Finally, we've got a date for the wedding! Whoo hoo! Well, it's still tentative until we find a reception hall, but I'm pretty sure this is the day. It's going to be Saturday, September 13th, 2003, so mark your calendars! It's going to take place at Dave's church (I'm tired of getting the run-around at my first choice church). We went to meet with the pastor yesterday, and I definitely have a better feeling with this priest than I did with the other priest. He was really great. I'm really excited now! You can read more about my wedding drama in my wedding blog

I downloaded the beta version of The Sims Online yesterday, and I can't stop playing it. The gameplay is like the original, but you can actually chat with other people. It's a lot of fun. It's really addicting. I'm never going to blog again. Just kidding. I'll take breaks and write entries. Muhahaha. But really, I'll be going to DC this week, so I can't play Sims anyway. I'll just be working on my website. But if you DO end up playing it, look for me in Alphaville, under the name of Moreta Dragoon.

Just a real quick post. We put up our Christmas tree. It took longer than we expected because we were missing a couple things and had to make a quick run to Walgreens. My arms are sore from putting up lights, but the tree looks gorgeous. I took a bunch of pictures, so I'll post them up tomorrow when I get a chance.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We're heading out to my cousin Melanie's today, where we spend every Thanksgiving. We're planning on having two turkeys (one baked and one fried), stuffing, pie, and more food than could feed a small third world country. I can't wait! We'll be eating all day. Later this afternoon I'm heading out to Dave's family Thanksgiving party. Should be a good time.

Yesterday was a great time. It's nice to go out and see a lot of people your age. Nowadays when I go out, the crowd tends to be a lot younger (or maybe I'm just going to the wrong places). But it wasn't like that yesterday. I saw lots of people from my old days at school and it brought back a lot of old memories. And the music KICKED ASS! The old school house music was so great to hear, and the dancing was so much fun. I haven't danced like that in a long time. Unfortunately, Bad Boys Blue didn't perform. Hmph! But that's ok, it was a great time. The bartender felt guilty that every drink I asked her to make she didn't have the liquor for, so she hooked me up with whatever she DID make for me. Hey, no complaints here! I was very, uh, happy. But there WAS one strange moment, when it was pointed out to me that I had one ex-boyfriend, one boyfriend, and another ex-boyfriend all within a four foot radius of me. It was kind of a coincidence, but it was weird nonetheless! I would never have thought that I would be one of those people that had multiple ex's in one room. But it doesn't matter. They all get along anyway. And it didn't matter, because I still had fun!

So anyway, it's Thanksgiving...so here are some of the things that I'm thankful for (in no particular order):
my family, my fiance, my friends, my puppy ewok, my bunny luscious, my health, my job, tiramisu, the sims online, people who write long emails, steak egg and cheese bagels, adobe photoshop, on-line shopping, remote controls, student discounts at movies, cd burners, movie trailers, clinique bonus days, late night chats, short track skaters, tony hawk pro skater 4, quick dry nail polish, salvation army bell ringers, comic books, buffy the vampire slayer, long drives alone, biscuits and gravy, joe boxer commercials, people who comment on my page, christmas lights on michigan avenue, frequent flier miles, blogging, law and order, McDonald's 99 cent menu, newborn babies, my digital camera, chocolate eclairs, friends who don't mind if you don't call them back, thumbsplus, caller id, webcams, sushi, kazaa, when the bears win, concealer, www.yanowhatimean.com, 8 hour lipstick, scanners, smallville, message boards, old school house, my dsl...

there's tons more...but I'm hungry! I gotta go! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

So much for slacking on the day before the holiday. I had a meeting with the president of the company today, and he told me that my next consulting gig has to be done perfectly, because it's one of our biggest clients. Yeah, that's no pressure. So I'm under a bit of stress to make sure that I get the job done well. But it doesn't help that I just found out about this on Monday, and that the client isn't calling me back. How am I supposed to do something perfectly if I'm not even sure what I'm going to be doing? So today will be a lot of testing of all of the customized stuff, as well as trying to get all the other stuff done that I was going to do next week, but won't be able to, since I'm going to be gone. Argh!

Earlier today, me and Dan were checking out google and I was checking to see if you can find my archived pages (which it doesn't look like you can). We entered 'comic convention michael rosenbaum chicago' to see if we would find my page, which we didn't, but we found this little treat at Entertainment Geekly. It's a report of the convention done by a guy that was there. Dan was reading it, and he wanted to see if he had said anything about Luke Perry. What had happened at the con was that Dan had gone to the Luke Perry panel (who is starring in his own sci-fi show), and tried stirring up some controversey. Funny enough, Dan was actually mentioned by this guy!

I know we're in good shape when the first question is from some gimp who jumps up and smarms, "Did you honestly think that 8 Seconds would be your ticket to stardom?" Geeks show no mercy.

Yep. That's Dan. Totally smarmy.

Tonight I'm gonna head out to an old school party and watch Bad Boys Blue in concert. Remember them? 'A Train to Nowhere' and 'Save Your Love'? Should be good times. And it will be great to see old faces again!

And tomorrow is Turkey Day. Can't wait. There's nothing better than eating yourself into a food coma. Yum!

Well, I guess I thought I could keep it a secret til I was done with the revamping of the site, but I've been outed! I went out and bought www.yanowhatimean.com. Sure, it may not be the easiest domain to remember, but I think it's catchy and a lot of you agreed. Now there's nothing on there right now. I was tempted to just copy my site and move it there, but I want to start anew. Well, it will probably look the same, but I want to really clean the rest of the content in here up. I'm really excited. And fortunately (and unfortunately) I'm being shipped off to D.C. next week, so I'll be able to have a LOT of time to work on it. Yay! Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. And don't worry if your favorite wasn't chosen - I'll be changing the design and title of thie page periodically. I'm sure you'll see one of your choices up there eventually!

