Random Stuff from My Life

That's all, folks

2009-12-13T22:42:00.001-08:00

I've decided to quit blogging. My online life has morphed into other venues (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). I have made a resolution to start Twittering. With all that going on, I just don't have the time or inclination to maintain the blog. Oh well, it's been a good run.

Here we go...

2009-11-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived my conference. You know, it always seems like there SHOULD be time to get real work done at those things, but every break is taken up with making connections and then in the evenings you go out with friends... I barely had time for sleep, let alone keeping up on e-mails.

Now, we are all packed (and the cat is pissed). Tomorrow at o'dark-thirty we leave for leg #1 of our LA/Wichita/Melbourne trip. I'm pretty excited. I've ALMOST got all the holiday cards done, but right now it's time for "The Amazing Race."

Surprise!

2009-11-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

So in our shower (unlike every other shower in the known universe), the little lever that switches the stream of water between the tub spigot and the showerhead does NOT automatically drop back into the default (tub) position when the stream of water is turned off. You have to manually push it down. At the risk of sounding like a woman complaining about toilet seat lid positioning, I will note that sometimes (like yesterday) The Husband neglects this detail. Here is the split-second conversation I had in my head yesterday upon turning on the water:

Why is no water coming out? I hear water running, but nothing's coming out of the spigot... Uh oh, the lever is up. HOLY ####! Here comes that friggin' freezing water, all over my back.

Just another argument for an on-demand hot water heater, I guess.

In other news, I leave in an hour on Greyhound. I am going to a conference for work this week, and the bus was something on the order of 10% of the cost of either flying or getting reimbursement for mileage, so... This will be the first time I've taken the bus since we moved up here. Everyone warns me it's all felons being released from the local penitentiary, but I think that would be preferable to some other possibilities.

Well, that worked

2009-11-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

The last two days were a blur. I told a friend: "The interview either went really well or really badly; I'll know in about six months. Either way, I got the job." Very thankful that tomorrow is a holiday; I'll need the time to catch up. At first it seems weird to have a day off on Wednesday, but you know, in some ways it would be nice to have every Wednesday off. I have some non-work stuff to do, too. A friend who teaches elementary school got me involved in a project for her class. I need to go take pictures, but it's supposed to rain tomorrow. And at some point I need to pack for the work trip that starts this weekend, prior to our big trip. Overall, though, things are good.

Butterflies

2009-11-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, reality just sank in: the next time I show up for work will be the day I interview to succeed my boss (who is retiring). I've been trying to play it cool, but that realization just hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh well - we have a busy weekend, so I won't have much time to dwell on it.

The other thing that hit me this week is my age. On my birthday, the folks in the office were much more interested in it than I was. They kept asking if The Husband was taking me someplace special. To me, it was just another day. That is, until I saw someone's profile online saying they were 40 and it struck me: that's not a couple years older than me, that's less than 12 MONTHS older than me. Whoa!

All Hallow's Eve

2009-10-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think I'm over the hump with the Facebook addiction. I still feel compelled to check other people's activities every 20 minutes, but I'm no longer obsessed with updating my own status. That's progress, right?

An acquaintance passed away a week or so ago, and her memorial service is today. Yes, on Halloween. Apparently we're supposed to go in costume. This should be interesting. The last lesbian funeral we went to was four hours long! Can't anybody just wear black, cry and read the Twenty-third Psalm anymore?

After that, I guess we'll see if the neighbor kids come over to trick-or-treat, and then we might head to the bar. There's supposed to be some costume contest, and since we're already dressing up for the funeral... That's a weird sentence, huh?

Anyway, I now have a job interview before we leave for Australia, so I'm kind of nervous about that. I'm also suffering from anxiety about impending travel withdrawal, as our Australia trip is the last thing we have planned (and if I actually get the job, we won't have time to travel for awhile; but if I don't, we won't be able to AFFORD to travel until we pay off Australia). So, I booked a hotel room in Portland for the first weekend in March. Gives me something to look forward to, but I can cancel up to 24 hours in advance if I need to.

Nobody told me it was going to be this hard

2009-10-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to avoid the first two stations along the whole Sunday afternoon nap/coffee/no sleep tonight vicious cycle. How? By spending the entire afternoon shopping. And I do mean shopping, with relatively little buying.

Why the intensive shopping? Because we are going to Australia. "But you've been overseas before," you say. "What makes this trip different/special?" I guess it would be a nasty combination of two factors: my job and the airline industry.

You see, due to budget cuts, I actually need to remain reasonably reachable this time around (unlike past trips off the continent) because there's no one else to reach. So, I'm taking the Blackberry, which is on the GSM network (as opposed to our CDMA cell phones) and thus will work Down Under. The problem is that Australia has a different electrical current. So... how am I supposed to CHARGE the stupid Blackberry? Thus online research, followed by a trip to Radio Shack.

Issue #2: Since we are traveling domestically before our international flight, we are stuck with the latest airline innovation - checked baggage fees! In other words, we've got to figure out how to pack for Los Angeles, Wichita and Melbourne (i.e., three seasons) in one carry-on bag apiece. That - plus the havoc visited upon our bag the last time we paid the baggage fee - means that we also needed to buy new luggage. But not just any luggage, mind you: we needed to find that perfect combination of cheap, roomy enough for the aforementioned packing challenge, and small enough to be considered "carry-on" on the prop planes that will begin and end this journey. Plus, it must roll to avoid strain on The Husband's neck.

In the end, I think we got things that will address both of these dilemmas, though neither is an ideal solution. I'm still worried about the digital camera not holding a charge for the entire time we're in the world of 220v plugs, but we've survived with 35mm disposables before. As long as we get pics of the penguins, I'll live.

I also found a nice pocket-sized Lonely Planet guide to Melbourne with a map, which will save on space and assist with the packing. And Mom's Christmas present will fit in the bag yet leave space for an Aussie souvenir in its stead.

This trip just seems to require more intricate planning than in the past. Better be worth it!

Why I need a job

2009-10-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm working, I'm too busy to do anything at home. Whenever I'm not working, we're traveling like mad men and I need a vacation by the time I get back to work. Today, for Indigenous Peoples' Columbus Thanksgiving (Canada) Day of La Raza, I got a reminder of how I fare when I truly don't have anything planned. And boys and girls, it is not a pretty sight.

I did manage to take a shower and put on clothes, but it is now 3:30 p.m. and I have yet to breathe outdoor air. Not even an excuse to walk to the mailbox, so I'll stay glued to the computer ALL DAY LONG. I did manage to find this and this. (I still can't decide if I like the Shakira song or not, but I'm leaning towards yes now.) Plus, there were those 200+ spam e-mails that I hadn't gone through since returning from vacation two weeks ago.

Oh well, I went to a park on Saturday. That counts, right?

You're kidding, right?

2009-10-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

It's October. You're kidding, right? Less than a month 'til I'm 39!

It's almost five in the evening. You're kidding, right? I guess that's because I violated my "no naps on Sundays" rule. But in my defense, I REALLY needed one after the physical and emotional exhaustion of helping all weekend with our church's big anniversary party.

I still have stuff to do before Monday morning. You're kidding, right? I mean, other than eat dinner and veg out in front of the TV...

Two of K-State's last three games have been decided by less than a field goal. You're kidding, right? At least this weekend was a W.

Next weekend I have three whole days off with NO plans. PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE NOT KIDDING!

Toronto

2009-09-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, Toronto is actually an awesome city. Why? Well, I don't think it's something I can put into words. It's cleaner than any city of its size in the U.S., but that's not it. It's got a wonderful diversity of people and architecture. It's just surprisingly, well, BIG. People are friendly, I guess. But mainly it's just a fun place. We had unbelievably beautiful weather Saturday and Sunday, and we made the trek into downtown both days (we are staying out in the 'burbs). We had dinner atop the CN Tower on Saturday. Yesterday was a boat ride around the harbor (or "harbour" to be Canadian) plus a tour through Greektown, Chinatown, Koreatown, the Portuguese village, the gay village, the Ethiopian neighborhood and just about any place else you can think of. Today it rained so we stayed in the 'burbs and shopped (and slept in). It's just been a really, really great trip. I can see why Toronto doubles for "generic big city" in lots of TV and movie productions. I'm sure people love filming here.

Priceless

2009-09-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

LOL

Forgot to mention (hey, it was 6:57 a.m.; give me a break!): I am glad that it is college football season again. I am currently listening to my "football songs" iTunes playlist. Last listen? 11/15/08

Also, even though I may be disconnected from an actual computer, it is possible that I will find time to update the mobile blog.

Something's wrong here

2009-09-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

It's not even 7 a.m. yet - on a Saturday - and I've been on the computer for an hour and a half! I consider it training. I have to be on a conference call with the East Coast Monday morning, and then by next Friday we'll be in the Eastern Time Zone ourselves.

It seems like so much is going on this fall. Two weeks 'til the big high school reunion. A week later will be the big anniversary party at church. Three weeks later we lose a person in our office. Then it will be just four weeks until we leave for Thanksgiving vacation/Australia! Get back and two weeks later my boss retires. Then it's Christmas and New Year's. Unbelievable.

And of course a couple of those events have the potential (okay, certainty) to dramatically affect my job.

