Not much to write to day. Worked, was really tired, ate ice cream, chatted. That's about it.

But I just wanted to talk about someone who I really admire. You meet a lot of people in your life, some good, some bad, some that are forgettable, some that you'll never forget. Over the past year, I've met a lot of new people. Some that I like, some I don't. Today, I just want to talk about someone who means a lot to me, and who I really kind of look up to in a way.

Rarely in your life do you meet a selfless person. A person who gives, without ever expecting to receive anything in return. So into my life falls the person I like to call the Fairy Godmother. She pops into your life, makes your wishes come true, pops out and never says a thing about it. There are people out there that she has helped who don't even know it, because she doesn't want the credit, and I'm sure that the people she HAS helped know of whom I'm talking about. She just wants to make dreams come true, and she's happy with just knowing that she helped out. And I know it's not always easy for her. I don't think I've ever seen her in the spotlight - she shies away from it, her name isn't known all over, and she rather likes it that way. But I just wanted her to know that she's appreciated. Because although the people that she's helped may not know what she's done, I certainly do. And I love her for trying to make my dreams come true, too, though it hasn't worked out.

I'm proud to call her my friend, and I'm happy that she calls me a friend (i hope she does, anyway). I'm glad to help her carry out her plans to help other people be happy. And most of all, I'm happy that in a little way, she's gotten the recognition that she deserves, the little 'Thank You' that she doesn't normally get. Because when times are tough my friend, think of that little 'Thank You' and hopefully it makes all the tough times that much more bearable. A 'Thank You' and freckles. What could be better than that?

Well, Fatima came home today from her trip to LA. She was actually supposed to come home yesterday, but she missed her flight. Anyway, we had a couple hours of good sister time, and we developed her pics and she told me all her adventures. She also came back with a nice package of goodies for me. What a sweetheart. I'm glad to know that she had a good time. I was happy to spend the little time that I did with her! We had a nice little shopping spree in Target. It's been a while since I've been there. I've been trying to stay away from malls, Target and Best Buy. Dangerous places for me.

As for cleaning, I got a BIT done yesterday. Things just keep on coming up. But I'm slowly hacking away at the warzone known as my room. Someday, I will win this battle!

And today's news of the strange - I just got beat up by a speedskater mom in a chat room. My world just gets weirder and weirder.

It's still several months before I make 'the big move' to LA, but sitting in my room, I realize....I've got a lot of SHIT.

I'm a packrat. Always have been, and always will be (and Dave isn't too happy about that, but well, he'll have to live with it). And after a while....you get to pile up a lot of crap when you're a packrat. Crap that really, if I threw it away, I wouldn't miss. But I keep it around to remind me of things - occasions, feelings, people, etc. Old highschool notes, dried flowers, show programs, trinkets from various formals, movie stubs, locks of hair from ex-boyfriends for voodoo purposes, band-aids from favorite wounds, copies of old restraining orders, my toenail clipping collection...um...uh...just kidding...

But I think I've gotta get rid of it. All this junk can't go with me where I'm going, and it can't stay here. I've got to let it go. So today, as much as it pains me, it's getting cleaned out. *sigh*

Also, it was one year ago that I went to my first short track competition. Kinda makes me nostalgic! Who would have known that I would be where I am today, or met the wonderful people that I have? It's kinda crazy, but wonderful at the same time. So lets take a walk through memory lane and look at my pics from that competition...way back before I knew how to use my digital camera!

World Short Track Team Championships - March 29, 2002, Milwaukee WI

Lazy surfin' on a Saturday morning. Y'all know I'm a sucker for a good cause.

Keep your M&M Wrappers to support the Special Olympics

For every wrapper sent in, M&Ms donates 50 cents to the Special Olympics, up to $750,000. Hoard 'em up and send in a bunch!

Speaking of Eminem (like that segue?), this is one of the funniest comments I've read in Entertainment Weekly in a while:

"We pause here to remind you that Eminem now has more Oscars than Martin Scorsese. That is all."

Ouch!

Got this from Eileen's Blog. It's pretty nice, and it actually makes a couple good points!

