themselves and their families. I provide monthly financial support and write her letters to encourage her and get to know her.

The woman I was matched with is Remzija Muhic from Bosnia. She is 51 years old, widowed and has 2 children. She is unenployed because she cannot find work due to her age. They send a picture with her information and her face reflects the difficult life that she has had. She looks tired and sad, her face is heavily lined for her age her expression blank. She only completed primary school and has lost family members from war and violence. They also provide you with information on Bosnia so I can understand the country where she lives and the problems she encounters. One fact that stood out to me is that 40% of the population is unemployed.

The next step is for me to write her a letter to introduce myself and hopefully get some kind of conversation going. I sat down and tried to start writing this letter but I am struggling with what to say. What do I say to a 51 year old mother who lives in poverty and cant support herself when I am 27, living comfortably, complaining about such petty things as people getting more time off of work than I do? I dont want to sound condescending, I feel very fortunate to grow up the way I did and she never had that opportunity. The only reason I have what I have is because I happened to be born in the right place. It really puts things into proper perspective. I have the opportunities to do whatever I want to do when so many people do not and I should take advantage of that and do not let anything like laziness or procrastination hold me back.

I am very glad I decided to do this. I am excited to forge a relationship with Remzija and I hope that this program can help her improve her life.

Ok, I Have Calmed Down Now

My moods can change like the weather in Texas and just a few hours later I am in a better mood. I took care of a few problems that I have been putting off which helped. Kendall and I are hosting our friend Melissa's Bachelorete party and we were going to have it at my cabin, however it has 4 feet of frozen snow around it and digging it out would be too difficult so we had to change the party to down here instead. I was afraid that she would be dissapointed but she took the news well. I tried to get it to take place down in Tower (multiple bars within walkin distance you know) but Kendall wasnt having any of that, she thinks I am a Tower Rat, which I probably am with good reason. With the group of girls going, they probably wouldn't appreciate Tower anyway (some of them are awfully prissy) so it worked out for the best.

I also get to get out of the office and go on a job walk in Reedley so I am not stuck behind my computer, which is always good news.

So thats it. I am not nearly as bitter and miserable as my last post sounded, just thought I would let you know in case anyone cared, which isnt likely but oh well.

Bad Mood

I am not in a good mood today. I got 8 hours of sleep last night yet I am still tired. Everyone at work is irritating me even though they aren't doing anything to irritate me. My computer is acting up, I tried to scan for viruses and it came up that it had expired, but for some reason it didnt warn me that I was about to expire. So I re-newed and I am scanning now but it will literally take the whole day and of course using a computer that is scanning for viruses is almost unbearable since it is so slow. My gmail and my work email are not working which are my most important addresses, but I can email through yahoo and hotmail.

I am really starting to despise my job and I am thinking about making a big change but that also scares me so I am stressed out about that as well. And it is quite possible that I am pmsing. I am not sure if thats the cause or just an addition to my bad mood but I am quite a peach today.

I probably should have just stayed in bed, but I am the only one around here who cant just take time off when I feel like it. My mom comes in whenever she feels like it, Susan takes Fridays off when she has people coming in town over the weekend and Tennesse took 4 mornings off last week (he didnt get to the office until 2 and then proceeded to give me a crap load of work when my day ends at 4 so I had to work overtime) to watch his son play golf in a tournament. When I ran my marathon last year I couldnt even get the next day off even though I was traveling from LA after having run 26.2 miles the day before. And people think that working for your family is all benefits and perks.

Sorry about the vent but I needed that.

Weekend Recap - Bachelorette Hell

Let me just start at by saying I really dislike bachelorette parties, at least the typical bachelorette party. I just dont get it. For some reason it revolves around the penis, which is weird to me because it is supposed to be about women coming together to celebrate their friends upcoming nuptials so why is the penis the center of attention? There are penis straws, penis wind up toys, penis waterguns (I won one of these), penis lipstick (I also won this), penis necklaces, penis drinking cups, penis cakes, pin the penis on the guy, make a penis out of chewing gum, penis water bottles,penis balloons, penis ring toss...penis, penis penis.