In the meantime, I probably won't post much. I think I've decided not to take the laptop to Canada with us. (Not sure if I can stay away from Facebook that long without developing tremors, but we'll see; maybe the hotel will have a business center.)

Long weekend

2009-08-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, well it wasn't a long weekend in the sense of it consisting of more than two days, but it was LOOONG in the sense of tiring. From the time I left work on Friday, I had church activities. Two hours on Friday, four hours on Saturday, four hours on Sunday. Setting up tables, arranging stuff, talking to people. And I managed to screw up my neck on Friday night (slept wrong, I think) so my shoulders have been killing me the entire weekend.

But the good news is: 1) it's over, 2) I survived, 3) I managed to not fall asleep this afternoon (Sunday naps are evil, because then I can't sleep Sunday night which means I am tired Monday, etc.), and 4) in the downtime, I got my calendar and contact info. transferred off the old cell phone which I am cancelling in just over a month.

Now I just need to clean this week so the place is presentable for a friend who is coming up to visit over Labor Day weekend. Pay bills. Reserve a room in the Bay Area for when we go down there the middle of Sept. Coordinate with our friends that we're meeting in Toronto. Read a book before we leave. And find out who wins Head of Household tonight on Big Brother - apparently without the aid of cheese popcorn.

More totally useless but somewhat amusing web stuff

2009-08-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes trouble disappear like beer, except maybe this.

Really random - fun new links

2009-08-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this or laugh at this.

Okay

2009-08-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Life is starting to kick back into gear. Last night went went to comedy night at the bar. Not quite the quality of funny you get at Cobb's in the City, but it was a night out. This weekend we have tickets for the county fair - between the Husband working extra, me feeling like I should go in (for the first time in several weekends), a church picnic, the need to pay bills, etc. On Wednesday, we leave for Sacramento, followed by Reno and then my nephew's new place, and ending a week from today with a drive home along a route we haven't taken since we moved here.

Then it will be just four weeks until we leave for Toronto, followed by my 20-year high school reunion. I was thinking about a post on all the things I have accomplished in the last 20 years, because I was feeling somewhat down about life. Then I read the newspaper. That's always a good exercise for when you think you've made some bad choices. "Well sure, I could stand to drop 20 lbs. and pay off my credit cards, but at least I'm not a meth dealer testifying against my trailer-mates for the murder of a guy I'd just given $1,200 I'd made turning tricks." Wow!

Justice - LOL

2009-08-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is too funny.

This is SO wrong

2009-08-01T06:13:00.001-07:00

I woke up at 5:30 this morning. Totally awake. On a SATURDAY. Maybe it has something to do with falling asleep on the couch last night at 10:30.

Okay, August 1. Gotta pay bills today. Less than two months 'til Toronto and my high school reunion.

Speaking of high school, I finally broke down and joined Facebook. Now I am friends with half my class. In a week, I've got as many friends on Facebook as I have contacts on LinkedIn after all these months.

Gives me something to do, though. We cancelled our cable. Didn't think about it because we have a digital TV. But now we can't get the picture on the TV to come in. Crystal-clear sound, but no picture.

That's about the extent of the excitement here. (Or at least all I can remember before my first cup of coffee.)

How did THAT happen?

2009-07-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

I know it's far from an original thought how fast life goes by, but I am truly stunned: I just looked at my iTunes catalog, and there are songs that I have not played in over a year! I didn't even think I had been on iTunes for a full year. Geez!

Anyway, I got home successfully. Despite a colleague developing pneumonia, fog at the airport, a wind shift in Salt Lake City that forced us to taxi forever, and a host of minor things. Have I mentioned that I am far less enamored of travel than I was a decade ago?

Old pictures are the greatest!

2009-07-18T09:44:00.001-07:00

One of the secretaries at work wanted us all to bring in old prom photos so we could laugh at each other. In looking through Mom & Dad's albums, I discovered a pic that is SO going to be part of my Christmas card - my niece has both a perm AND a New Kids on the Block sweatshirt! Now there's this craze, that I sadly missed. Why is it that black and white photos from the 50's (like my parents' high school pictures) look cool, but everything taken since then (say, my brother's 1973 first wedding) looks completely cheesy and dated about six months after it was taken?

Fonda was arrested the day I was born

2009-07-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Not much to say

2009-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's been busy, but nothing too exciting. Sunday I leave on another trip (for work). I'm not really looking forward to it. Do I pack a real suitcase and pay the checked bag fee? Do I try and survive for a whole week out of a carry-on? And what will I forget to pack? Worst part is, I'm away on our anniversary (well, I get back LATE that night if the flights are on time). I can't wait to be home for awhile and do nothing.

The Fourth

2009-07-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

I suppose I should be in bed, as we have to be at the airport in about six hours and we're not even done packing. Oh well, I can sleep on the plane like everyone else on every flight leaving Vegas, right?

We had a relatively uneventful day. We decided early on to scrap our original plans of dancing at one of the nightclubs at the Palms. Both of us have sore feet from last night. So we spent most of the day at the slots, then came back to the condo and tried to decide what to do to celebrate Independence Day.

We had settled on the idea of taking a cab to the Stratosphere and having drinks at the bar on top of the tower. But the cab lines were already pretty deep with no cabs in sight, so we opted for taking the monorail down to Paris instead. Of course, the lines for the Eiffel Tower were longer than the lines to get a cab, so we ended up just walking outside, where we got to see both the Bellagio fountains and the Caesar's fireworks going off at the same time - along with a helicopter landing in the northbound lanes of Las Vegas Blvd. (we still have no idea why; I just went to three local news websites and no one is mentioning it). Got some great video.

Then we went back inside and had drinks at a little casino bar with a DJ. Being in Vegas on the first holiday weekend after Michael Jackson's death is a trip. I've heard "Billie Jean," "Thriller," and "PYT" more in the past two days than in the previous 20 years combined!

Okay, well, I guess I should get SOME sleep in order to make it onto the plane...

Va-va-va-Vegas

2009-07-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I won some money Wednesday night. Yesterday we had really lousy service at both lunch (Outback) and dinner (Hawaiian Tropic Zone). Today we've been hanging around the pool at the condo. Now I'm doing a load of laundry while the Husband walks over to the Sahara to give back some of what I won. He has a massage later, and then we go to dinner at Mandalay Bay. After that, who knows?

It would be nice to have another couple here (we got the two-bedroom condo), but it's been really convenient having all this space to ourselves. We can use the bathroom down the hall and walk around au naturel.

Had two drinks at the pool, but I haven't really felt the need to drink a lot this trip.

I'm downloading an album on iTunes, and it's going really slowly on the condo Wi-Fi connection.

That's about all I can think of for now - must be about nap time. Yea, I love vacation.

Pride

2009-06-27T14:58:00.001-07:00

While I've got the Wi-Fi connection, I might as well use it, right?

So last night we met up with a professional colleague/friend and her husband (heard a lot about him over the years, but had never actually met him) and two of their friends. We had dessert and then went dancing. It was so much fun. We got in bed a little after 2:20 a.m.

This morning (late), we met up with two other couples (friends of ours from when we lived in the City) for brunch. One couple is moving to Chicago next month, so this will be our last opportunity to see them for awhile. The brunch place was GREAT (hot link omelette - yum!). Then we had to move our car (driving and parking in the City - ahh, fond memories) so we found a garage and went over to the SF Pride Festival.

A lot of gay people are "over" Pride, and in many ways I am as well. However, it's nice to be in a festival atmosphere with lots of stickers to collect and trinkets to buy and contests to enter. I guess I've been a sucker for that kind of stuff since Labor Day at home when I was a kid.

Tonight the hotel has cocktail hour, then we have a dinner reservation and will likely call it an early evening so we can get up insanely early in the morning for our first flight. We're actually seeing relatively little of San Fran while we're here. We were talking in the car about things we miss about the City; we should plan a vacation to spend time here instead of just passing through!

Away

2009-06-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it's night #1 of the big trip. We are in SF. From here, we go to Misery, then Kansas, then VEGAS(!!), and back. Speaking of back and forth, I went back and forth on whether to lug the laptop along. It will be utterly useless while we are in the Midwest, but it won't get to Vegas with us without going through Wichita. I finally decided in favor of the lug, so now I'm on our hotel's free Wi-Fi connection -- which is ridiculously slow. "Hello, I live in the boondocks! We're in the tech capital of the universe and I have to refresh the Blogger dashboard to get it to load properly?" Anyway, check the mobile blog if you're dying for a random stuff fix; I might do some drunk texting once we get to Sin City.

Girls just wanna have fun

2009-06-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

This week was a "learning experience" at work. But last night was 80's night at the bar. I SOOO needed to have cocktails and dance! Unfortunately, I also used the opportunity to finally break in that pair of boots I bought. Yowza! My feet feel worse than my head today.

More trip planning... at the movies

2009-06-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

I've been chatting online lately. (Yeah, I know, I'm a little late to that party. Almost as "quaint" as a library book, right?) Anyway, I was reading someone's profile last night and it said "don't chat with me 'cause you're bored; go get a life." Alrighty then... I realized I've been wanting to see "The Hangover" and, well, movie theaters are open on weeknights, too. So tonight we actually went out and saw a movie. Now I'm pumped up to go to Vegas. We probably won't steal a tiger from Mike Tyson and I'm sure even at my drunkest I wouldn't marry a (female) stripper. But Sin City does offer a lot of fun things to do other than locking guys in the trunk of your car. (Trust me, I'm not spoiling the "plot" of the movie for you.)