Sometimes we just need to remember what the 13 Rules of Life really are:

1. Never give yourself a haircut after three margaritas.

2. You need only two tools: WD-40 and duct tape.
If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

3. The five most essential words for a healthy, vital relationship are, "I apologize" and "you are right."

4. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

5. Never pass up an opportunity to pee.

6. If he/she says that you are too good for him/her - believe them.

7. Learn to pick your battles; Ask yourself, "Will this matter one year from now? How about one month? One week? One day?"

8. When you make a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat crow while it's still warm.

9. If you woke up breathing, congratulations!
You have another chance!

10. Living well really is the best revenge. Being miserable because of a bad or former relationship just might mean that the other person was right about you.

11. Work is good, but it's not that important. Money is nice, but you can't take it, or anything else, with you. Statistics show most people don't live to spend all they saved; Some die even before they retire.
Anything we have isn't really ours; we just borrow it while we're here... even our kids.

12. Be really good to your family and/or friends. You never know when you are going to need them to empty your bedpan.

13. If you are going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you may as well laugh about it now.

Enjoy life!

It's too short not to indulge in what life has to offer

Per Dan, aka Redpac, who entered in an enhancement request, the comments are now in ascending order - that is, older comments will be at the top. Thank you for your input, Mr. Redpac. Stop by his page, give him some love, gaze at the Olsen Twins, and tell him how much you hate Pledge Jones.

Now I know I've been talking about it a bit lately, but I just wanted to officially say...I'm moving to Cali in August! Whoo hoo! Dave's got a one year internship out there, so he'll be moving there in June before the wedding. After the wedding, I'll be going out there. Talked to the powers that be at work, and it looks like I can keep my job. I mean, I travel all the time anyway. Shouldn't be any different with me living in Cali. If I'm not traveling, I'll be working from home, and I have a feeling that I'll probably get more done working at home than I do at the office, because a lot of the distractions at work won't be an issue.

So all of you in the LA area, get ready for me! I'll make sure to bring my English to Ghetto dictionary.

Haven't done one of these in a while:

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
Walking into the back room of Cherry Red and feeling like I went into a time warp, back to college. That feeling of walking into a room and knowing everyone, hearing some great music in the background and knowing that tonight is gonna be a good night.

2. What one person touched your life this week?
Dave. He got his residency in Chicago. I got my wish and I get to stay home. No moving to a weird place where I don't know anyone. I get to be around my family and friends. Not only that, but he got his internship in California for a year. I can handle a year in California. Especially since I've got a lot of friends there already. I'm glad that Dave can sleep in peace now, knowing that our future isn't so uncertain anymore.

3. How have you helped someone this week?
My JOB is helping people! Not only is that my job, but it's what I do outside of work. But I'd like to think that I've helped people cheer up when they've been down...well, I HOPE that's what I've been doing. Not making them more depressed!

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
Um. Call a florist. *grins sheepishly*

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
Work out. It'll give me more energy. To chat. Just kidding. But I really should start getting into a regular workout schedule. My dress has an open back, and I want people to be like 'Dayum! Check out Christine's back....it's NICE!'

So the day that I'm late at work and I look like absolute crap (as opposed to the regular crap that I look like on a daily basis), I see a friend that I haven't seen in a LONG time. I walk out of my office and think, hey, that looks like Ariel. So I scream, 'Ariel!' and it's him. So I give him a hug, and we chitchat for a while, and I find out that he's been working next door for the past year. And I never knew! So we parted ways, promised to have lunch sometime in the future and me, Dan and Amy headed out to Chipotle. Then I realized that I look like crap. Bad crap. He must have thought, 'Damn, Christine's really letting herself go! She looks like hell!'

Ahh well. I can only be me!

Thought of taking a 20 minute nap yesterday. Set my alarm clock for the wrong time. Woke up at 7:45am. Normally, I wake up at 6am and leave by 7:15. So I wake up in a frenzy. It became one of those, 'I don't give a fuck about the dress code' days. Threw on some yoga pants (which, of course, are used for the yoga that I NEVER DO) and a ratty long sleeved tee. Beauty is not a priority today. No chance of catching the bus and train and getting to work at a decent time (yesterday, I came in half an hour late), so I was in for another drive to work.