This or That Tuesday

1. Stuffing: baked inside the turkey, or separately? Inside the turkey. Then all the nice yummy turkey juices are soaked into the stuffing. Mmmm...
2. Fresh or frozen turkey? Frozen. Not many places you can get a fresh one around here.
3. Cranberry sauce: jellied or whole berry? I'll pass on that. Looks like a big blood clot.
4. Stay home or visit friends/relatives? Friend/Relatives. I don't know what any holiday would be like without spending it with my extended family. Me and my cousins are close.
5. Do you cook Thanksgiving dinner, or let someone else do it? My dad. He's the best cook ever. This year, we're having fried turkey. Whoo hoo!
6. Traditional turkey dinner, or an alternative (such as vegetarian)? Traditional. Vegetables suck.
7. Regular potatoes or sweet potatoes? Regular potatoes for Thanksgiving. Though I love sweet potatoes, butter, cinnamon and sugar.
8. Homemade gravy, or the jarred stuff? Homemade. That's the best stuff.
9. What part of the turkey do you prefer...dark or white meat? I like dark meat, just like my men.
10. After dinner: football or Christmas movies? Football. Playing football. Or watching football is ok, too.

Me, Claudine and Fatima are back together again! Whoo hoo!

After we picked up Claudine from the airport, we went over to our cousin Maui's place to visit the newest member of our family, Jillian. She is just the cutest little thing you've ever seen! Adorable! Precious! Beautiful! There aren't enough words. She was sleeping for most of the time we were there, so I didn't get too many action shots. Jane told us the whole story about her 16 hours of labor. Something that I'm not looking forward to, yet in a little way, a bit curious about. She didn't spare any details. But that's what I want to hear. I don't want to hear a sugar-coated description of childbirth. I want the truth! It's weird, yet wonderful to see Maui as a father, carrying little Jilly Nilly around, changing diapers.(that shall be my pet name for her. Everyone has a pet name for her. I want one of my own!) Who would have ever thought!

So I guess work is sending me out to Washington D.C. next week, for a whole week. EEK! How am I going to survive? Rest assured that I'm going to have a new look for this page once I come back, because I'll have NOTHING to do out there. Well, I do have a few friends out there. There was one friend in particular I wanted to meet up with, but she's going to be outta town. But I'm sure I'll still have a good time. Maybe I'll do some sightseeing or something. We'll see. Glad the whole sniper thing is over. Anyone know anything fun that I can do in D.C.?

Today is fucking cold. I forgot what the onset of winter is like. But it looks beautiful outside, on Michigan Avenue. They've got all the Christmas lights up and everything. It's gorgeous. I love this season! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. And it makes me want to spend lots of money. But I won't!

Hope it warms up a little for Thanksgiving. And work is kicking my ass. You'd think that people would be on vacation right now, but it looks like everyone's trying to get their work done before the holiday. Ack! Take a break people! Slack off on your 3 day week.

Three posts in one day. I'm on a roll.

Here's my results from this Personality Test I took today. I got it off of Richard's site. I think the results are a bit disturbing. Histrionic! I'm not histrionic, dammit! *tears out hair and stamps feet* Hmm..ok, maybe I am. *wink*

Disorder
Paranoid: High
Schizoid: Low
Schizotypal: Moderate
Antisocial: Moderate
Borderline: Low
Histrionic: Very High
Narcissistic: High
Avoidant: High
Dependent: Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive: Low

Paranoid, Narcissistic and Avoidant. Yep, that's me!

Bears Win! Bears Win! Finally the Bears finally pull in a win.  Against the Detroit Lions.  In overtime.  Geez, can't we just have a nice, old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness win?  We used to be such a great team!  But now our quarterbacks are falling apart, and we've got to fight hard to beat even the crappy teams like Detroit.  But hey, it's a win.  I'm not going to complain too much about that!  And when Chandler went down, Miller did a great job, even with his injury.  And let's hear it for Dez White, who often is in the shadow of Chicago's more popular receiver, Marty Booker.  He made a couple great catches yesterday, including an awesome touchdown catch, which you could see here.  So yeah, it wasn't an easy win, but it was a win all the same.  And it ended our 8 game losing streak.  I was getting a little worried there.

As for the domain naming, I've decided to go with 'yanowhatimean.com'. So looking back at the archives, (and thanks to Linda for finding it) it was kwalan a.k.a Alan who came up with the title, so he'll get a prize. I don't know what, but maybe you guys can help me think of a prize for him. I think the 8x10 autographed Yano glossy picture may be a bit too much.

The thing about having two sisters, is that what you do for one, eventually you'll have to do it for the other. My father had always raised us to be fair and to be equals. Constantly growing up, I had to split EVERYTHING with my sisters. So now, Claudine gets her share of Christine blog-lovin'. So where do I start? Claudine is the middle sister. She has all the middle sibling hang ups - in the shadow of the oldest sibling, not getting as much attention as the youngest. I'm three years older than Claudine, and her and Fatima are nearer in age, so they've always been closer. That, and they've shared a room forever. However, me and Fatima are close, too, just because we share similar interests and style. That's how the alliances have been within our family, me and Fatima, or Claudine and Fatima. It hasn't been often that it has been me and Claudine - basically because Fatima could beat us up if we ganged up her. But I've always been the big sister. And I've always used that fact to my advantage. Did you ever watch 'The Hogan Family'? I'm the just like the oldest brother in that family - born to torture and wreak havok in the lives of my younger siblings. So I give Claudine a lot of grief. We don't always get along. And yeah, there have been times I've said to her 'I have the biggest urge to punch you in the face right now.' But the thing is, I really admire Claudine. She's the best kid of us all. Me and Fatima won't deny it. She's the daughter that every parent wished they had, and I'm not saying that out of jealousy or with any sarcasm. She's the smartest. She's responsible. She's tortured by guilt laid upon her by her parents. She obeys. She easily makes friends. She cooks and bakes. That, and she can fit in most household garbage cans. Ha ha ha. She is really a role model, someone you could look up to. Well, you'd have to be lying on the floor to look up to her, because she's only, like 4 feet tall. Anyway, me and Fatima have been joking about replacing Claudine with another sister, because she's been away at school. And I know Claud feels horrible about it...but I gotta poke fun at her - it's my favorite hobby. But really, no one could replace our Claudine. We love her too much. And who would bake me cookies and let me lick the bowl?