Trippin'

2009-06-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the Husband's birthday. Interestingly, it is also my boss's husband's birthday. They are celebrating on the Big Island. We went to try and use a coupon at the local Hawaiian restaurant and found out it was closed.

Oh well, neither of us is too broken up about it because for his birthday I got him an Australian visa. Yes, we are headed Down Under. In November. But between now and then we have Las Vegas over July 4 and Toronto in September (just discovered, when hauling out the passports to request the visas, that I still have $55.77CDN from our last trip to Canada). So, in between work (which I brought home for the weekend) and traipsing around town to places that are closed (the coffee shop, too), I've been doing a fair amount of trip planning.

Yay!

Down on the corner

2009-06-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Seen on the street tonight, coming home from dinner: The best panhandler sign ever - "I know where Bin Laden is. Need money for airfare and bazooka."

Word of the day

2009-06-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

"Carpocalyse" - the global meltdown of the automotive industry. Wish I had come up with that one. Maybe I could do something similar for the financial industry: Bankageddon? Oh, if only I had gotten on this bandwagon sooner. Perhaps something regarding the demise of California's state government: Sacramentrupt? Or just Sacrupt? I think that works: "They're Sacrupting us all!"

T.G.I.W., or "I love Big Balls"

2009-06-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ah, summer TV. The dollar store FINALLY got in a shipment of cheese popcorn just before the AI finale. We bought an entire case, and now there's nothing suitable to eat it in front of. Thankfully, "Wipeout" has returned!

I guess we need escapist television right now. I've sort of given up on the idea of leaving California for now, both because there are no jobs anywhere else and because it's sort of morbidly fascinating to watch the state unravel. But sometimes I feel like, "I'm a Celebrity; Get Me Out of Here!"

Another great web takedown

2009-05-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

Some of these are really good.

I did it

2009-05-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

I successfully changed a tire. That wasn't part of the plan for the weekend. The plan WAS to spend all day Saturday on the couch reading, spend today cleaning the house, and spend tomorrow in the office catching up in blissful solitude. The plan has gone largely along those lines, with evening wrinkles. Friday night we got last-minute tickets to a local production of "The Producers" and took friends to that. Last night, the same friends called us and invited us over to their place for cards. Tonight we went to the grocery store, where someone apparently slashed our rear driver's side tire. I struggled with the lug nuts for awhile, then we called AAA. While waiting for AAA to arrive, I re-read the instructions, found out that I had been turning the wrong direction, and got the spare on in about five minutes. So the Husband called AAA back and cancelled. Overall, it's been a weekend of achievement. I read a lot of my book yesterday (though I still haven't finished it) and I got through most of my outstanding e-mails. Today I got the house to a state of minimal squalor (except for the office, of course; there's got to be that one room where everything's piled up, right?). And of course there was the aforementioned tire-change. I think I'm going to sleep well tonight.

Like Frito's I'm tryin' to lay

2009-05-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've been paying attention to song lyrics lately - even more so than normal. When I was back East for training, one of the instructors was big on relating song lyrics to our class themes. Then today the Husband revealed that he has composed music for a new song, but is desparately trying to concoct lyrics. In addition to the title of the post, here are some of my favorite lyrics from today:

Tell your boyfriend, if he says he's got beef, that I'm a vegetarian and I ain't f---in' scared of him.

I try to run but see I'm not that fast. I think I'm first but surely finish last, last.

And an oldie but a goodie...
My friend the Communist holds meetings in his RV. I can't afford his gas, so I'm stuck here watchin' TV.

We heard these while driving to Oregon and back. I SHOULD have gone into the office today, but it was just a spectacular day (you know, the coastal summer months - May & September). So I decided we would go stock up on exotic Oregonian groceries instead (no fresh fruits or vegetables across the state line, of course). The plan was to drive straight through, since we didn't get out of town until about 2 p.m., then stop and take pictures of the beautiful day on the way back. Here's the part I didn't figure into this plan: the coastal fog decided that the nice day was OVER at precisely 7 p.m. No gorgeous shots of sunset on the ocean for us!

Oh well, at least we are now have months' worth of cat treats and laundry detergent...

It just gets better and better

2009-05-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I laughed so hard at this one, I almost blacked out!

The Internet is a seemingly limitless source of random humor

2009-05-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

This WAS my favorite site, until finding this.

You can tell I'm spending too much time online. I've had to renew my library book twice now.

Finally, those alumni donations are worthwhile

2009-05-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

Seven deadly sins

I'm so sleepy

2009-05-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

Jet lag + lack of sleep last week is not good. I didn't do too bad this morning, but now I'm dying.

On the plus side, the Husband likes the Marie Antoinette action figure (with ejector head!) that I brought him.

Trying times

2009-04-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Seven days make one WEAK. At least the last seven did. Things were pretty much awful at work. Someone said that it's the general state of the world. People are scared about the economy and they're acting out in weird ways. Maybe that's it.

I also found out why we hadn't received our refunds. The tax preparer didn't put the initial "0" in our account number, so Bank of America kicked the money back. The State of California (unbelievably) issued us a paper check, which came on Friday. But the IRS was apparently waiting for us to call them and politely ask for the money. Once we did that, it was too late to get in this week's check run, so they'll mail our money on April 24 - conveniently the first day of my 10-day out of state trip for work.

I was going to go into the office today, but the Husband got a call about picking up an extra shift at one of HIS jobs. So I'm stuck at home without a car, which gives me time to play on the web, clean the house, and start packing for Friday's trip. Oh, and make arrangements to send condolences for the two more elderly family members who passed this week.

I'm ready for a break!

Hippity Hoppity

2009-04-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

Easter's on its way... past. At least we're supposed to have a new episode of "Amazing Race" tonight. I was a little ticked at the country music folks last weekend. Meanwhile, I think the new crop of kids on "American Idol" may be the best yet. Although I may just have a new can't-miss TV show: Amy Poehler's new "Parks & Recreation." I saw the first episode on Thursday and it was great!

Other than TV, not much exciting going on right now. I have a mountain of stuff to do at work before I leave for a conference in less than two weeks.

We haven't gotten our tax refunds yet (yes, we're actually getting money back this year), which is starting to annoy me a bit. I suppose if I had filed earlier...

Community Standards

2009-04-04T18:00:00.001-07:00

My dad likes to tell the story that when he and Mom were building their house in 1976, the banker asked him why he wasn't putting a two-car garage on it. After all, it was a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch-style home, the quintessentially middle American abode. Such homes almost uniformly had two-car garages. (Nowadays it would be a three-car garage if it were in an even passably upscale neighborhood.) No, my dad insisted, he wouldn't build a two-car attached garage. There was a large shop on the property (pre-dating the house by several decades) with room for two vehicles. Besides, he said, "I've never met anyone with a two-car garage who could actually park two cars inside. Bigger garages just become junk-storage magnets."

Fast forward 33 years (geez, was the Bicentennial THAT long ago?): Since we moved into this place, we've been the only couple on our little two-duplex lane that has been able to park a car in our garage. Now, however, I fear that the peer pressure may be too much for us.

Okay, so it's not actually the peer pressure. Really, it's our own ability to accumulate crap. But still, I think we are about to kick the car out of its warm and cozy home. See, we wanted to buy art. I found a couple paintings I really liked. But the Husband couldn't be bothered to go by and look at them (despite my nagging) until after the place they were displayed had switched to a new artist. And of course I didn't write down the name of the artist I liked. And I can't even describe accurately how many weeks ago I saw these paintings. So, we seem destined to remain art-less for the foreseeable future. But then the Husband noticed that our favorite furniture store (of the leather couch - which, incidentally, the cat has yet to destroy) was having an anniversary sale complete with the 12 months/no interest/no payments special. Enter the new bedroom set.

So, we now have to find a place to put all the cheap homemade/K-mart/Ikea crap that WAS in the bedroom. (At least until we get rid of it, which in reality will be never.) Thus, we may be subjecting our $18,000 automobile to the weather in order to provide space for $200 worth of furniture that we don't like or need. Makes sense, right? As much sense as the neighbors' storage of an old refrigerator, I suppose.

Anyway, I guess I could detail the Texas trip while waiting for dinner. I don't think I ever actually said, but the ostensible reason for the trip was the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. However, we didn't end up buying passes for the festival, so we decided we'd do a few (ha!) other things, too. We packed WAY too much into a week's time - over 2,000 miles on the rental car. We visited my nephew in one city, my niece in another, and my parents two states away! Then, on the way home, we had a three-hour layover in San Fran and ran into a friend from Palm Springs who was flying home. Of all the gates in all the terminals in all the cities... what are the odds?

Oh, and thanks to being in Central Time, I was able to stay up late enough one night to watch the new Jimmy Fallon show. Yeah... we're gonna chalk that up to "he's still finding his rhythm." Either that, or I'm having the same reaction that my parents had to Letterman. No, I can't be that old. I just can't!