Then there are the games. The ones we played this weekend were who could peel a banana and put a condom on it the fastest. This is the game that I won, my parents would be proud. Then we had to write down or most naughty sexual experience and our most embarassing sexual experience and then someone read them aloud and we had to guess whose they were. It was lame and I felt like I was in high scool (except in high school I wouldnt have anything to write down really). Then we played a sexual word scramble that I won and we had to think of something sexual for every letter of the alphabet. Apparantly everything has to be associated with sex and the peni which is funny because lets be honest you are getting married and the sex is going to decline. They should have parties like this when someone loses their virginity so the girl can learn a few things plus you would be younger and the maturity level of the party would be more appropriate.

We didnt go out while we were up there, but the going out bar hopping parties can be just as annoying. You can see them coming a mile away, a group of drunk and loud girls, one of which is wearing a veil (most likely with a penis or 2 or 16 hanging from it). Her herem of girls will tell everyone that they see that their friend is getting married and try to get drinks and shots paid for them all night. Then there are the checklists that say you have to find a guy to do this and that and get them all checked off by the end of the night. I went the one where she had to get a pair of guys underwear, and she did.

I am not a big going out girl in the first place nor am I much of a girly girl, both of which seems to be what bachelorette parties are all about. This is why I love Landmark so much. I much prefer just sitting and hanging out having a drink with friends (dice playing always a bonus) as opposed to going out to some packed club where talking isnt even an option and everyone is just looking to hook up anyway. This however wasn't a problem with the party this weekend. All the girls but 3 were asleep by 10 (10!!!) and the girl I drove up with got sick so I had to convince her for 2 hours to just let me take her home so she can sleep in her own bed since we were leaving first thing in the morning anyway. My efforts did get me home in time to join Ed, Brian and Abigail at Million Elephant for last call and a much needed drink.

Lucky for me, I get to host a bachelorette party for Melissa in two weeks so I get to do all of this all over again. All penises(peni?) will be outlawed should I get married and have a bachelorette party and we will do somethin fun like go white water rafting or rock climbing or sky diving or something thats actually fun!

Anyway, anyone want a penis water gun?

Tattoo Update

Well there is none. Monica said she would be calling me the middle of last week so I could come in and look at her drawing but I have yet to hear from her. I called Friday afternoon and left a message just in case they had my phone number down wrong and I still havent heard anything. Hmmph.

Bracket Update and Final Four Pics

Here are the current standings:

Annie 38
Ed 34
Brian 34
katie 32
Kasey 31
Kendall 31
Mike 30
Nick 29

Here are everyones Final Four picks that Ed requested:

Annie: North Carolina, Texas, UCLA, Georgetown
Ed: UCLA, Stanford, Kansas, North Carolina
Brian: North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Texas
Katie: UCLA, Stanford, Kansas North Carolina
Kasey: North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Texas
Kendall: Stanford, UCLA, Kansas, North Carolina
Mike: North Carolina, Georgetown, Memphis, UCLA
Nick: Tennesse, Stanford, Xavier, Kansas

We still need to decide on where we can watch the final game. The game is on Monday April 7th. I am more than willing to have people over, but I do have the small tv that everyone complains about and I am not planning any tv purchases anytime soon (particularly since I wont be winning that 80 bucks). Suggestions?

Underdogs & Updates

There were a lot of upsets in todays play that was great to see (I love me an underdog) unfortunately for most of us, it hurt our points. Points have spread out some but the money is still up for grabs. Here are the current standings:

Annie 26
Brian 24
Ed 23
Mike 23
Katie 22
Kasey 21
Kendall 20
Nick 18

Oh Upsets...Shesh

So far today has been a bit more exciting. Two games have gone into overtime, and both winning teams were the underdog. Western Kentucky took out Drake, Mike was the the only one to call that game right. San Diego came out strong and ended up beating UConn in an exciting OT ending. I wasn't able to watch it because I am at work but Nick gave me the play by play on the phone so I felt like I was there. Also Katie was the only one to call that game correctly.

Some more games to come shortly. I will be heading off to the gym soon so hopefully they will have basketball on the tv's in the weight room because yesterday they had on ice skating. Yeah, fucking ice skating. I quickly fixed that but was suprised that no one else had yet. The room had at least 15 jocks/guys in it and as soon as I changed it, they all beelined over to it and stood there mesmorized. They were either too dumb or too lazy, probably a little of both.