Uh oh. This post is longer than Fatima's. I'll come up with more accolades for Fata later.

FYI - looks like yanowhatimean, yanosworld and gotyano are in the lead for my domain name!

Oh...and it's

Dave's Birthday Today!

OK, so you guys helped me name my page, howabout helping my pick a domain name? I have domain name envy. Everyone has a domain name but me! OK, not everyone. But I'm planning on buying a domain. And does anyone know any good web hosts? (ahem, KATHY) Here's a couple that I've come up with, if you know of another that has a cheaper, or has a comparable package, I'm looking!
Blue Domino
IPower Web
WSS
WebSytz
Webmasters.com
Prohosting

And domain name should I get?

www.yanosworld.com
www.gotyano.com
www.yanowhat.com
www.the-yano.com
www.yanowhatimean.com
www.yanosweb.com

Vote for your favorite, or suggest a new one. I want the name to be generic enough so it will stay the same, even though I change my web page name (which will be often!) I'm planning on making the plunge on Monday, so vote/suggest quickly!

Well, we went to the church yesterday and we were supposed to meet with the priest, but he never showed. The receptionist said that he had left for a dinner not 10 minutes before we arrived. She tried calling his cell a couple times (why does it seem weird to me that a priest has a cell?) but he never called back. So we left. So we're still without a date. *sigh* That's ok, we still have an appointment with Dave's church.

Me and Bryan went to Nordstrom for a midday snack and ran into the huge Hagrid display. This was made entirely out of Legos, and it was built by kids and parents that stopped by the mall. They each got a project sheet, a rubber hammer, and legos to complete their piece of the big Hagrid. It was really cute to see all the little kids work so hard. It's pretty huge, as you can see here. It took 2 days to complete.

Speaking of Harry Potter, I'm heading out to watch it again tonight. Should be a good time. Hopefully I don't fall asleep.

As some of you know, I reverted back to my natural hair color a couple months ago, after having blond highlights for about 2 years. I'm so-so about the change. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. However, I'm saving a lot of money by not having to go to the salon every 3 months. So I'm back to basic black.

Until now. Maybe it's been there all this time, and I never noticed. Maybe I should be paying more attention to my hair. Maybe it's new. I don't know. But the other day, I was looking at my hair in the mirror, and I saw something. I couldn't believe my eyes. Maybe it was just a reflection of the light. Maybe some blonde hairs were missed when I got my hair colored. It couldn't be! No! The horror! Yes, I found a GRAY HAIR. Oh no! Gray hair? The end is coming. And I haven't even gotten married yet, or had kids. How could I be punished so? Why God? Why me? *shouting out to the heavens as the camera pans away*

OK. I'm being dramatic.

Speaking of...I was at another script reading yesterday (it's every other Wednesday for me) and we had some really great scripts to read. A couple of you have asked what these little readings are. Well, when I was in college, and a few years after, I acted in a couple of things. However, when I started traveling a lot for work, I didn't have time to do a production, but I still wanted to take part in the acting community. So my old director often holds workshops for new writers, and I take part in script readings for these writers. A couple writers and actors sit in with the director, and we read the scripts aloud. It helps the writers to hear their work, and to be evaluated by other writers. This goes on for weeks, as the writers do rewrites, and the director picks the best pieces and puts up a production of short skits. It gives me a chance to practice my acting chops. I often miss it a lot. And my director wanted me to take part in a staged reading. Rather than reading the scripts in a room, the staged reading is for the almost-finished product, but it is read on a stage, complete with blocking and a small volunteer audience to critique. It's nice to be wanted. But I can't do it! Damn my schedule!

First of all, I'd like to say Happy Birthday to my cousin Melanie. Hope you have a good day!

I finally got a chance to change the colors in the comment boxes to match the original ones here. I know kathy, I know, I should just use an external style sheet. Someday. Someday I will!

Here's an interesting story to share with you. A friend of mine from work (really, the ONLY female I consider my friend at work) was recently diagnosed with Celiac Sprue, which is a disease where you get a chronic reaction when digesting glutens, which are often found in cereal grains. Because of this reaction, and what it does to the intestines, a strict diet must be followed. It's not a life threatening disease, but you've got to stay away from certain types of grains, like wheat (which means bread) and MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is used in a lot of products. All in all, it's not a picnic. She's a tough cookie, so she can handle it.

So the story comes in when she's talking to another coworker, and this other woman asks her why she was in the hospital last week. And knowing this person, we'll call her 'Fluffy', I know the reason she had asked was not because she was concerned about my friend's health, but because she was wanted gossip. Fluffy is also in a managerial position in the company, and holds a good amount of power over us. So my friend explains what happened, and that she has celiac sprue, and also the changes in her diet that she has to make. So then, Fluffy says 'I wish I had that disease. I could lose some weight!' *gasp* What do you say to that? Isn't it common sense that you don't say anything like that to someone who has a disease? I was pretty appalled that she said that. And it's kinda scary that this person is a manager. Oh well, so goes the drama that I call work.

So if any of you know any recipes that don't involve anything with MSG or glutin-based grains, send it over. My friend is looking for some good food to eat, now that the orange chicken at the Panda Express is off limits!

And one more thing - Rod finally has a web blog. Now when I ask him how his day has been, he can say 'Read my blog!' which is what I always say to him! Welcome to the Bloser subculture, my friend!

Well, my sister Fatima was home this weekend and was a little miffed that I didn't mention her at all in my blog.