Free Marketing Advice

2009-03-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

So, Texas has a chain of restaurants called Taco Cabana. We didn't actually set foot in one (though my friend in Austin is a fan), but we did hear one of their commercials. It was some lame mariachi music. Uh, HELLO? This just seems so obvious to us. I don't know, maybe Manilow won't license his music for commercials. But just in case we're the first couple on earth to think of this:

Her name is Ronda; she works the counter
With a smile upon her face, and some freshly cleaned trays
She takes our money and gives us drink cups
While Tony is a star - the way he tends the salsa bar.
If there's a crowd indoors, the drive-thru's open 'til 4.
Great food at fabulous prices,
Who could ask for more?

It's the Taco, Taco Cabana.
The hottest spot north of Laredo.
At the Taco, Taco Cabana,
Tex-Mex food passion is always in fashion.
At the Taco... you'll fall in love.

Well, I like Pop Rocks and I like salad...

2009-03-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

From UrbanDaddy:

Some things are natural pairings: bikinis and the beach, cigars and scotch, March Madness and a complete lack of productivity at work.

Others require a little more imagination. Like: salad and candy.

And now you can thank your favorite spiky-haired avant-garde celeb chef Elizabeth Falkner, who's at it again with her Explosive Caesar Salad—an enhanced romaine, parm and Pop Rock candy concoction that'll literally kick-start your meal—available now at Orson.

When the salad appears at your table, you'll immediately notice that it isn't any ordinary Caesar. Which means you'll have to go on the attack. Start by breaking up the two wispy curls of crouton-like shaved toast into bite-sized pieces, and then stab the fleshy globes of dressing and let them burst over your lettuce leaves. Once fully soaked, the fun begins: the parmesan streusel topping is loaded with your favorite retro popping candy, there to bring a new kind of crunch to your salad. Load it up on a lettuce leaf and let the games begin.

Since the Pop Rocks are activated by moisture, you'll start to feel a slight peppery tingle on the tip of your tongue that grows as you make your way through your salad, but happily subsides almost as quickly as it starts.

If you were expecting a stomach-busting explosion, we're happy to report that it's all an urban legend.

So go ahead and order that rum and Coke.

WTF?IF!

2009-03-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

How is it Friday already? Well, you know, in 55 minutes anyway. After being on vacation for a week, this week has just flown by. Saw WAY more wildflowers driving along the north shore of Clear Lake tonight on my way home from a meeting in Sacramento than we did last week at the Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Center in Austin. Oh well; in general the trip to Texas was fun, but we packed too much into a week's time. I'll post more about it... someday.

Incommunicado

2009-03-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I'm not taking the laptop to Texas. With United charging a fee for each checked bag, we'll need that "one personal item" rule for something other than the laptop case. I'm going to take a bunch of magazines and try to get caught up on reading. Of course I won't, because we'll be too busy - we already have this week "off" packed with more stuff than we should be attempting to accomplish in a month. (You know, some days I think I ought to move to one of those remote South Pacific islands where there's nothing to do all day but sit and watch the colors of the lagoon water change. I doubt I could survive an existence that relaxed, but it does sound more appealing with each passing year.) Anyway, if you're dying for a slice of our lives in the interim, check the mobile blog. I might get ambitious enough to post to it.

Older and older

2009-03-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Isn't Daylight Savings Time stupid? I need to move back to Arizona.

Actually, I need to move back to the Midwest, where TV shows come on an hour earlier. I tried to stay up for the premiere of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," but I couldn't make it. Last night I once again fell asleep on the couch between the time somebody said "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night" and the opening monologue. I am so old.

Further evidence of this oldness? We went out last night and I had a few cocktails. Okay, more than a "few." Apparently, there is a time in one's life when one can bounce back the next morning from that kind of over-indulgence, and that time is one's twenties. That time is increasingly farther in the rear-view mirror.

After my nap this afternoon (yet more evidence), I did manage to gather more information for our trip next week. I probably should have gathered tax info. for our appointment with the tax preparer, but trip planning is more fun.

Okay, tonight we have more "Amazing Race"--assuming I can stay up that late!

I forget

2009-03-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

I forget that it's winter. Here along the coast, we have our [relatively] cold snap in January. By the time Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we're ready for a warm-up. Trees are already budding out. It seems like spring has sprung... until you have to take a trip somewhere. There are road conditions to check, chains to worry about, appropriate clothing to think about - and that's just for a trip to another part of northern California!

I forget that I make friends differently than other people. We went to a housewarming last night. That's the type of social interaction I will never get comfortable with. When I was growing up, the people who visited our house were people that my parents had known all of THEIR lives. New people are scary. I've never understood my cousin, who can move into a new place and instantly make a thousand or so new friends - a trait I first noticed in her when we were five years old. What struck me last night was not that I'm not good meeting new people [duh], but that I'm not particularly good at maintaining casual acquaintances. I knew (in the sense of having met more than twice previously) at least a quarter of the people at the party, but I was still clearly out of my element. None of these people were my friends. When I'm friends with someone, I expect that I will talk to them at least weekly, if not daily. We will have the type of relationship where we can just drop by each other's residences unannounced. We will be able to talk to each other about ANYTHING. I really don't know how to have any other type of friendship.

Ashen

2009-02-25T21:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Ash Wednesday. I actually forgot that there was a church service tonight until we were finishing dinner. (Maybe because I've been advancing everything a day all week; it really seems like Thursday to me.) We went to Walgreen's instead of church. Now we're watching Idol. We definitely didn't give up cheese popcorn for Lent!

So far, the Top 36 has been more painful to watch than the trainwreck auditions. I don't understand why this should seem like Thursday; it's really more of a Tuesday. We watched the President's speech to Congress last night, but someone needs to tell that man that his popularity is going to PLUMMET if he ever dares to disrupt the AI schedule again. I mean, the economy is important and all but let's not kid ourselves about America's priorities.

Things have finally slowed down a little at work. I made myself a promise to leave at 5:00 this week. (Then I get home and have no idea what to do with the extra time in my evening.) I'm actually thinking about reading a book!

Discoveries

2009-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

I love watching Univision. "Sabado Gigante" reminds me of the 70's. The telenovelas seem to have the hottest guys. But the other day (Sunday, I think), I was watching the morning show and they had music videos. There was one song that was catchy enough that I went to iTunes and spent 99 cents on it. Apparently there's a whole genre of music called Duranguense. Geez, how did I miss that my entire life?

I took a tour of the local welfare office today. You know, I like to think I'm fairly up to date on the affairs of the world and savvy about life, but there's just so much I've never been exposed to (fortunately, I suppose, in this case, but still...).

It's also nice to be reminded of things you've connected with in the past. Last weekend I had the radio on while I was in the office. One of the songs I heard was "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes. I've always liked the song, but never knew the title. I had to Google the lyrics to find out. It is now an iTunes acquisition as well.

Another example of this is gay athletes. When I was in law school, I took a Sports Law class and wrote a paper on gay athletes. Today I run across this.

Holiday weekend

2009-02-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

LOL! The title of this post could not be more ironic. Sure, the office is closed tomorrow. Just like it was closed last Thursday, when I was there for nine and a half hours. Just like it was closed today, when I went in for two hours. Oh well, I knew these would be a rough couple weeks. I just didn't expect to be dealing with crises that prevented me from doing the work I need to be doing (like water gushing from the ceiling of the office on Wednesday). Fun, fun.

In other news, we did manage to go out for Valentine's dinner last night. Not too romantic, but it was pretty much the highlight of the weekend. I have a bunch of stuff to do at home, too. (In fact, we spent most of Friday night in a huge fight on that topic.)

TV has been good, though. "Wipeout" was on this afternoon, and tonight was the premiere of "The Amazing Race" (with Mel White as a contestant!). Even though I fell asleep before SNL last night, we are through the prelims on "American Idol" and get to vote this week.

Also, I re-read part of Maya Angelou's biography Thursday night. She recounts so many encounters with people who were deeply involved in what was going on in the 60's. It got me to wondering: am I missing out on some level of experience of important events going on in the world today? Will I regret later not being more engaged today?

There's always a weird tension between the mundane and the monumental, the urgent and the important.

What a weekend

2009-02-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

We are home. The Grammys are on, but I'm not really paying attention. We had a great weekend. The weather was just spectacular yesterday (in between rain on Friday and rain today for the drive home). Here's one of my fave photos from our day:

The Husband held up pretty well last night when we went dancing. There was a fight at the club, though, so that kind of put a damper on the enjoyment. We got to see several friends, in Monterey and on the way home. Stopped at Macy's, but didn't eat at any chain restaurants or even make a Trader Joe's run. Next up: Texas in March!

Rain, rain, went away

2009-02-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

So far, so good. [Knock on wood.] We are at the hotel in Monterey, waiting for some friends who are coming down to spend the day with us. It rained the whole way down here and all day yesterday. We visited a friend, went shopping, ate dinner, then came back to the room and watched Comedy Central all night. But we woke up this morning to sunshine! That wasn't really in the forecast, but we'll take it. Hopefully this will allow for some outdoor activities today. Keep your fingers crossed!

I am most excited about tonight: dancing! Not so excited about the drive home, though. 8:00 in the evening seems much later when you've been in a car for three hours than when you've been on the couch for three hours.

Super Weekend

2009-01-31T20:48:00.000-08:00

So much for being socially active... We've got an exciting Saturday night lined up tonight. It's not even 9:00 yet and I've already been in my pajamas for an hour. We're watching "Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials." If we can stay up late enough, maybe we'll get to see Steve Martin host SNL for the 15th time.