As much as I love driving into work, it costs too much to park downtown. I knew I was screwed today, because I left home at 7:45 the yesterday (yes, I drove), and got late into work at 9. I've been late probably at least every other day for the past couple weeks and I'm just waiting for 'the talk'. So I get outta the door by 8am, hop into the car, turn up my hip hop CD - nothin' better than Missy Elliott, Jay-Z and 50 Cent to wake you up - and got on the road.

And it was empty. The gods smiled on my commute today. I actually got to work at 8:30, which on a regular, non-holiday, is unheard of. A half hour commute to work? No way! Did I sell my soul to the devil and forget about it? I leave 15 minutes later than the day before, and get to work half an hour earlier? Someone remind me to check the alignment of the planets tonight...something weird is going on. But hey, I'm not complaining!

On to other things, here's a really cute pic of me that Erina made. Isn't it the cutest?

Yano in Vegas. Whoo hoo! Not that I wore this particular outfit in Vegas - not enough time to rent the costume. Next time! I think I'd look pretty good in ruffles.

Alas, my Vegas winnings didn't go too far. Gave a good chunk of it to Fatima, who's out in LA right now doing god knows what with god knows who with MY MONEY. Just kidding. I know what she's doing. I know who she's with. That's what homing devices are for. I'm keeping tabs on the girl. What are big sisters for, other than to annoy their siblings when they're on vacation? Well, at least I know that she's having a good time. She deserves it! And kudos to her for being proactive and actually calling ME before I get a chance to call her.

Found out about the next stops in Yano's US tour of consulting. In two weeks, I'm going to New York, then after that, it might be back to Portland. Yes Linda J, you can take me out for more food!

I updated the links and stuff in the right hand menu. Contrary to popular belief, I haven't been reading Jonathan Frazen's "The Corrections" for the past year. *wink*

Dave comes back from his stint in Detroit this weekend. Yay!!! Back to work on the wedding!

Been looking at my website stats, and it looks like I've got readers from all over. To make things a little easier for these readers from all over the world, I'm offering up yanowhatimean in several languages. It's a trip! It's really helping me brush up on my Spanish. Click on the links to translate my whole blog to each language. I've given a sample for each one. Thanks to Rick for the links!

Ok, I know...I'm procrastinating.

English

Today, me, Tony, Dan and Paul went to Buca di Beppo for lunch. A new one opened right across the street from where I work, and today was the grand opening. I am so seriously stuffed right now, I think I may explode. That, and I need a post-lunch nap. I'm REALLY sleepy! But the food was definitely good. We all shared some Chicken Vesuvio and meat tortelini. My belly sings, I'm so full!!! We had a family style meal, and the servings were huge for the four of us. We couldn't say no to anything, so we had an appetizer, a HUGE salad, our entrees and dessert. I don't even have to have dinner now. I think I'm all good for the rest of the day. All I need now is a nap! How can I work under these conditions? Today, I'm DEFINITELY going to work out! All this good eating can't be good for me...and I need to fit in that dress!

Spanish

Hoy, yo, Tony, Dan y Paul fueron a Buca di Beppo para el almuerzo. Un nuevo se abrió a la derecha a través de la calle de donde trabajo, y era hoy la abertura magnífica. Ahora me rellenan tan seriamente, yo pienso que puedo estallar. Eso, y yo necesitamos una siesta del poste-almuerzo. ¡Soy REALMENTE soñoliento! Pero el alimento era definitivamente bueno. Nosotros todo el compartido algún pollo Vesuvio y tortelini de la carne. ¡Mi vientre canta, yo es tan lleno!!! Teníamos una comida del estilo de la familia, y las porciones eran enormes para los cuatro de nosotros. No podríamos decir no cualquier cosa, así que comíamos un aperitivo, una ensalada ENORME, nuestras entradas y el postre. Incluso no tengo que cenar ahora. Pienso que soy todo bueno para el resto del día. ¡Toda lo que necesito ahora es una siesta! ¿Cómo puedo trabajar bajo estas condiciones? ¡Hoy, voy DEFINITIVAMENTE a resolverme! ¡El todo este buen comer no puede ser bueno para mí... y necesito caber en ese vestido!