So she gets her own paragraph. She came home last weekend to play Ricebowl. She did a kick ass job playing center on the O-Line. Too bad the championship game is delayed for a couple weeks. She also watched Harry Potter with me and Dave. Her friend (and our sister in training) Thara came, too. You know, I think the reason I'm online all the time is because my sisters are gone. I really miss having them around. Not only to talk to and play paper rock scissors with when it's time to wash the dishes, but it's nice to have a sibling there for you, when you just need someone to talk to or watch TV with. And who's gonna help me pick out clothes to wear? I think I've been making horrible fashion choices lately without them here. Ewok can't answer me when I ask, 'Does my butt look big in this?' It sucks being an only child, even if it's only for a couple months. So I miss Fatima and Claudine a lot. Even if I don't show it on the rare occasions that they DO come home. I'm so happy when they do. And even when Fatima DOES finally graduate, we won't have much time together because once I get married, there's a good chance that I'll be relocating. *sigh* Oh sisters!

This or That Tuesday...

1. Long or short hair? Long hair. Tried the short hair, it gets in my face too much.
2. Microwave or conventional oven? Microwave. Fast. Now.
3. Plain or Peanut M&M's? I like the crispy rice ones. Tasty!
4. "101 Dalmations"...animated or live-action version? Animated. Definitely.
5. Drink out of bottle/can or pour into a glass? Glass, lots of ice.
6. Sunlight or moonlight? I love the bluish tint of moonlight.
7. Kermit the Frog or Miss Piggy? Piggy. She kicks ass. And she's damn sexy.
8. Glasses or contact lenses (or neither)? Contact lenses. Wearing glasses is too traumatic.
9. Action movies or chick flicks? Chick flicks. I'm a sap.
10. Toilet seat...up or down ? UP! UP! UP!

Haven't done a quiz in a while...In honor of the movie, I give you the 'What Hogwarts House are You?'

There's also a bunch of other quizzes for you there, too. So what are you?

I got a call from the priest of my first choice church today. Didn't think that he'd ever call back, and I was kinda discouraged about the rules of the church, but he may be able to pull some strings. I've posted a little on My Wedding Blog, and I've also put in a couple dresses that you can post.

Today was a boring day, so I'll talk about Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'. I'm really finding myself drawn to the song, and it's suprisingly inspirational, which is something I would never have thought Eminem to be. There's just something about how it talks about taking chances, and really going all out Anyone watch 8 Mile? I haven't heard a bad review for it yet, and I've talked to about six or seven people about it. There's just something I find strangely appealing and sexy in that guy, I don't know what it is. And is it me, or does Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter look like young Eminem?

Don't forget to get up early tomorrow morning to watch the Leonid meteor shower. It won't be that good for another hundred years, so be sure to check out. Make up your wishes so you can make a whole bunch tonight.

Today (well, yesterday night) was the first real snow of the season. It wasn't much, maybe about an inch. There's something thrilling about the first snow of the year. It almost makes you want to burst out into song as the snowflakes fall apon your face. I bursted into a little rendition of 'Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!' in the Barnes & Noble parking lot. It snowed some more overnight, and I love waking up in the morning and seeing the fresh snow on the streets and the trees, driving near the forest preserve and seeing the snow on the trees.

We went to go watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets yesterday. We were originally going to see the 8pm show, but it was sold out online, so I bought tickets for the 9pm show. Of course we get there right before the movie starts, and there aren't any seats together. So we were able to switch our tickets for the 10:30 show. I really like the movie. From what I remember of the book, it held pretty true to the story. But I'll have to admit that Dobby was annoying the fuck outta me. Get in the corner with Jar Jar Binks, Dobby! But the acting was well done. I love little Ron Weasley...he's got the cutest facial expressions. And Hermione is getting to be quite a looker, she's got the prettiest eyes. There was a good lot of funny parts, and even some scary parts - Moaning Myrtle kinda creeped me out a bit. And Kenneth Branagh was meant to play Gilderoy Lockhart. He was great at the part! The movie was kinda long, though - Dave fell asleep. Then again, he didn't read the books, and had only gotten past the 2nd cassette that I gave him of the audio version. But to me, I enjoyed it. Not as much as the first, but I liked it!

Well, my friend Lara was in town from Milwaukee to see her favorite band, the Love Monkey perform at the Cubby Bear in Lincolnshire. Dan came along, too. The band was really good, and the crowd was pretty into it. But I realized one thing. Well, actually, I had suspected it, but Dan pointed it out to me. The band mostly played rock music covers, and I was kinda having a hard time dancing to it. I'm not a rock dancer. I'm a hiphop dancer. That's what was going through my head. I looked at the people around me, trying to imitate their moves, but my hips just don't move that way! I'm not used to jumping up and down when I dance! But Dan then put it into better perspective for me, since he was just chilling and watching the band. When I sat down to take a break, he said, 'Christine, you'll never be able to do the white person dance'. Ah! That's what it was. So he tried giving me some pointers. But it just didn't work. But I still had a great time!!! It was really nice to see Lara again.

Today was Rice Bowl, and I didn't play this year. Rice Bowl is a yearly football tournament between the Asian clubs of the colleges in Chicago - Loyola, University of Illinois - Chicago, DePaul, Northern and my school, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Normally I play as an alum, but I just didn't feel like it this year. Though I did go. And I admit to feeling a pang of regret for not playing. I love football, but I'm really out of shape this year. Maybe next year.

My little cousin Nina also had her 2nd birthday party today. She's so adorable. I'm thinking of maybe having her as my flowergirl, but she's got to go through the interview process first! But isn't she the cutest? I've got about a year to train her to walk down the aisle. It will be pretty intensive training, but she's a tough lil lady, I think she can handle it!