And to what, you may ask, do we owe this thrilling existence? Well, I didn't get nearly as much accomplished at work as I needed to this week. So I spent 8 hours in the office today and that's where I'll be watching the actual Super Bowl tomorrow. It's been that kind of a week. We did manage to go to the casino on Thursday in lieu of the third consecutive night of "American Idol" auditions, but that was about the highlight.

I guess it's good to save our energy for next weekend, when we'll be in Monterey and San Francisco. After all, a little partying can go a long way.

Milkin' It

2009-01-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

So, the movie "Milk" has come to our neck of the woods. That was the big event last night. The local A-gays rounded up everyone for the 6:00 showing. Not terribly convenient for those of us who had meetings at work until 5, but whatever. It was a good movie. Stan cried. I got pissed off. (Thirty years later and although progress has been made, not nearly enough IMHO.)

Afterwards, we went to dinner with a woman from our church and her husband (who doesn't go to church, so we've only met him a couple times). Turns out they lived in the Bay Area through 70's and remember a bunch of the events in the movie. It was a really cool evening.

We seem so socially active lately. Tomorrow night there's a work thing for Stan. Next Friday there's a retirement party for a guy from my office. Next Sunday we're planning a Super Bowl get-together. We have a housewarming at the end of Feb. For the first time I can remember, we're having to actually write our EVENING schedule on the calendar.

I was wrong and so were the pundits

2009-01-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

I was not well enough to go back to work today, so I didn't. For awhile I was feeling guilty, like maybe I'm really better and just faking it. Then I had to run to the bank and I got so nauseous in the car!

So, we have spent the entire day on the couch, watching the Inauguration. I guess in a way I'm "lucky" to have been sick, because if I had been at work I would have had a meeting at 9:00 (noon Eastern). This way, I got to participate in the whole historical significance of the day. Not sure, though, that I wouldn't have traded skipping the day's events for having my stomach settled. I HAVE to go in to work tomorrow, better or not, because I have a mountain of work staring at me for next couple weeks.

Neither of us even feels well enough to go to the dollar store and stock up on cheese popcorn for "American Idol" tonight. (Did I mention that they got in a new shipment just in time for last week's premiere?) Of course, that also means we don't feel well enough to EAT the cheese corn if we had it...

Anyway, back to the Inauguration... wasn't that speech a bust? I mean, it wasn't a BAD speech, but for all the hype the talking heads on TV built up about what a great speaker President Obama is, there were no memorable lines a la "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," "With charity toward all and malice toward none," or "Ask not what your country can do for you." The best lines of the day were from the closing pastor.

No SlimFast for me

2009-01-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

Apparently the Universe has decided on a New Year's resolution for me, and is going to make me lose weight whether I like it or not. Maybe the Universe knows I have a 20-year high school reunion coming up this year.

After spending the first three days of 2009 slowly recovering from diarrhea, I am now spending the first three-day weekend of the year with what I can only assume is the flu. Many of the symptoms are the same as the food poisoning I apparently got on Dec. 31, though even more intense (passing out while throwing up; fun!) and with added joys like a fever. Plus, this time I gave it to The Husband, who is just as big a baby as I am when sick. We are a sad household at present; my mother has called three times to check on us.

Again, I'm sure I'll be well enough to go to work on Tuesday.

January Blahs

2009-01-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

We've been home for a full week now. Actually, about a week and one hour. I got over the intestinal issues just in time to return to work on Monday. I've been sort of melancholy since getting back. I guess it's just the whole "same nose, new grindstone" thing that follows any extended vacation/holiday period. We had a team meeting at work on Thursday where we did an exercise on personal goal-setting. That didn't help. All the things I want to do conflict with each other (save money, travel the world). Today I've been on the computer ALL DAY, sorting through trip pictures and cleaning out three weeks' worth of e-mails. Tonight I think we're going to the casino.

The trip didn't end well, but in looking through the pictures I realize it really was a remarkable trip. We got to see friends in several different places along the way. Maybe we should do something like this again. (This summer, we could take a northern route.)

The fourteenth day of Christmas

2009-01-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we're only six and a half short hours from home! It can't come soon enough, as I will probably need to go to the doctor when we get there. I managed to contract Montezuma's Revenge (or at least some sort of revenge) in Phoenix. At first I thought it was just food poisoning. But that generally passes in 24 hours, and I'm now into my third evening of "gastro-intestinal distress." Apparently you're not supposed to take more than four Imodium in a 24-hour period, so I'm waiting until bedtime for my next dose. My entire midsection is in pain of one form or another.

But aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Not very good, actually. The condo in Phoenix was pretty much our worst experience with our timeshare. It took them half an hour (literally) to check us in. The bed was not TempurPedic like the timeshare in Tucson. When we got back to the unit on Tuesday night, there were NO parking spaces. We ended up parking several blocks away. Then on Wednesday there was the whole puking my guts out incident. So much for Phoenix...

Last night wasn't a lot better. The Wigwam in San Bernardino was better decorated than the one in Holbrook, but that's about it. The bed was WAY less comfortable. That, combined with the stomach issues, made for an uncomfortable experience all around. Neither of us felt much like driving through L.A. this morning (though the traffic was surprisingly light).

On the upside, we met up with three sets of friends along the way. I thought about calling folks in the Bay Area tonight, but I couldn't really leave the hotel room. I sent Stan out for dinner by himself. At least tonight the bed is comfortable.

I can't wait to be home!

Addendum

2008-12-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, we stuck to the original route for today's trip.

Also, our room for tonight is on the third floor and is ridiculously hot. We have the air conditioning on!

And yesterday we drove by the house where I lived from fourth through seventh grade (accidentally; we were looking for something else).

More adventures on the road

2008-12-29T19:44:00.000-08:00

I had a thought tonight as I was stuffing myself with fajitas: I love this country. Driving across the western half of the United States in the wintertime, you get to experience a bunch of different climates, a bunch of different terrain, a bunch of different food, a bunch of different radio stations... I love small towns in the middle of nowhere. I love big cities with chain restaurants. I love plains. I love deserts. I love mountains. I love oceans. I love thunderstorms (more about that later). I love snow. I love warm days. I love pop music. I love country. I love rock 'n roll. I love NPR. I love Christmas music. I love Italian and Chinese and Mexican foods that would be unrecognizable in the countries where those cuisines originated. Basically, I love the variety that only the U.S. offers.

Okay, other stuff: We got to experience a real live, honest-to-goodness Kansas thunderstorm! Yeah, I know; this is so NOT that time of year. But I mentioned how the 26th had a record high and the 27th had snow? Well, in between (about 1:30 a.m.), I awoke to hail! There was thunder and lightning, and an actual tornado watch!

You have quite a bit of time to think on a trip like this. Especially across western Texas and eastern New Mexico. I've come up with my next life. After I retire early, I will pay COBRA for two years, go back and get my Master's in poli sci and then go into community college teaching.

So far, we've eaten at Sonic (only once), Long John Silver's, Dairy Queen, multiple McDonalds, and Chili's (tonight's fajitas sadly weren't in one of Las Cruces' historic Mexican restaurants). We've also eaten at several good (and one that seemed good initially but resulted in some intestinal discomfort later) local restaurants. And of course Mom loaded us down with food, both while we were there and for the return trip. We did, however, managed to get rid of the rest of the Chex Mix before we left Mom & Dad's (partially as a result of my aunt dumping a big bowl of it onto the kitchen floor).

Today's highlight was the White Sands National Monument. Lacking the variety of the Petrified Forest, but worth seeing nonetheless. Unfortunately, it came near the end of the day's travels, so the experience was tainted by the desire to just be done with the car for the day.

We took another nap after we got to our room. We haven't had any trouble getting up and on the road early, but we both get tired after lunch and fight about whose turn it is to drive. Tomorrow should be a shorter trip, and then we have one whole day without driving, followed by another relatively short trip.

Not sure if I'll blog again the next couple days. Our timeshare has high-speed Internet, but they charge for it. So, if this turns out to be my last post for 2008, Happy New Year!

The Return

2008-12-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why "National Lampoon's Vacation" didn't show the Griswolds' trip HOME from Walley World? What further adventures might there have been? Well, just for you, Sports Fans, I present Road Trip 2: Reverse Commute.

Yes, I am a bit punchy. It comes with the territory after a Christmas complete with family drama. As The Husband said to me somewhere in Oklahoma: "Three days was long enough."

OMG - I'm watching the Independence Bowl and ESPN just showed a crowd shot. There was a woman with what looked at first glance like a Chuckie doll on her lap. I guess it was actually a child in Louisiana Tech face paint.

Anyway, Christmas was about as good as could be expected. The drive into Kansas was not nearly as cold as I had anticipated. And Friday was actually a day of record highs! But yesterday it dropped 30 degrees and snowed most of the day. It was 24 degrees when we left this morning, and the first 30 miles of road were icy. Since then it has been smooth sailing, with a high of 60 by the time we made it to Amarillo for the night.

And despite the requisite drama, the family was largely okay as well. I got to see all six of the nieces and nephews, their spouses and children over a two-day period for the first time in... ever, maybe? Mom & Dad loaded us down with a bunch of presents (in addition to the stuff we actually drove to Kansas to retrieve from their house), so the car is even more packed now than it was on the first leg of the trip. Oh well, that's what side mirrors are for, right?