Current Standings

It was a good day of basketball and the competition is heating up. Highlights include Duke barely squeaking by Belmont, which would have been a exciting upset. Xavier also struggled but ended up pulling off the win. I think the only upsets were USC losing to Kansas (we all got that wrong) and Texas A&M beating BYU. A low light for one of the teams was Kent States lackluster performance that resulted in an embarassing score of 10 at half time.

Now to the good stuff current standings are as follows:

Brian 14
Ed 14
Annie 13
Katie 13
Mike 12
Nick 12
Kendall 12
Kasey 12

As you can see everyone is very close at this point. Games continue tomorrow, I am all basketballed out for tonight.

More March Madness & The SPCA

Thanks to everyone for getting your brackets to me. Currently we have a total of 7 people playing and I should get an 8th this morning, so the pot should be 80 bucks. I will update wins and losses each day there are games so we always know where we stand (and we can taunt those who aren't doing well. Also, if you didn't keep a copy of your bracket and would like me to scan it and email it to you, let me know. This is my favorite day of the tournament because it's when all the upsets happen and it looks like the first game starts at 12:20 ET with Xavier taking on Georgia. Good luck everyone!

In unrelated news last night I went to volunteer orientation at the Central California SPCA. I want to run my next marathon as a fundraiser but I didn't want to do Team in Training which raises money for lukemia research because they already get a lot of people running and raising money for them. so I started to look at local organizations. I also wanted to start volunteering somewhere and helping animals sounded like a good idea.

The orientation was really long because the woman just wouldn't stop talking and consistently went off on tangents. Someone asked something about why ferrets were illeal in California and she went off for 10 minutes even though it had nothing to do with the SPCA. Anyway they have a lot of various jobs that they need done like cleaning the cages, walking the dogs, greeting and helping people who come looking to adopt or find their lost pets, education, special events, taking pictures of the dogs and so on and so forth. I am not sure yet what I will be doing but probably a little of everything. They are also really flexible with their volunteers, you basically just show up whenever you want to and do something. I plan on going in every weekend to help out.

They took us on a tour of the facility and it was definitely hard to see all of the cats and dogs in cages that were sometimes dirty and marred with feces and urine. Some of the dogs growled at you, some were very friendly, and some seemed sad and depressed. It will not be easy knowing that some of these animals will be euthanized but I figure if I can't stop that from happening, then maybe I can help either prevent it by educating the public or just make the dog a little bit happier and more comfortable for a short time. What is also is going to be hard is not being able to take one home with me! They had some beautiful big dogs there that I would have loved to take with me but alas, I have no yard, someday though. I even thought some of the cats were cute and I could take home with me and I generally don't care very much for them.

Anyway they need a lot of help and a lot of money at the SPCA so hopefully I will be able provide a little of both. Fresno is way behind in spaying and nuetering their anmials which is one reason for such an abundance of homeless animals and seeing as you can get that done for free there as well as get free obedience training, there is no reason for it.

Thats all folks.

Thaank You Jay! (Alcohol and March Madness)

So Jay sent a link on Ed's blog to Modern Drunkard magazine online. It's a fantastic time waster. My favorite article is The 86 Rules of Boozing. Some of the highlights include:

71. It's acceptable, traditional in fact, to disappear during a night of hard drinking. You will appear mysterious and your friends will understand. If they even notice. (For you Nick)
55. If you think you might be slurring a little, then you are slurring a lot. If you think you are slurring a lot, then you are not speaking English. (For you Ed)

You really need to read them all if you havent though, you will laugh outloud and since it is Wednesday, I figure a little reading on alcohol is appropriate.

Speaking of tonight, those of you who are going to be a part of the March Madness pool, i need your filled out brackets by tonight. I can collect the money whenever you have it. I know of at least 7 people who are definitely in and possibly an 8th and 9th so the winner gets at least 60 bucks. C'mon Adam, last chance...you were pretty good at picking winners last night, live a little!

Well, At Least You Aren't This Guy...

So St. Paddys may have been a bit lackluster for some of us but even if you stayed home you fared much better than this guy:

One of last night's more unusual arrests happened near a police substation. A man wearing only his underwear was found passed out behind the wheel, after apparently hitting several parked cars. He was taken into custody near 4th street and bulldog lane.

Not everyone experiences the luck of the Irish on St. Paddys day.