French

Aujourd'hui, moi, Tony, Dan et Paul sont allés chez Buca di Beppo pour le déjeuner. Un neuf s'est ouvert bien à travers la rue d'où je travaille, et était aujourd'hui l'ouverture grande. Je tellement suis sérieusement bourré en ce moment, je pense que je puis éclater. Cela, et moi avons besoin d'un petit somme de poteau-déjeuner. Je suis VRAIMENT somnolent! Mais la nourriture était certainement bonne. Nous tout partagé un certain poulet Vesuvio et un tortelini de viande. Mon ventre chante, je suis si plein!!! Nous avons eu un repas de modèle de famille, et les portions étaient énormes pour les quatre de nous. Nous ne pourrions pas ne dire non à n'importe quoi, ainsi nous avons pris un apéritif, une salade ÉNORME, nos entrées et dessert. Je ne dois pas même dîner maintenant. Je pense que je suis tout bon pour le reste du jour. Tout que j'ai besoin est maintenant un petit somme! Comment est-ce que je puis travailler dans ces conditions? Aujourd'hui, je vais CERTAINEMENT établir! Tout ce bon manger ne peut pas être bon pour moi... et je dois m'adapter dans cette robe!

Italian

Oggi, me, Tony, Dan e Paul sono andato a Buca di Beppo per pranzo. Un nuovo si è aperto a destra attraverso la via da dove lavoro ed oggi era la grande apertura. Sono farcito così seriamente ora, io penso che possa esplodere. Quello ed io hanno bisogno di un pelo del alberino-pranzo. Sono REALMENTE sleepy! Ma l'alimento era definitivamente buono. Noi tutto compartecipe un certo pollo Vesuvio e tortelini della carne. La mia pancia canta, io sono così piena!!! Abbiamo avuti un pasto di stile della famiglia ed i servings erano enormi per i quattro di noi. Non potremmo non dire no a qualche cosa, in modo da abbiamo mangiati un antipasto, un'insalata ENORME, le nostre entrate ed il dessert. Neppure non devo avere pranzo ora. Penso che sia tutto il buono per il resto del giorno. Tutto che abbia bisogno di ora è un pelo! Come posso lavorare in queste circostanze? Oggi, DEFINITIVAMENTE sto andando risolvere! Tutto questo buon consumo non può essere buono per me... e devo adattare in quel vestito!

German

Heute gingen ich, Tony, Dan und Paul zu Buca di Beppo für das Mittagessen. Ein Neues öffnete sich nach rechts über der Straße von, der ich arbeite, und war heute die großartige Öffnung. Ich werde so ernsthaft im Augenblick, ich denke angefüllt, daß ich explodieren kann. Das und ich benötigen ein Pfosten-Mittagessenhaar. Ich bin WIRKLICH sleepy! Aber die Nahrung war definitiv gut. Wir alles geteilt irgendeinem Huhn Vesuvio und Fleischtortelini. Mein Bauch singt, ich sind so voll!!! Wir hatten eine Familienartmahlzeit, und die Umhüllungen waren für die vier von uns sehr groß. Wir könnten nicht zu nichts nicht sagen, also aßen wir einen Aperitif, einen SEHR GROSSEN Salat, unsere Zutritte und Nachtisch. Ich nicht sogar muß jetzt zu Abend essen. Ich denke, daß ich für den Rest des Tages ganz gut bin. Alles, das ich ist benötige jetzt, ein Haar! Wie kann ich unter diesen Bedingungen arbeiten? Heute werde ich DEFINITIV ausarbeiten! Dieses ganzes gute Essen kann nicht für mich gut sein... und ich muß in dieses Kleid passen!

Just when I thought I'd lessen my Internet time, I get addicted to another chat. Damn you, OZ! Damn you people that chat in there! Chat is like crack to me. And I'm a crack baby addicted to it. That's ok. I was starting to get concerned with the amount of sleep I was getting. More than 6 hours a day was really freaking me out. I was starting to dream all the time. Now that I'm back to the 3-4 hours of sleep I'm feeling a little more at ease. *snicker* What the hell am I doing?

Today, I SWEAR I'm going to get some cleaning done in my room.