Speaking of Mom & Dad's gifts, this morning over breakfast they offered me cash. No, that's okay... they have these new-fangled things called ATM's. It's not like we're destitute. But by the time we went to buy gas in Amarillo, I was re-considering their offer. My credit card was declined! Turns out their "Fraud Pre-Warning Department" had flagged my recent activity as suspicious. Hmm... a trail of receipts leading from my current address to my former address and a new trail leading back westward. Yep, sounds like someone else stole my card and visited my parents! On the other hand, maybe they were just questioning the sanity of anyone who would make a cross-country trip in the middle of winter; everyone in California certainly did.

We ate at the Big Texan Steakhouse for dinner. There were three guys attempting the 72-oz. steak dinner. None of them made it. Tomorrow I am debating eschewing our pre-printed route map in favor of another highway. The advantages are more four-lane and new scenery. The disadvantages are that it takes us over higher terrain (but the New Mexico Department of Transportation says there are no adverse road conditions on that stretch) and that it is more total miles (though we have less ground to cover tomorrow and we gain back an hour). Decisions, decisions.

Tucumcari Tonite

2008-12-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

Well, we're back in the land of Wi-Fi. (Technically, Harrah's had Wi-Fi, but they were charging $10.95/day for it; that's almost as much as I paid for the room!) This will probably be my last post until after the big family festivities, as Mom & Dad do not have a wireless network. ROTFLMAO!

The Husband and I have managed to avoid a divorce thus far, but it was touch and go for awhile tonight. This was our latest night arriving to our final destination (just after 6 p.m.) so we were pretty well fried (and the nerves pretty well frayed).

We had a lovely dinner (God, I miss good steaks!) and completely unpacked the car so we can re-pack it tomorrow in a manner that allows us to actually find things when we get to Mom & Dad's.

We had a little more snow today in western New Mexico. I'm hoping tomorrow will be clear, though I'm prepared for it to be COLD.

Merry Christmas!

ROAD TRIP!

2008-12-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

So far, so good.

We had my office holiday party last night and there was wine involved. Not so much that I made a complete fool of myself, but enough to give me a restless night of sleep. I was up from around 3:30 on, so at 5:00 Stan gave up and we got out of bed. We left town at exactly 6:30. There was light traffic and no icy roads, so we made it to our motel for the first night at exactly 2:00. Uh, okay, guess we could have driven farther today. Except, no, that was enough being in the car. We took a nice nap then got up and went looking for dinner and cheap gas. Now it's just after 6, and we're in for the evening.

Tonight's Travelodge is clean and the Wi-Fi works. We've been on an all-fast food diet - hopefully the buffet at Harrah's will have a good salad selection tomorrow night. Speaking of Harrah's, I think we'll be Wi-Fi-less for two nights, so for the latest adventures check the Mobile Blog.

Last but not least, why is it that the cheapest gas station you pass during a trip becomes the benchmark for all successive gas purchases? Sure, gas in Merced may be 20 cents a gallon cheaper than it is at home (and $2/gal. less than what we were paying not so very long ago), but the fact that it's 20 cents a gallon MORE than some random place 50 miles north of here is just absolutely unacceptable.

Variety is the spice of blogging

2008-12-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Time with the Husband
So I had Monday off work. We needed to have some work done on the car before our big trip. Instead of just letting Stan deal with it and staying home to play on the computer or something, I went with him to the auto repair place. Then, being sans auto for three hours, we just walked around town. Together. We never have a chance to do that. Usually when we're both home at the same time, we're both busy. It was nice to just spend an afternoon together with no plans, no pressure, etc. Plus, it was probably good practice for all the time we're going to be spending together on our trip.

The best ad ever
Speaking of our trip, I got a bunch of McDonald's gift certificates for us to eat various non-Sonic meals on the road. Have you seen these new "Nuggnuts" commercials that Mickey D's is running? They are stupid, but I think they must be the most effective ads in history, because they've actually made me hungry for Chicken McNuggets. Those things are awful!

Always an adVENTURE
And speaking of good advertising, they ought to bring back Venture stores.

God knows, my Husband calls Tar-zhay "Venture" ALL THE TIME.

Fin de semana de las nueces pimientas
Someone at the office had the bright idea that we should all make homemade cookies to distribute to other departments. Four dozen each. I decided that Stan and I should make peppernuts, another Midwestern specialty of German extraction (like bierrocks) that none of my California colleagues had ever heard of. What I failed to adequately convey to Stan (who, despite his supposed German grandparentage, was just as clueless as the Golden Staters) is the time required to make a quantity of these equivalent to four dozen regular-sized cookies. We have spent most of the last two days in an assembly-line-style kitchen production, with me rolling and slicing the dough and him taking one pan out of the oven and sliding another in to replace it. It's gone relatively well, but I don't think we could ever be one of those couples (that you see on Oprah; I've never actually met any of these people) who enjoy cooking together.

Noche de luces
We did take a break from baking long enough to go sit in the rain and see the local electrical parade. You'll have to forgive the picture quality; I used the real camera last year, and it's no better and capturing lights at night than the cell phone is.

That sucks

2008-12-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

Most tragic story EVER

Go Doogie!

2008-12-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Dandrew and the basic unfairness of life

2008-12-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

The frat boys are probably going to win the whole thing! Makes you wonder why you should bother working hard when some people can succeed just by the luck of having others around them screw up.

Christmas Trip

2008-11-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's still 20 days 'til we leave, and work is going to be stressful between now and then. But today I mapped out the routes for our two-week drive to the middle of the country. It's 2026.71 miles going and 2380.68 miles coming back. I've got all the motels reserved, and a print-out of the Sonic Drive-Ins along the way. I even found a list of Route 66 landmarks. Let's hope gas stays cheap and the weather holds out.

For now, I can't wait to see which team goes home tonight on "The Amazing Race."

Black Friday Recap

2008-11-28T22:08:00.001-08:00

For the second year in a row, I went to bed late on Thanksgiving, having ruled out the idea of hitting the stores at the crack of pre-dawn. I figured Long's Drugs wasn't likely to sell out of Pepsi, so why brave the 6 a.m. crowds. But, for the second year in a row, I got up anyway. This year, it was thanks to the cat.

There was an earthquake offshore about a quarter 'til 6 this morning. We didn't feel it, but it freaked the cat out (at least we're assuming that's what freaked the cat out). She was scratching the bed at 5:46 a.m. So, why not get up and go?

We were the first ones in line at Long's. Geez, I guess the economy IS bad.

We ran other errands and did additional shopping, but I didn't end up getting the external hard drive. This evening we went out to dinner with some guys we know from San Jose who were up here visiting family. Then, when we got home, I got the gayest Christmas video ever:

Unabashed consumerism

2008-11-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am... awake on my day off. Watching the Macy's Parade. Having already poured through the ads for tomorrow morning's sales. I'm not sure we need anything. In fact, I'm relatively sure we don't. But we'll probably head out anyway. Once again, Long's Drugs seems to have the best ad (Pepsi for 69 cents, $5 off a $25 iTunes card, a winter emergency kit... stuff we'll actually use).

Keeping Up With the Digital Joneses
The one big purchase I am seriously considering is an external hard drive. I remember my first computer... 2 KB of RAM, data storage on cassette tapes, a 5" wide printer that required special thermal paper, no software of any kind (you had to program anything you wanted it to do in BASIC). Now I'm annoyed when the laptop gets a bit sluggish if I try to Skype, surf the 'Net and burn a DVD simultaneously. So, you know, I really "need" extra data storage. The only question is whether it should be the 750 GB for $88.88 at Target or the cheaper but less capacity 640 GB for $69.99 at Staples.

What I Really Need
I'm hoping someone will have a sale on Just for Men. I swear the amount of gray in my hair tripled since the last time I put on my glasses in front of the bathroom mirror. Oh well, I guess I can give thanks for still having some of my hair.

The Holidays Have Begun
It's officially that time of year. We missed "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," but we watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" as well as "Rosie Live." We're on our second batch of Chex Mix. Stan is making a pumpkin pie to take to our friends' house for Thanksgiving Dinner (which is at 5 p.m.; having been raised by a Southern woman, I've always believed that "dinner" is the noon meal, at least on Sundays and holidays). I've got the holiday letter ready to go to the post office tomorrow after our shopping excursions. It's beginning to feel a lot like... this year has been entirely too fast.

Season's Greetings!

Seen at today's protest

2008-11-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

Oh, so true. The guy wearing it was way cute, too. Too bad I can now utter phrases like, "If only I were 20 years younger..."

A sign of the end times?

2008-11-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

November 14, 2008

Canned Heat
Bordeaux in a Can

You've got nothing against wine. Quite the opposite, actually.

But sometimes you wish wine was just a little more like beer—portable, easy drinkin' and without fancy trappings like glass bottles and corks.

So you might want to turn your attention to SF-based Volute Wines, three new Bordeaux varietals served in ready-to-drink aluminum bottles, available now.

Of course, if you haven't been sold on the screwtop wine bottle yet, it might take some time to warm up to the aluminum bottle. But it helps to think of it as a shatterproof, lightweight evolution past glass (sort of like a futuristic vision of wine from the '50s). Yes, people have been putting wine in alternative vessels since the dawn of time—the much ballyhooed goatskin wine sack, the ceramic jug favored by monks and, of course, the wooden leg—but beer's stranglehold on aluminum has been keeping you from enjoying a nice cabernet at your favorite outdoor fests (barbecues, bonfires, tailgating, lunch) for too long.