So we all take turns going to the Walgreens downstairs to get snacks and whatnot. I don't usually go, because I usually don't need anything, or the guys volunteer to go before I can think of going. Today, I was a tad bit hungry, so I decided to make a Walgreens run. So I ask if anyone needs anything, and Sam give me this sheepish look. And I'm like, 'Uh uh. No way...' and he says 'Please?' The thing about Sammy is that he likes himself a big fat dip of tobacco every now and then. Well, just now. There is no then. I've given him the whole gum cancer speech and what not, and he had given it up, but he's back in the habit again. And now he's got me off to buy his dip. Ack! The last time I bought dip for him, the little Filipino lady at Walgreens had looked at me in disappointment (a whole bunch of sweet lil' Filipino women work at my Walgreens). So I get in line to get my stuff rung up, and it's a little olf Filipino lady ringing my stuff up. I've got some Pringles that are on sale, only if you have a coupon, and she pulls out an add from behind the counter so I can get the good sale. She smiles at me with that 'I know you're Filipino too' look. Then the shocker...

Me: Um, can I have some Skoal Mint, please?
Tita Flor: What?
Me: Skoal Mint?
Tita Flor: Oh. (eyebrows narrow) I need to see ID (starts searching behind the counter for the Skoal, looks up) What color is it?
Me: Uh, green?
Tita Flor: (still looking...pulls out a blue pack) It's blue. (slams it on the counter....a line is forming behind me. I can feel their eyes burning into my back, 'this little girl dips?')
Me: Oh....uh, so it IS blue. Sorry about that.
Tita Flor: (leaning in towards me and whispering, but loud enough for everyone to hear) Is it yours?
Me: Oh! No...it's not mine! (Tita Flor looks at me disbelievingly.) Really! See? (I pull out my lower lip and show her my gums and lower lip)
Tita Flor: (shaking her head) And they make you buy it for them?
Me: (looking tortured) Yeah....they do!
Tita Flor: You should tell them to stop.
Me: OK...I will
Tita Flor: You'll save their lives!

Wise advice, from a wise woman. Gave the advice to Sam. He said thanks as he started packing his dip. Tsk tsk, some people will never learn...

Back to work today. Since I've been out since the beginning of the week, today felt like a Monday. So in a way, it's like having a two day work week! Whoo hoo! The morning flew by. I went to lunch with Bryan and Sam at 2, but it felt like it was 12. But once we got back from lunch, it seemed that every time I looked at my watch only a minute had gone by. Well, fortunately today I wasn't sleepy. There's just too much for me to do.

I was talking to a client of mine today. We've been talking for the past couple weeks, but I've been away, and never got to finish some issues we were working on. So I'm talking to her on the phone, and she wants to schedule a conference call for Tuesday, because she'll be out of the office until then. So I'm like 'Oh, are you going on vacation?', and she's like 'Uh...well...' and I think to myself, 'What did I just say! What if there was a death in the family or something!' So I'm like, 'I'm sorry...you don't have to tell me'. And then she's like, 'Oh, no, that's ok. Well, see, I'm in a relationship, and uh, a baby came into the picture a couple months ago. And so we had a civil ceremony. So this weekend, well, uh, this weekend is when the actual wedding was scheduled to take place, so we're still going to go through with all that.' She sounded really stressed out, I mean, it was just kinda like she was just going through the motions of it. I didn't know what to say but, 'Uh, well, congratulations and good luck then.' 'Uh, thanks'. God, I really messed that one up.

I'm getting used to this new look and feel for my site. There are still a lot of changes I want to make, but I just need to remember that I can't change everything at once. Thanks to everyone for giving their input.

Nothing much else happened today. But I did find an interesting site. It looks like supermodel drag queen RuPaul has his own weblog. It's pretty nice. It's sounds so normal compared to what I thought it would be. And that was the one thing that I don't remember RuPaul being - normal.

Ok, so it wasn't a vacation, but as you can see, I was a busy little girl. I'm playing around with different formats, and I kinda liked the name 'The Funk Phenomenon', cuz I love dancing to that song. I also liked 'yanowhatimean' so maybe during my next trip I'll make up another format. We'll see how much I like this. Being a Gemini, I get bored really easily, so this page is probably going to be changing a lot.

Anyway, enjoy the new look. I also changed around the 'links' page, because the other one was a piece of crap. This one is still crappy, but doesn't smell as bad.

And since I haven't posted a picture in a while, I'm giving ya a picture I like to call 'Invasion of Stitch!'. Click on it to get the bigger version. I took it when I was in The Disney Store. I took a couple pictures in the back, and I wanted to take a couple more of the Christmas display in the front, and I asked the lady if it was ok to take a picture and she was like 'Uh, sorry, no.' Lucky for me she didn't catch me in the back, snapping away!

Number of Times I Got Lost Today - 8

This is starting to be a habit. But let me explain myself. The way to the client involved going by the mall (now renamed The Bermuda/Jersey Triangle) and the directions I got just weren't clear to me. For some reason, I just kept on ending up going around and around the mall. And U-Turns aren't easy around here. And then there was an accident on the street, so there was some extra traffic. I finally ended up pulling out the map and figuring it out on my own. And then I got lost on my way home because it was dark and raining pretty bad. Not too many streetlights around these parts.

Number of Times I Tried Unlocking the Wrong Car - 4

Well, that should actually read 'since I've been here'. It's not just today. And I swear, it seems like every other car here is silver! I think I tried getting into the same car twice (on different occasions) in the hotel parking lot. But that one was the exact make and model of my rental. But I'm sure you've done that before, putting your key in, turning it, trying the handle then thinking 'Hey!' looking in the car, and seeing stuff in the car that isn't yours, then sheepishly looking around to see if anyone saw you and quietly slinking off to where you suddenly remember where you parked your car. Oh, the joys of traveling.

I think I'm in withdrawal. I need to play a game. I saw a commercial for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 on TV and it was really cute. I actually laughed out loud. And felt a little pang in my heart - I miss my playstation! I miss my SIMS! I miss my Medal of Honor! I need help! Maybe after this I'll play some solitare or minesweeper or something. I'm starting to have the shakes after not playing some sort of game for so long.

Watched Smallville tonight. That show is so great. I love the little inside jokes that they throw in, like Clark being afraid of flying, and little Ryan (was that his name?) mentioning how his favorite comic hero has a flying fortress - 'Hey, that sounds like a good idea, exept for the floating part' says Clark. Cute. Really cute. And I LOVE the casting of the X-Files ex-Cigarette Smoking man as the corrupt mayor of Metropolis. Is it me, or does he always have the same kind of role? Coincidence? I think not!