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day in Chicago. The temperature peaked at about 74 degrees. What a wonderful day to drive in to work. Didn't even need a jacket! THe sky was blue, the breeze was warm...it just made me want to....stay inside and chat.

Did anyone watch the Miss America pageant? I had it on for background noise and as soon as I saw them parading around in their fluffy white outfits I held back my puke and tuned it out.

Got a new manager at the office, (yes, ANOTHER ONE) and this one is actually my REAL manager. Gone are the days when I have to go to 5 different managers to ask a question or get something done. Me and Sam went to lunch with our new manager, and he was really cool. Education is key with him, and I'm not going to deny the fact that I need to know more about what I'm doing. He listened to our gripes and opinions about how things have been running for us lately, and he really paid attention to that we had to say. I'm having a good feeling about this one. Hopefully there are some changes made, because I can't keep on doing what I'm doing with work without some form of structure. Eventually I'll crack! And he gets extra points for buying us lunch.

Here's my flowergirl Nina. She's the cutest thing ever!

The Oscars are tonight, should be interesting. Here's my predictions:

OK, so things are getting so good, it's almost scary.

After work, I headed out to the Wolves game with the gang from work (and Claudine, too). AHL games are so much more fun the NHL ones. The Wolves games have this family atmosphere, and I love watching the kids having a great time. These people are the REAL fans. And it was a great game. We played against the Rochester Americans, and we won in overtime. No big fights, though. *sigh* But there WERE about 7 sticks broken during the course of the game, which I found pretty unusual. Also got some neat pics of the Calder Cup, because you know, we're the 2002 champs. Here's some pics...

Afterwards, we went to Jamie's party at Cherry Red, and I saw a LOT of people I haven't seen in a while. Sometimes, I really miss my days a U of I. Those were seriously the best days of my life. As stressed as I was with school and relationships during those times, I made friends that I'll treasure for the rest of my life. Everytime we see each other, even though it's been months, or years, it's the same. And when we all get in the same room together? Watch out! It's a party. And Yano becomes a hugging monster.

So me, Claudine and Fatima headed out to the party. And seriously, I think when the three of us go out to a party, we're like a traveling circus show. 'The Feliciano sisters! They're all here!' Maybe we should do some back flips when we enter the room or something. But it was a great time. Gel was spinnin' in the back, and the music was good. The dancing was good. I was feeling good. And I didn't even drink (alas, the designated driver). But it was a good night. Great friends, good music, great dancing. Life is good.

You know, the past couple weeks have been rough. With traveling, what's going on with the country, being homesick, having issues with people, the wedding, etc. it's been pretty tough. But over the last week or so, things have been looking up. Aside from my bout with food poisoning earlier in the week, things have really been looking up. After a nice weekend with my sisters and Dave and seeing old friends, I got a lot of rest in Vegas thanks to the bug, and I won money. Money's always a good thing nowadays.

But one of the happiest things is that Dave got his residency. For months Dave's been doing interviews all around the US trying to get a residency spot. But we've been wanting to stay in Chicago. And yesterday was the day that he found out which hospital took him, and it's in Chicago! That was a wonderful sigh of relief for the both of us. I really wasn't looking forward to living in New Hampshire or St. Louis. I really wanted to stay home with my friends and my family. So whoo hoo! Chicago, you're stuck with me!

Dave also wants to take a year in California to do an internship. At first I was hesitant about the idea, because I really didn't want to leave home, but now that I know that we're going to be in Chicago, California looks pretty good. So for his first year we're going to be in California, then the next 3 he'll be in Loyola. However, California isn't a sure thing yet. But it would be cool, I admit it. It's not like I don't KNOW anyone in California. I've got a couple friends that live there, and a couple friends from school who've moved there, so I know I won't be lonely. Should be an interesting experience. Now if only Dave will let me lug my comic book collection along with me...don't think I can part with that.

So things are looking up. Talked to work, and they said they can probably keep me on while I'm away, since I travel so much anyway. That would be really nice. Wouldn't want to have to look for a job I'd only be keeping for a year.

Things are almost so good, I'm afraid to be happy, because its one of those 'too-good-to-be true' things. But I'll let it ride, and see what happens.