With one outdoor swig of the can, you'll forget that you're drinking wine in aluminum and see only possibilities: sauvignon blanc at the beach, rosé on the golf course, cab/merlot at Bay to Breakers.

Just stay away from wine pong...

Okay, I'm ready to talk

2008-11-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Vacation review
First off, Ft. Lauderdale was great. It is so much different than Miami Beach. And it was mega-relaxing. A lot of lazily drifting around the pool at our resort on a pool float. Which is so not (normally) me. I think Stan was a little flummoxed that I didn't want to go, go, go and see a million things. He tried to convince me to drive down to the Keys, but I just was not up for hours in the car. It was a good thing vacation was so relaxing, because it's been non-stop stress since we got back. Starting with...

The election
Okay, so we have an African-American President-Elect and that's historic and it was neat to watch Oprah in Grant Park, but... PROP 8 PASSED! There are no words to describe what a complete affront this is to the basic ideals of American democracy. Mob rule is not supposed to be able to take rights away from minority groups. That's why we have cute little innovations like the Electoral College. I have been so pissed since last Tuesday I can't even express myself. I was just beginning to let go of the anger a little bit when...

You've GOT to be kidding me
I got home last night and there was a letter in the mail from Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Miami. They're alleging that we damaged our rental car! I have rented cars all across this country for a decade now, and this has NEVER happened. And in fact, it DIDN'T happen (so far as I know, but I don't even know for sure what they're alleging because the letter didn't specify a type or amount of damage). Now I have to deal with this? I need an escape, like...

My post-Lottery win plan
I've decide how I really want to spend my life. Six and a half months a year (early June through mid-December) in northern California. Five months a year (New Year's Eve through late May) in southern Florida. Two weeks a year (Christmas and Memorial Day) in Kansas. One house overlooking the Pacific and one overlooking the Atlantic. The best of both coasts, plus a few amber waves of grain thrown in for good measure. We could keep our cell phone plan, but change Stan's number to a Florida number so we'd have one local number in California and one in Florida. Then we could get a Kansas number on Skype. We'd keep all our winter clothes in the California house and our summer clothes in the Florida house and just need a carry-on bag to get us through the change of seasons in Kansas. And we'd still have our timeshares for when we needed to "get away" from this fabulous, carefree existence. Hey, some days dreams are all you've got, you know?

Speaking of Skype
I finally signed up. I didn't get a SkypeIn number yet, but if anyone out there's on the service, let me know and we can Skype-to-Skype for free.

That's about it for today, kids. Wish me luck on the rental car fight. At least it's my birthday month so I get free slot play at the local casinos.

I'm still too pissed to blog

2008-11-07T07:28:00.000-08:00

Do it
The bastards
The next fight

I'm tired

2008-11-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

It has been a long birthday. I woke up 20 and a half hours ago on another coast. I'll blog about the trip soon, but I'm not sure how many coherent sentences I can string together right now. In the meantime, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Sick sweatshirt

2008-10-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Does everyone have that one "comfort" article of clothing that you wear when you're home sick on the couch? For me, it's a grey hooded sweatshirt that I use to literally "sweat out" whatever is ailing me. I had to pull it out yesterday. My boss has something with vaguely flu-like symptoms, and I came home at 3:00 with several of the same signs. I feel much better this morning, except my stomach still cannot handle the thought of any food with flavor.

The bad thing about living on the West Coast is that all the football games east of here start at 9:00 on Saturday morning. There's nothing inherently wrong with that; unlike when I was a teenager, I am now always awake by 9 on Saturdays. It's just that the TV stations are unwilling to pre-empt Saturday morning cartoons for football. I suppose I wouldn't mind if it were the SuperFriends or Smurfs, but now they have on stuff like funny Inca princes and kung fu skunks (and those are two of the better ones). I feel a little sorry for the kids of today and the shared cultural references they'll have when they get into their 30's. I guess maybe the "Howdy Doody" generation felt the same about our little blue creatures and their giant cat nemesis.

I love the dollar store

2008-10-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

We got two bags of stuff, and it cost less than our lunch at KFC! Our wine rack is now full again, and the most expensive bottle in it (aside from the gift from our friend who lives in Napa) is Two Buck Chuck.

Other than that, I am just trying to avoid doing some work I brought home. I am so desperate that I've actually been cleaning the bathroom and dusting in the living room (though I can honestly say that getting the house back into a tolerable condition of cleanliness was a pretty pressing matter). I might go do some laundry next.

Day four, the drive home

2008-10-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, we took the long route along the Klamath River. There appeared to be smoke hanging in the air when we left the freeway, but it was completely clear through the valley. We didn't even see any visible evidence of the fires that had caused evacuations and road closure earlier this summer.

It's so great to be home. I've already taken a nap; our bed is so much more comfortable than most hotel beds. And I missed the cat.

Day three, comedy

2008-10-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

We spent our Sunday morning in the hotel room, FINALLY watching our Netflix rental (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which we've had for over a month). Then after a traditional American lunch of McDonalds, we headed off for back-to-back Bard.

Between the disco version of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Old West version of Comedy of Errors, we went to the Black Sheep Pub for a dinner of bangers and mash (him) and a pasty and potato leek soup (me). Then we saw the Green Show, which was moved indoors due to the weather.

It just so happened (completely unintentionally) that we were there for the closing night of the outdoor theater. Apparently they do a candle ceremony each season when the Elizabethan Theater closes for the year. So, that was neat to see.

When we got back to our room, the door was open and all the lights were on! Luckily the laptop was still here, along with everything else (that we remember). I guess Housekeeping just forgot to come back and clean something. Still, a bit disconcerting.

Now all I need is a good screenwriter

2008-10-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

Coming to theaters near you, Memorial Day 2010: A guy is teaching school in drag (no, I haven't quite figured out why yet). But he's not the only one with a secret. One of his students is actually a spy who's posing as a high-schooler. She's working with two other agents posing as her parents. The "family" of spies (working for the good guys, of course) recruits the drag queen teacher to help them on a mission. Very Mrs. Doubtfire meets True Lies, with a splash of Victor, Victoria thrown in (when they recruit him, they don't realize he's a guy). I've even got a one-liner on the evils of prematurely washing color-treated hair: "No American soldier has ever benefited in combat from washing his hair more often." I see Nathan Lane in the lead role.

The big question: Is this inspired by Shakespeare, or should I not have eaten Sonic last night?

Day two, perfect

2008-10-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I was looking forward to a full day of watching college football (at least my Cats won). I knew Crater Lake would be cold. What I didn't reckon was how gorgeous it would be. It was beautiful and sunny today, scarcely a cloud anywhere. We took some picnic stuff and ate lunch (in the car; way too cold for a picnic table) overlooking the deepest lake in North America. Then we got to go to Sonic for dinner when we got back to town. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The drive up along the Rogue River was stunning. We basically experienced two seasons in one day. There were maples along the river with turning leaves (I miss deciduous trees in the fall); then once we got into the park there was snow and the high temp was below freezing.

We did the full loop around the Rim Road, so I got to experience lots of views I hadn't seen on my prior trip. Here are a few of my favorites:

There are 150 others (literally). It was an amazing day. Made it back in time to see Oklahoma State beat Mizzou. Now I'm watching Ulimate Fighting until SNL comes on.

Trip, Day 1

2008-10-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

It was pretty windy along the coast yesterday, so the ocean was just gorgeous. Wish we'd had time to stop and take pictures, but Stan ran late getting home so we had to book it up here.

We are staying at a brand-new Homewood Suites. It's really nice, but their interior decorator obviously subscribed to a philosophy of "if one pattern is nice, ten patterns will be super!" This place is going to look dated in about a month.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is one of 1000 Places to See Before You Die. But I've seen it. Twice now. But it's SOOO good. I want to come back again next year.

We saw Othello last night. I know it's not an original thought, but it always strikes me how timeless Shakespeare's plays are. And this was really well done. Cold, though. The Elizabethan Theater is open-air, and it was in the low 40's by intermission. When you're just sitting for 3 hours and 15 minutes, that gets chilly.

We don't have a play today. We're thinking about going up to Crater Lake, which Stan has never seen. I don't know. We have two flat-screen TV's in the room and College GameDay is already on!

Seasons change

2008-10-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

Well, the new episodes of South Park have begun. I personally didn't find this week's all that funny.

It's definitely fall here now. Got down into the 30's last night, and the air has that autumnal warm/cold feeling today.

We are headed for Ashland as soon as The Husband gets home. Three Shakespeare plays in three days.

Here's a really good (and funny) Prop 8 ad:

It's important for those of you outside California, too

2008-10-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

http://jesseonthebrink.blogspot.com/2008/10/say-no-to-prop-8-with-your.html

Finally!

2008-10-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

It's raining. I love rain. True, I will be sick to death of it by April and never want to see rain again. Until about September. Then I'll be ready. I've been ready. They've been predicting it. "Storms this weekend." It was supposed to start yesterday. Well, yeah, it did--sort of. A few drops and then nothing. Actual sun in the afternoon! No, no, no. We've had our one nice day for the fall, now I want wet leaves swirling around me when I leave the house. I want the sound of rain falling on the roof as I curl up on the couch. I want to wear sweaters. Today, at last, I am wearing a sweater. There's been a slow, soaking rain for a couple hours now. This is good. I want a heavier rain, but not until after I get off the freeway for my lunch date.