Number of Times On the Way to the Mall I Took a Wrong Turn and Got Lost - 2
Blocks away the Mall is from the Hotel - 3

Damn the twisty curvy streets here! Haven't they heard of 'This way to Mall' signs? How am I supposed to know that the big buildings and bright lights was the mall?

Number of Times On the Way Back I Got Lost - 1

East, West, the sun has set! I don't know! Pick a direction and hope it's right. Bah! Wrong again! I'm so glad I'm not a bird. I'd be flying towards Greenland right now.

The mall was pretty huge. I'd have to give it a 8.5 out of 10. It seems to have every mall-type store I can think of, and a good mix of high end stores and cheapie stores. It would have gotten a 9 if it had a better food court.

Speaking of food, I went to grab some dinner there, and I stopped by this place called 'The Parthenon' or something. Anyway, I ask for the gyro plate, and the girl is like 'A What Plate?' Ok, so I'm from Chicago. I've eaten at Greektown. I call 'em YEE-ROSE. 'Can I have a 'YEE-ROE'?' That's what I've been brought up to say. So this little teenybopper at the register is like 'A YEE ROE? Oh, you want a JIE ROE.' yells to the back 'One JIE ROE plate!' And I ask for a receipt. She gives me a blank stare. She asks the other Britney wannabe - 'She wants a receipt.' They both look a little worried, but the other girl calls out to the back, and someone tells her. So she asks me what I got. I say THE WORD. 'I got a YEE ROE plate.' Blank stare. I give in. 'JIE ROE. I got a JIE ROE plate.' Ahh...I see the lightbulb turn on. Ack. Next time I'll just write it down.

I saw the cutest thing in the toy store. I was checking out the latest Barbies they have out (some of them are amazingly tacky) and there was this mother and daughter in the same aisle. The mom is picking different Barbies, showing them to the little girl (she's about 4), and asking which one she wants. So the little girl is saying 'No' to most of them, but then the mom pulls out this Ballerina Princess Barbie or something, and the little girl goes, 'Yeah, that's the one I want, mommy! She's almost as pretty as you!' Can I get a collective maternal sigh? *sigh*

I've discovered that malls are dangerous places for me. If I want to save money, that is. Especially malls that rate an 8.5 out of 10. I had to get out of there because the temptation was too great. So many cute tops. So many pants on sale. So many cool necklaces. *wipes drool* Oh, and the Disney store! Go in there and check out all the adorable stuff they have. The only thing that stopped me from buying stuff was that I can't carry it on the plane. In my head, I also had to chant 'Save money for the wedding. Save money for the wedding.' You know it's getting bad when you're thinking of people you're taking off your invite list, just so you can buy a new pair of pants. But I didn't! Ok. ONE pair of pants. But I need new pants. And I could have bought so much more! Ack. I need help!

Can you tell I'm bored now?

Number of Times I Took a Wrong Turn and Got Lost - 3
Number of Times I Got Lost and Feared for My Life - 1 - Trailer Park

Lots of twists and turns in this part of New Jersey!

Anyway, today was just blah. Working at a client site. They're mighty friendly people, but the work is slow because anything that's done needs to go through the help desk, so there's a lot of waiting time. But that's ok, because I had to clean their data, anyway.

Gonna head out to the local mall now. I should get a little map of malls around the US and mark them off as I go to them. I seriously have gone to 50 different malls since I started traveling. I'm a mall slut!

On a more serious note, keep the families of the ones lost in yesterday's string of tornadoes in the midwest in your prayers. If anyone of you saw pictures of the theater that those 60 children were in (they were warned, so they went to the cellar) and how the roof was blown off, you'll know how horrifying this all was.

Where is Yano Today? Fairfield, NJ

Well, I'm in Jersey right now. My flight was delayed for an hour, so I ended up getting here at around 11:30pm. I was looking for my ride (my client had arranged for a driver to pick me up) but he was no where to be found. I felt like a kid whose parent forgot to pick her up after school. So I had to wait FOREVER in line to get a cab. Argh! So I'm here for a couple days, so I don't know how much I'll be updating this thing. Anyway, I'm sure nothing exciting is going to happen, anyway! But while I'm here I think I'll work on cleaning up the rest of this site. It could use some cleaning up!

And the Bears did it once again. And I REALLY thought they'd win again. But they blew it. All the had to do was play a little defense - and they had AWESOME defense for the first half...they just had to hold 'em. Oh well. There's always next week.

Today is just a 'veg out' day. Time to take care of the things around the house that I've been neglecting. Like cleaning. When was the last time I talked about cleaning my room? Exactly. This place is a sty. Even for me!

Yesterday I watched my Spiderman DVD. That's such a great movie. I can't wait til 'The Hulk' comes out. That should be awesome! I also watched 'Ghost' for the 50th time. What a sweet story. And every time I watch it, I still get a bit teary-eyed. Ahhh...he said he loved her!

Since nothing's going on, I was thinking of putting up my favorites from the 'Name This Page' contest earlier - here's my favorites, you can either add more, or choose which one you like the best:

Played a little more last night. It's so much fun, but I die all the time. First I tried using a submachine gun, but it just wasn't accurate enough. Then I switched to the rocket launcher, but you've got to reload every time. I then went on to the sniper rifle, which I like, because it's good for long range shots, and you don't have to reload each time. But I still kept on dying. Maybe I should finish up the single player game before playing the multiplayer. Nah...I'll just keep playing online!

What a busy day for my blog!