Source

Hmmph

The past few weeks I began to notice that I can't seem to get the water in my shower very hot. I used to have the the shower knob halfway between hot and cold and it would be plenty hot. Now I have the knob turned all of the way to hot, it takes about 5 minutes to get it tolerable enough to be able to step in and it doesn't get any warmer the entire time I am in there. Taking a shower while you are shivering and have goosebumps the whole time is just miserable. Of course my landlord was out of town this weekend so he is supposed to come by today to take a look at it. I just hope this isn't a problem that takes awhile to fix or else I will have to start taking showers at the gym or something. You are reminded of how fantastic it is to take a hot shower when you cant take them anymore.

March Madness, Colorado

Two quickies:

1) I booked my ticket to Colorado and I got on the same flights both coming and going so I will be tagging along with you all. Is there room for me to crash in someones hotel room for Wednesday and Thursday night? Also what about the rental car? Of course, I would be pitching in my share of both the hotel room and the rental car as long as you can make the room.

2) Its that time again,the Men's NCAA basketball tournament has been seeded and the first round starts on March 20th. Anyone interested in starting a pool? I think we put in 5 or 10 bucks last time so we could do that again or just make it friendly if no one has any balls err is willing to put a few bucks on the line. Here is a link to a bracket, let me know.

Happy Birthday Sissy Poo!

Tomorrow is my sister Kristen's 30th birthday so I wanted to post a little something about her for those of you haven't been lucky enough not to know her:

When I was a baby, Kristen used to wake up me up in my crib in the morning. She would crawl in (both of us wearing matching pink footsie pajamas) and start my morning off with a hug. I don't have a clear memory of this but I have seen pictures of it, both of us smiling sleepily in my crib, and it is what I have been told. Kristen was my very first friend and remains my best friend to this day.

One of our favorite things to do when we were kids was put on a stuffed animal parade. We would line up all of our stuffed animals down the hall and strut around goofily as we imagined our stuffed animals prancing behind us. I always looked up to my sister but at the same time I never felt that she thought she was better than me or that I was an annoying little sister, I always felt accepted by her.

Growing up we had a lot of fun together and as we became teenagers we had our moments of fighting which usually involved me "borrowing" an article of clothing (I used to think her Stussy shirt and poncho were sooo fucking cool) without telling you, but overall we got along pretty well for sisters. I remember riding to school with her in the morning and we would listen to "Mother" by Danzig and till this day everytime I hear that song I think of her. There was a lot of the Dumb and Dumber and Dangerous Minds Soundtrack on those drives as well.

When she went away to college was when we probably drifted apart the furtherst. I did however manage to ruin her 21st birthday (notoriously) as I took about 10 shots of scnhapps in about an hour and then spent the rest of the night throwing up in every corner of her apartment (while apologizing profously at least). Instead of getting mad at me though, she took care of me and didnt even yell at me the next day when I was extremely hungover.

Living with her in Austin was also a great time and we got to get even closer. I was fortunate to be able to see her relationship begin and grow with her husband Chris and I got to approve of him before anyone else even met him. Seeing how head over heels in love she was during that time made me incredibly happy because if anyone deserved to find the love of their life, it was her. She had been taken for granted by stupid idiotic guys for long enough!

Kristen has always been a strong, opinionated person but she also has a huge heart. She is the type of friend and sister that would do anything for you if you needed it. I cant even begin to tell you how many times I have called her to bitch about my parents or about work or that fucktard who cut me off. Whatever it is, she is always there to listen to me. She doesn't just hold your hand though, she is also the first person to tell you like it is and kick you in your butt if you are spending too much time feeling sorry for yourself. Sometimes we clash but overall I always respect her honest opinions.

Now that she is turning 30 and the chaotic 20s are behind her I look forward to seeing how her life grows and changes. I look forward to seeing Kristen as a mother and maybe someday as an aunt because she will be great at both. I love her very much and if anyone is reading this I hope they get a better understanding of how fantastic my big sister is and maybe someday if you are lucky you will get to meet her:)

To The Person That Hit My Truck...

I would like to say thank you to the person who hit my truck, left a big dent and took off without leaving a note or taking responsibility for it. I don't know when or where it happened but your lack of integrity and respect for other people make you quite an upstanding member of this community. Keep up the good work, fucktard.

For Adam

Adam and I have had lengthy conversations about the amount of time one spends on the toilet, and I found an article that takes this to the extreme. A 35 year old woman in Kansas sat on her boyfriends toilet for 2 years. Perhaps there is a positive correlation with the amount of time one sits on a toilet and how crazy one is...