Vegas was a good time. I won money, and I got a free plane ticket. There were some good times. My favorite pic is the last one. All around Vegas are what I call the 'smackers'. They hand out porn, and the smack the porn against their hands before they hand it out to you. The last pic is my version of the smacker.

Took the red-eye home, and got in at about 6 this morning. The United flight I was on was overbooked since there was so much snow in Denver, so they were offering free flights to anyone giving up their seats. There was a flight leaving on American at the same time, so they booked me on that one and I got a free flight. Add that on to the $110 dollars that I won during my 2 hour stint at the roulette table and it was a pretty lucky day. Coming home from Vegas, there was $369 dollars in my pocket (interesting number, eh?) which made my total winnings about $220. Other than the stomach flu, Vegas was good to me!

And now I'm back to reality. It's always hard to keep up with the news when you're traveling. But I was able to watch a bit of news yesterday.

So we're at war. I've got so many mixed feelings about it. My gut tells me it's wrong. It scares me that there are so few people I know who really support the war. Like others, I see what they are hoping to accomplish. But is this the right way? It makes me really uneasy that so few other countries support us. France? Russia? We don't want to be on their bad sides. And it's not even countries supporting us, it's how much we're becoming unpopular with other countries. Protests in Australia, Tony Blair is getting VERY unpopular in Britain right now, the Pope speaks out in favor of those under attack, working outside of the United Nations, etc. We're not getting too many popularity points. But terrorism must be stopped, and people like Hussein and Bin Ladin must be taken out of power. Though, are we going about it the right way? Are we just inviting another terrorist attack on American soil?

No one close to me has been sent out. But I know people who are out there, or who are going to be sent out there. People with familes, babies, loved ones. People who made a choice to go out there. And these are people I respect and look up to. It's hard to think of, volunteering to go and fight a war that most of the world doesn't support, and that most people at home don't understand, leaving a good job and family that loves you. I pray for their safety, and I count the days until they come home again.

We'll see what happens...

So here's a little something for the people out there, the ordinary people, who become everyday heroes, risking their lives fighting for freedom. It's from one of my favorite musicals, Les Miserables...

Not much time to post.

Feeling better.

Had a muffin.

Then some cookies.

Then I took a chance and had some potato salad, an Italian sandwich and some sun chips. I know I'm not supposed to have oily or creamy foods, but I couldn't help myself!

The tummy is grumbling, but I WILL NOT LET IT BEAT ME!

So I woke up yesterday, and I thought I was hungover. Then I thought I wasn't really drunk the night before, so it COULDN'T have been a hangover. But my stomach was killing me, and I felt really warm. Stopped by Krispy Kreme to get some breakfast, and when I got to the convention, I could only eat half of one. I wasn't hungry. And I was FREEZING in the convention hall. My fingers were turning blue. I couldn't eat anything. I felt like throwing up the whole time.

So right now Vegas isn't too much fun. I'm thinking I've got stomach flu or something. I actually went to bed at 10 yesterday! Argh....THIS SUCKS!!!

Went gambling yesterday. First, we went to O'Shea's to see what kinda of St. Patty's day celebration they were having. The place was totally dead! We were thinking that there'd be a party in there! We walked around the strip for a bit and played in a couple casinos. I pretty much did slots, since I'm TRYING not to gamble. However, in the Flamingo there was an empty seat at the Roulette table, and I couldn't say no. And I was on FIRE! Well, on fire for me. So I walked away with $100 in winnings. I was tempted to play more, but I knew I had to stop. Anyway, here's pics from yesterday.

Well, I've got 8 minutes to type upt this post, so I'll make it quick. My head is still reeling from the best meal I've had all year (Seared Ahi Tuna with Ginger Sushi Rice and Sake Butter Cream Sauce). OMG. I don't even remember the name of the palce, but it's in the Venetian. And my room KICKS ASS. Remember how I complained in Salt Lake about my hotel not having free shampoo? Well....they've got (runs to check bathroom)....shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shower cap, a full bar of soap, a bath, a separate shower, two sinks with gold fixtures, a fax machine, two tv's, a little set of stairs splitting the living area from the sleeping area, 2 bathrobes...etc....this place is pretty swanky! I'll post up pictures tomorrow!