Anyway, the protest didn't turn into a riot. Fortunately, it was quite peaceful. But the police were in downtown in full force today. On the two block walk back from lunch we counted 28 cops on the street. At around 2pm, the bicycle police started lining up next to the Tribune building (which my office overlooks). Unfortunately, I left my camera with Bryan to take pictures of the protest since he's working late, so I have no pictures of my own right now. I grabbed these off of the Chicago Tribune's site. I stayed after work for a little, thinking that it wouldn't take too long for the protesters to reach the Trib, but I had to go home (can't miss 'Friends'). But my path home actually came by the protest path, so I got to see them. It was such a bizarre sight. I stayed and watched for a little, then walked toward the station. Which was the same time that the police in riot gear were moving to the next block. So basically I'm walking along, right next to 100 cops dressed in riot gear, complete with visors, shields, tear gas and batons. For some reason, it felt like a scene out of 'V: The Final Battle', having all them walk in single file, all dressed the same, some with German shepherds, not saying a single word, people passing by taking pictures...It was kinda creepy. But then the serious mood was lightened a little when I heard one of them say, 'We need to get a band, you know, a drummer and a guy with a trumpet', which received a couple chuckles. Bizarre, I tell you, just BIZARRE!

Just wanted to welcome Jillian Jose Mendez, who was born earlier today, to this crazy little rollercoaster that we call life. And congrats to her parents, Jane and Maui, for creating a little bundle of joy for me to run psychological tests on.

It's really weird, but I somewhat vividly remember 3 dreams I had last night/morning. Kinda weird. Usually I only remember one, if I remember my dream at all. Must be because I got more than 4 hours of sleep last night. What a luxury. Anyway, here there are...feel free to interpret what my subconscious is telling me.

I'm in school again, in Physics class. I realize that we've got a physics exam that I haven't studied for. I'm looking around the room in a mild panic, and I see a friend of mine sitting a few desks in front of me to my left, reviewing with the person in front of me. I have no idea what they're talking about. Then the girls that sit next to me ask me about my ring, and they start congratulating me. And one of them asks 'Girl, when did this happen?' and another girl says 'DOn't you know? That's what she wasn't here on Friday!' As I'm sitting there, I calm down and realize that I don't care about how I do on the test because I'm never going to use physics in my life.

You know when you have a dream, and you just have a creepy feeling about it? There's just this oppressive, evil feeling. That's this dream. I don't remember much, but I remember standing outside of this house. It's got about 3 floors, and in a way, looks like the house from 'Charmed', but painted white and a little weather worn. So I'm looking at the house, and I have this immense feeling of dread. There are ghosts in the house, and they are looking out of the windows all over the house. I count them and think to myself 'I only see twelve, where is the thirteenth ghost?' I take this time to look at the people I'm outside with, and I realize that we all have luggage with us and that we're staying in the house for the night. Yep, that's about all I remember!

I'm at a party, and I see an old coworker of mine. I greet him and his wife. WIth them is their baby girl (in real life they have a little boy with Down's Syndrome). She asks if I want to hold the baby, and I take her, and she warns me that the baby is very sick and has very brittle bones. As I'm handed over the baby, I can feel the bones grinding together, and I feel a mix of pity and caution. I'm holding the baby, and she's gorgeous. I look at her again, and she's suddenly 2 years old and healthy. She gets up from my lap and runs away. I go upstairs and see their other son and my little cousin playing videogames. The little girl is sitting there watching with them. That's it!

So whaddya think?

Posted by Yano at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)

Well, the annual conference for the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue is in town and it looks like the city is in for some protesting. There's actually a parking ban in downtown Chicago, because the protestors are going to be marching on the street. They started the parking ban today (even though the protests are starting tomorrow) and there's police everywhere. I guess when the conference was held in Seattle, there were protests and riots and the city was in shambles. So it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow. The protest is scheduled to end right across from my building, so I'll have to take some semi-aerial photos. Should be an interesting day!

I had another script reading today, and let me tell you, my Marge Simpson voice sucks. I just can't get it raspy enough. I was never good with trying to imitate voices or accents. Maybe I'll practice for next week - I think we might do the Simpsons piece again.

I played 'Medal of Honor' for the first time online today. It was tons of fun. I can see why Bryan is addicted to it. It's very 'Saving Private Ryan'. I think I suck really bad, I'm not used to playing games like that on my PC. I mean, if had to kill people with a skateboard, I would kick ass, but using a submachine gun, well, I'm not that great. But it's still a lot of fun playing war.

And keep my cousin Jane in your prayers, she just went into labor. It's our first cousin-baby! The next generation starts here. I'm so happy for them. I hope everything goes well. You'll definitely get an update as to what happens with Jane and Maui's baby. We've been without a baby for such a long time!

When I got to the train station this morning, there were a ton of news trucks there. As I was trying to get to the train I went to see what the ruckus was. It ended up being none other than Rod Blagojevich, the governor-elect of Illinois. So now I can say I've been within 5 feet of a governor. Exciting.

I've discovered another annoyance with having an engagement ring - wearing gloves. When I wear my leather gloves, the ring migrates to the crevice between my pinky and my ring finger, which gets pretty uncomfortable and annoying. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just making an observation. Ok. I'm complaining.

Still playing around with different formats. Don't mind it if you come here and the site looks totally fucked up!

Anyway, I bought 'Medal of Honor' to play with Bryan and Orlando. Bryan seems to be addicted to playing it online, which is funny because he always makes fun of Anthony playing Everquest online. So I welcome Bryan to the land of the nerds. I tried playing it, and my video card wasn't good enough. True, the thought of buying a new computer crossed my mind, but I just went out and bought a new card. I'm a software gal, I don't know hardware at all. So when I was at Best Buy, the salesguy was helping me pick out a card, and he asked me what I needed it for. So after I tell him 'Medal of Honor' his eyes light up and he gets all excited talking about playing games online. Now this guy is about 19 or 20. Then he asks me, 'So hey, how old are you?' I didn't come to Best Buy to get picked up!!! But I'm flattered, and I say 27. He looks a bit surprised (the ghetto hat takes off 10 years, I think) and then covers it up with 'Cool, it's good that you still play games at your age!' OUCH. Thanks a lot, kid.