And since we are on the subject how about a heated/water spraying portable toilet.

This was you can stay warm and poop anywhere you want to. Priceless.

I Stole Adams Thunder

"I can see up your nose"

Tattoo Appointment Update

Yesterday I met with Monica at Tower Tattoos. It was a brief meeting, but it went well.
When I first got there I started flipping through her portfolio and I came across a familiar sight, a picture of Adams tattoo, prominently displayed.
Then when Monica came out I showed her my sketch and told her where I wanted to get it and she started to sketch some of her thoughts. The first thing she did was flip it so the peacock was facing in and not out, which went with the curve of my waist much better. Other than that she took my pictures I had for reference and told me she would have a drawing for me by the middle of next week. The picture she liked the best was the picture of the stained glass I posted last week which was also my favorite so it seems we are on the same page. After I approve of her work I wll make an appointment to get it done so I m looking at 2 weeks at the earliest before I get any ink done.
Monica seemed very cool but where is she from? I detected an accent but couldnt place it...

Sunday, Busy Sunday

My 6.1 mile race in Tower was yesterday at 8 am and it went really well. I was pretty cold and stiff when I began so I started out a little slow. Eventually I picked it up and ran a negative split which I dont think I have ever done before so that made me happy and finished averaging aout a 7:50 mile. For it being my first race in a long time I thought it went well and the race was well organized so I am sure I will do it again next year.

I need to look into running more shorter races like this one because it got me into racing mode again and it felt good to be competeitive. One of my mental running strategies is to pick people off to pass along my way. It helps me stay focused and it makes me push myself harder. It also just feels good to pass certain people, especially the boys and even more especially the boys that passed me earlier in the race (thats where negative splits come in handy) and damn that feels good. I do think I might have strained something in my right calf though, but it is just a minor annoyance.

I also had breakfast yesterday with Annie and watched some of the bike races, which was fun. I wish there were more events like that in Tower. Then I met up with my mom later and went for a walk around Woodward and had dinner. At the end of the day I was very tired and crashed out. I have been needing a lot more sleep lately and last week I went to bed early everyday but Wednesday. I felt a lot better during the day and I was able to workout harder so I think I need to keep that up. It is hard to think that I am missing out on something fun thats going onthough, but at the same time I have to keep my health in mind, which I need to do a better job of.

So that was my Sunday. Overall it was a good weekend.

Made My First Appointment!

I just set up a consultation appointment with Monica for my peacock tattoo. I will be going on Tuesday March 11th @ 6 to get this process started. I am very excited, I am not going to lie:)

I'm Bored At Work Today...

You have to watch a minute or so of this clip before it gets to the good part but the what I wanted to share was a runner who falls down pretty hard and gets up and wins the race, it's a great finish:



And this just made me laugh, a streaker getting flattened in Australia on a cricket field:

Quickies

Here are some quickies:

- Found this article about a British man going to try to beat the world record for the oldest marathoner. He is 101 and plans on celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette. Love it.

- I got Season 1 of Dexter yesterday and if you havent seen this show it is fantastic. The main character is a mild mannered forensic investigator who kills murders. The cast is great, Michael C. Hall is brilliant. I dont know of any other actor who can make a serial killer so likeable. Anyway if anyone wants to borrow it when I am done watching let me know.

- I just accidently sent a picture of a tattoo to an architect instead of the document I was supposed to send because I had left it in the scanner and didn't realize it. Gold Star of stupidity for me.

- Speaking of tattoos, its Tower Tattoos on Van Ness and Olive that Monica works at correct?

This Morning...

This morning when I walked outside my apartment to go to work I found a dirty men's t-shirt on my door step, Which I thought that was odd. I didnt want to touch it because it was filthy so I kicked it to the side and hopefully my neighbor has something to do with it and will take care of it, I kind of expect to see it when I get home this evening though.

Then I checked my mailbox on my way to my truck and when I closed it I put my hand in wet, dewy bird poop, ick. That stuff dries fast too because when I got to my truck mere feet away, it was already dry and I couldnt get it off. So I had to wipe my fingers on the dew of my truck to get it wet enough to wipe off on a scrap of napkin. I washed my hands when I went to work but they still feel dirty.