Just beachy

2008-09-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

It was a spectacular afternoon here. Really, the kind of weather we only have about twice a year. The kind that reminds you that we live in California. So, we did the Californian thing and went to the beach.

Richmond recap

2008-09-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, my trip to the other coast was a success, in the sense that I had fun and managed to not come back to TOO big a pile of stuff at work. The worst part was the middle seat I got on my red-eye from LAX to JFK. The best part was the wine tour. (Despite being a coastal Californian, I am not much of a wine snob. I figure the point of any kind of alcohol is intoxication, and in that sense Virginia had some GREAT wineries.)

We have two weekends at home before we head up to Ashland for Shakespeare, then two more before Florida. I am really, really enjoying being home. (Yet more evidence that I am becoming my parents.)

Since when?

2008-09-18T19:34:00.001-07:00

So, there's this Mexican restaurant in town. The sign says "since 1981." My initial reaction is, why should that be impressive? There's another restaurant down the street that's "since 1965." But then I remember: 1981 was TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, and that's a pretty good run for a family restaurant. You know the statistic: most businesses fail in their first year. My all-time favorite, though, is a sign I saw in Germany - "Loewenapotheke, seit 1431." Translation: Lion's Pharmacy. Since 1431. THAT'S worth bragging about.

'Nuff said

2008-09-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

I feel like I should blog

2008-09-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the gayest weekend of the year here. Big photo exhibit of gay pioneers last night. Drag bingo tonight. Pride parade tomorrow. I've been putting off blogging in the hopes that something interesting will happen. But so far it's been the same ol', same ol'. Paid bills. Got a haircut. Had breakfast with a former colleague. Watching football and listening to 80's music now while The Husband does laundry. Yee ha.

I did have a thought. I am my parents more each day. No, that thought did not occur to me when I saw my dad's jowls staring back at me in the mirror at the hair place. It occurred to me because of my latest obsession. I am totally into LinkedIn now.

Once upon a time, I joined Friendster. But I haven't opened my page in probably a year (and not very frequently in the two years before that). I never did the MySpace or Facebook thing. Just seems so "I'm not 17 anymore." This week, though, I signed up for LinkedIn and now I am completely absorbed with building my network. I'm checking about every 2 hours to see who else has joined.

This relates to my parents not because of their online social lives (ha!), but because when they develop an interest (like fishing or watching movies or gardening), they become ridiculously obsessive about it for awhile before moving on to the next thing. In the same way, my iTunes fanaticism seems to be on the wane (though I did have a big Laura Branigan/Pat Benatar/Sheena Easton shopping spree today) as my LinkedIn passion has ignited.

Sinuses suck

2008-09-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Anyone care to explain to me the evolutionary advantage of a hole in one's head that can be induced to fill up with mucous just by a little dust? The sinus canal may indeed be proof that God has a sense of humor - a really dark, sick sense of humor.

In case you haven't guessed by now, I am in my second day of misery. They are replacing the carpets at work, which has introduced literally 30 years worth of dust into the air I'm supposed to breathe. I was fine last week when they were working at the other end of the hall, but yesterday I moved some boxes for my boss and it all began. Not only does my head feel like it has been stuffed with lead weights, but I'm exhausted. I took a nap after work yesterday, got a full night's sleep, and still fell right back into bed when I got home (early) tonight.

In other news, I have added something new to my list of things to do before I die: go to a major-party political convention. I haven't watched all the coverage, but what I have watched has just seemed so exciting. No, I'm serious. And it's not just the drama of the groundbreaking candidates. The conventions appear to be perfect excuses for behavior (and modes of dress) that you wouldn't be caught dead participating in for the other 3 years and 51 weeks out of each quadrennium. (Unless these people act and dress like this all the time, in which case I don't want to be anywhere near them.)

So much going on

2008-08-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

First a comment: The laptop is generally great, but the touch keys are so sensitive. I just tried to wipe away a hair and triggered the DVD player.

Anyway, for a weekend that is supposed to be about honoring labor by not performing any, there's a lot going on. Called my dad last night for his birthday (which he, a lifelong Democrat, is none too happy to share with John McCain) and he said that Michael Martin Murphey is going to be at the big Labor Day festivities in my hometown. That prompted me to start singing "Wildfire" to Stanley and head to iTunes, where I purchased "Will It Be Love By Morning."

This morning my sister called to announce that she had sold a painting. She has always been a good artist (I grew up loving a picture she had painted in high school), but now that her only child is a married father and she's somewhat disillusioned with her career, she's gotten really serious about painting. She's joined an artists' collective and taken tons of classes. Her work is now being exhibited in several places.

Back here on the coast, both the film festival and the blues festival are in town this weekend, with another community celebration up in the little town where my boss has her weekend cabin. Stan got up early to go stump for the No on 8 campaign, and now he's getting the oil changed (something we're 1,000 miles late in doing).

But the thing I am MOST excited about, of course, is the first weekend of college football! I feel like going into the office, just to watch ESPN (though I have plenty to keep me busy if I do actually go in). That seems to violate the spirit of the weekend, though, so I guess I can wait another 45 minutes for ABC's coverage to start. In the meantime, I'm listening to "Jock Jams."

My thoughts exactly

2008-08-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Great post

Vegas Vacation

2008-08-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I've got Vegas out of my system. It was hot (110 on Friday), my feet were killing me, and I'm over Cirque du Soleil.

We went to a couple more ultra-lounges, as well as another gay club. We had Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues on Sunday. We shopped. We gambled. And then there were the shows...

Le Reve was amazing, but we were disappointed with Mystere (we had the worst seats in history, and Cirque seriously needs to re-examine their policy on seating latecomers). Cher, however, was just unbelievable. It wasn't so much a concert as a multi-media extravaganza. There were videos, acrobats, and of course music; I'm glad we saw it last, or we would have been really let down by the others.

We also went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris. From that vantage point, you can really see all the construction.

It's somewhat of a miracle to be able to post these photos, though. Last time we went to Vegas, the camera battery was fried. This time, we lost the camera bag at the Miracle Mile Shops! Luckily, someone turned it in to mall security.

One of the highlights of the trip for The Husband (who did not do well on the slot machines this time) was that he found another new hat.

I've caught it

2008-08-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Alright, I admit it. I am afflicted. I have Olympic fever.

The opening ceremonies were AWESOME. I am excited about the U.S. medal sweep in women's fencing. I cannot wait for Michael Phelps to swim again.

You have to understand: this hasn't happened to me since the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games. I remember watching part of the '84 games in L.A. I can't even remember where they WERE since then. Atlanta, right? Seoul. Athens. Sydney. I still thinking I'm missing one, and don't you dare ask me to put them in correct order. Point being, I haven't given a crap about international sports competition in my entire adult life. After all, the Olympics are mostly boutique events like badminton instead of football.

So why now? Because it's China? (The goose-stepping soldiers unfurling the flags at the opening ceremony brought to mind another historic totalitarian showpiece Olympics - the 1936 games in Berlin.) Because we got into badminton at the Outgames in Montreal? (And it now looks like we probably won't be going to next summer's games in Copenhagen.) Because I'm in the middle of a three-day weekend and the games are more interesting than "Saved by the Bell"? Who knows.

In other news, I have bronchitis. I'm taking some medicine which is not supposed to be taken with antacids. So, I am off my normal regimen of Nexium in the morning and Zantac at night. I haven't had heartburn in so long I'd forgotten what it feels like. I guess my GI tract hasn't been magically fixed.

I'm pretty much packed for Vegas, even though we don't leave 'til Thursday morning. So far, the digital camera is working (knock on wood), but I'm not sure if I'll take it or not. We've got Le Reve tickets for Friday, Mystere on Saturday, and of course Cher on Sunday. Plus, our friends from down south are meeting us again. Should be fun!

Dang, the Latvians are leading in men's beach volleyball!

There is no secret ingredient

2008-08-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Went and saw Kung Fu Panda at the discount theater this afternoon. Really good movie. I'd actually consider buying it. Ooh, wait - I wonder if I could get it on iTunes. (I'm listening to Hank Williams right now.)

Anyway, here are a couple thought-provoking articles:
A Tale of Two Weddings
Domestic Partners

Tonight we went to the new gay coffee house here in town. Cheaper than the bar! Unfortunately, they're going to close early most nights. Guess I'll still need Starbucks for after-dinner coffee.

Speaking of after-dinner coffee, last night we went to the chi-chiest restaurant in town. After three years in town, it was about time. Excellent food. Won't be three years before we go again!

Stuff I like

2008-07-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is SO funny!

Could my life be any better?

2008-07-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

We live in such an incredibly beautiful area. There's nothing on TV tonight and I didn't feel like watching our Netflix rental. So we got Starbucks and went down to the waterfront to watch the sunset. Even the smoke from the pulp mill looked beautiful.

We ran into some tourists from Colorado and gave them tips on what to see as they continue north to Portland.

We did it again

2008-07-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, we're legal.

Been busy since the ceremony showing our only out-of-town guest around the area. We are taking the left-over cake to church in the morning.