I've been addicted lately to McDonald's Steak and Cheese Breakfast Bagel. Those things are DAMN good. I was looking at the dollar menu, and I noticed that the medium drink, which is $1, is cheaper than the small drink which is $1.09. What's up with that? Why even bother having a small drink, then?

I've been trying to spruce up my site and I've messed it up. I admit it. I'm a 'tard.

It was a good weekend, filled with a LOT of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. Well, not a lot. After an hour or so, my head starts hurting. Maybe I shouldn't sit directly in front of the TV. But I've opened up a few levels already, and I'm loving the challenges this time around. Very inventive. What a great game!

Saturday after napping to get rid of my THPS4 dizziness, we headed off to Emer's birthday shindig at Betty's Blue Star Lounge. If you're looking for a place that isn't too packed, that has great hip hop and ond school house, head on over there. There was a lot of good dancing to be done. It also helped that I had a couple drinks. After for not drinking for so long, my tolerance is really low. It's nice because it's a LOT cheaper. As I always see whenever I see everyone from school, I love going to these gatherings and seeing old faces. It was funny, because a couple didn't know that me and Dave were engaged yet. I was talking to Mariza about Dave being relocated when he does his residency, and she was like 'So are you guys going to do long distance again?' And I was like 'Uh, no...we're getting married', which after I said it we screamed like little schoolgirls.

And yesterday, I watched the Bears lose again for the millionth time in a row. I was so angry I went to play Tony Hawk. Ha! Just kidding. Ok, I'm not. Anyway, I've got another game called 'Medal of Honor' that Bryan's been playing online that he persuaded me to buy. I'm not one for battle simulation games, but this one looks pretty cool. However, I've got to get a new graphics card to play it. Hmph.

Thanks to all of you who've been giving suggestions for my site. Keep them coming!

Now here's my answers for this thing called 'The Friday Five', where they ask you different questions on a Friday and you answer them on your blog. It's pretty interesting. I give it one month until I get really bored with it!

1. Were you raised in a particular religious faith?
Yes. I was raised Catholic. Catholic grade school, Catholic high school, yup yup....that's me.

2. Do you still practice that faith? Why or why not?
I still go to church, but I admit, I don't pay attention. But I do go and reflect on my life, the good things and bad things that I've done, and sometimes I have little conversations with God. He's a pretty cool guy. However, I don't know how much I have in the church as an institution with power.

3. What do you think happens after death?
There's a place after this. There are too many instances of near death experiences and their similarities, there's something better after this.

4. What is your favorite religious ritual (participating in or just observing)?
Midnight mass on Christmas Eve, with the choir in the loft singing Christmas carols and everyone all dressed up.

5. Do you believe people are basically good?
No. I think that sometimes people are born bad. I can't really explain why I feel this, but it's a feeling...

I was just thinking the other day that this page has nothing to do with a planet. Why the hell is it called Christine's planet? I don't know. For those of you who may have seen my page last year, it made a little more sense, when it was 'Christine's Purple Planet' and all my links kinda looked planetary. But now, no...I've just got my purple fluff. So I think it's time for a change.

So...I'm looking for suggestions. Be as silly and stupid as you want. Just tell me what you think I should name it. The winner gets a prize. I don't know yet, but it'll be cool. If I don't get any good ones, I've got a couple in mind.

Right now, the frontrunner for the title is 'The Bears Better Win This Game Or I'll Never Cheer For Them Again'.

Gladiator is on TV right now. Damn, it's a great movie!!!

Well, I caved in and bought Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. I no longer feel the need to go out and socialize or do anything away from my PS2. THPS4 is all I need. Ok, and Dave, too. But he has to sit there and watch. He can't play, because I don't want to have to beat him. As for the game, I'm LOVING it!!! As I've said before, I was so good at THPS3 that I wasn't challenged, and I beat everyone that I played with. But THPS4 is kicking my ass, which is GREAT. I needed a good ass whoopin'. I haven't read the instructions yet, but it looks like everything is more or less the same in terms of moves. There are a couple new moves that they got which are pretty awesome. And the gameplay is a bit different, but I like it. The tasks are done on a task by task basis, rather than having a listing of all your tasks that you need to finish within a certain time frame, you're giving tasks one at a time, with a time frame for each task. This is awesome because you get more time to finish your tasks, but if you don't feel like doing a task, you're just in free skate mode. Have no idea what I'm talking about? Well then, you gotta play the game! Ahhh....I am such a happy girl! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Bored? Loved playing with your Rubik's Cube when you were a kid? Check this out:
Virtual Rubik's Cube

It was a fun Halloween. Our work party was a success. We had a great selection of food, and the decorations fit the mood nicely. The dirt pie was much anticipated and appreciated. Hopefully I'll get some pics up this weekend. (along with the rest of the pics I've taken in the last 3 months!) We had a little gathering at Melanie's place, ate wings and White Castle and watched Friends and the movie 'Frailty'. 'Frailty' was a pretty good movie, though I missed a little 'cuz I fell asleep. I stayed up too late the night before making my dirt pie.

Oh, and I was 'The Wicked Witch of the West Siiiiiide'. Pretty lame, but I was in a pinch!

Stupid Invention of the Day - Today at work we're discussing what kind of underwear that women find sexiest, and being the only woman in my area, they asked me. So I told them boxer briefs. Then it came down to discussing solid vs. pattern, then solid (solid). Then what colors (dark). From there, it progressed to dark colors being better to hide certain stains. So they then came up with an invention - having a strip in the back of your underwear so when it gets, uh, unclean, you tear off the strip and there's a new strip underneath. Geniuses. I work with geniuses! Who needs to do laundry? Not my boys!

Looks like winter is upon us. The temp right now is 36 degrees, and it's only November 1st. The average for this time is the mid 50s. Ack! And after the time change, it's dark when I go home. It's quite shocking to look out the window at 5pm and see all the streetlights on.

And now, a moment of silence for Jam Master J of Run DMC and Darrian Chapman, a Chicago newscaster, who both passed away this week.