Then when I was almost at work I was at a stop light and looked over and there was a young asian man at the bus stop with his guiter (no case) dressed in an Elvis-like sequined (yes, sequined) jump suit and quite the coif of hair. He wasnt playing his guiter, but he had it strapped on.

Strange start to my morning. I dont know what it means but when find random soiled clothing, put my hand in bird poop and see an asian elvis before 7 am, but I dont feel like I am going to be having a normal day.

Odds and Ends

Yesterday I went to Centerpoint Gym so I could try it out before I switched from my current gym. Some pros were that it is closer to my apartment, the hours are much better, there is a lot more equipment and amenities, and it is cheaper. On the con side I anticipate I will probably have to wait for equipment more frequently. Pretty much that is the only con, the gym is busier, so it was a pretty easy decision to make. Now I just have to break up with my personal trainer at my old gym.

This weekend I have the 6.1 mile run in Tower and also the 6th Annual Central Valley Bike Classic will be in Tower which is always fun to watch. Don't forget to spring forward your clocks and hour, as the time changes on Sunday as well (I really better remember this!).

I have signed up for volunteer orientation at the Central California SPCA on the 19th of this month. They have a lot of jobs for volunteers to do so I am hoping to work out a schedule where I go out there once a week and help out. I am going to fall in love with all of the dogs there though so it is probably a good thing I dont have a house with a yard because I would want to take them all home with me. Some of the duties they need help with are walking and socializing the animals, cleaning up cages, greeting the public, helping with special events, etc. so I am sure will find something I like. I would like to take the pictures and write the little blurbs they have on Petfinder because I am always dissapointed when they dont give any information and it seems like the animals from the SPCA rarely have any written info.

I am also considering doing some kind of fundraising for my fall marathon. Team in Training is a popular way to do that but I frankly find them somewhat annoying. Dont get me wrong, they do a great job of raising money for luekemia research but any race I have been in they are easy to spot because they are wearing the purple jersey and they are always super excited and super happy. Also their main goal is just to raise the money and they dont care as much about the race, which is fine, but I want to focus on running well too. I could always set my own thing up and raise money for a local charity on my own though, maybe the SPCA.

So thats whats new with me!

Peacock Tattoo Revisted

After writing off the Peacock tattoo because my mind wasn't creative enough to make it work, I have re-visted this idea with helpful feedback from all of you. First, here is some general information on the peacock:

The peacock originated from India. The term "peacock" is commonly used to refer to birds of both sexes. Technically, only males are peacocks. Females are peahens, and together, they are called peafowl. The male is what you think of when you think peacock because they have the long tail like feathers that display behind them. Females are more brown in color and do not have a long train. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality of these outrageous feather trains.

There is a lot of variety with peacock symbolism but in India where the peacock originated it symbolizes love, passion, luck, protection, and prosperity. In Christianity the Peacock flesh was believed to be incorruptible. This, together with its eyes symbolizing the all-seeing Church, elevated the Peacock to sacred emblem status, representing resurrection, immortality, and the pure soul. The peacock is also known as a symbol of beauty, dignity & pride. In Buddhism the peacock eye represents wisdom. Peacocks are said to have the ability of eating poisonous plants without being affected by them. Because of that, they are synonimous with the great bodhisattvas. A bodhisattva is able to take delusions as the path toward liberation and transform the poisonous mind of ignorance, desire and hatred [moha, raga, dvesa] into the thought of enlightenment or bodhicitta, which opens colourfully like the peacocks' tail. Particularly peacocks symbolise the transmutting of desire into the path of liberation.

Ok thats a lot of info you probably didnt need but I did the research so I might as well be thorough. Back to the tattoo now and the design. I picture it a lot like this stained glass window:


I like the positioning of the peacocks body and the head position as well. Instead of the peacocks tail/train out and displayed behind him, I like it down because I think that shape would look better on my body. If you look back at the first tattoo of the cherry blossoms, that is close to the placement I like. So the body of the peacock would be on the side of my back with the tail/train going down and wrapping around the hip a little. Here is a pic of a peacock tattoo whose style I liked because it is realistic looking, I dont want anything cartoonish/unrealistic:



You will also notice flowers and branches in both of those pics and I would like to incorporate the cherry blossoms similarly.

This wont be a small itty bitty tattoo either, I would expect it to take up a good amount of space and probably which is why it is taking me so long to figure out what exactly I want. Feedback is always welcome and also requested so please let me know what you think!