The tradeshow today was pretty boring. We're not in a good spot, so we didn't get any really good leads. Shows like this are kinda tough when the big dogs of the company are in attendance. I'm always on my toes. And I can be assured that I will get yelled at at least once. But I've gotten a tough skin from it. It doesn't hurt anymore! I was also on the phone with one of our guys from Chicago for about an hour and a half, trying to fix up my machine. I wasn't in the office last weeks, so I didn't get the latest updates. My machine was totally fucked. Actually, it still is. But oh well, no use crying over it now!!

All right...I'm off to gamble! (not much, of course, I've got a wedding to save up for!)

So it was a good weekend. My sisters were home, Dave was home, saw some old friends, had some good family time. And a 7 hour nap. When I say sleep is overrated, don't believe me. I'm lying to myself. I love sleeping.

Saturday I stopped by a Kole's first birthday party. That kid is the cutest kid ever. I don't know if I"ve ever seen him cry, and my camera loves him. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries. But of course, he's second only to the lovely Gillian. She's 4 months old now and such a cutie. She was all dressed up in purple, even a little purple headband. Made me long for my purple head to toe combinations when I was in college. Ok, maybe not. You can only be called Grimace so many times before you get the picture. But Gillian wore the color well. I can't wait to have kids so Gillian can have a cousin to play with! But then again, I've got to get married first.

After that I went to hang out with Dave, which is always a good thing. He doesn't have to say anything, he doesn't have to do anything, but just being near him makes everything good again. Anything that bothers me just disappears when we're together. We watched 'Panic Room'. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. Actually found myself clutching the blankets a couple times.

And to add on to the healing power of the Dave was that my sisters were here. It was nice to all be together again. On Sunday the whole family went out to lunch at 'Red Lobster' - my dad loves the place - and we feasted! Yes, good food helps too! After that, me and Fata kidnapped Claudine (who was supposed to meet Dan) and we went cruising. The day was GORGEOUS and we pumped up the music and drove with the windows open. I love doing that! We stopped by the comic book store, then went to the carwash. It was Claudine's first ever carwash, so it was a pretty big event. After that, off to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. It was a good sister day!

After eating my ice cream and reading some comics, I lay down on the couch for a little nap while watching the Illini game. Didn't wake up til 7 hours later. It was a pretty nice nap! Just what I needed. Actually, this weekend was just what I needed!

And now, it's T minus 3 hours until I leave for Vegas. I'll bring my camera and other stuff so I can post pics while I'm there, because God knows, I'm going to take a TON of pics!

Well, after having such a bad day on Thursday, Friday started out great. Sure, it started out at 5:30 in the morning, but if someone calls me that early to make me feel better, I'm not going to gripe out that. Especially if it's a friend that doesn't even KNOW that I'm having a tough week. Sometimes having a friend just call to say 'hi' helps.

Then it also helped that I made my client really happy. 'Christine, I'm so happy right now, I feel like dancing!' Well, pull out the Gossip Folks and let's get down, girl!!!

And of course, I can't tell you all how much it meant to read your posts. Yes, even the nipple post. Seriously, thank you all. You guys are the greatest. I love you guys!

I guess I was just in a rut. It's so hard to get a sense of yourself when you're traveling and you have nothing around you that you find familiar. You start getting introspective, and sometimes, depending on your mood, it's not a good thing.

But I'm all good now. I'm home. I'm sleeping in my own bed. Both of my sisters are home, and that hasn't happened for a LONG time. I love being with my sisters. For as much as we get snippy and annoyed with each other, it's great to be together again. This is really re-energizing me. I feel like I'm back to being me. I know I have to enjoy this as much as I can, because I'm leaving again on Monday. *sigh* Then I'm over with traveling for while (I hope!)

So today we went bridesmaid dress hunting...It was fun to sit back and let the girls try on the dresses. I'm not going to make my bridesmaids all wear the same thing. Basically, they're all going to wear the same skits, but they get to pick out what tops they want. First and foremost, I want them to be comfortable in what they're wearing.

The last year of my life has been crazy. More the last several months than anything. Before the last year, I knew who I was, I was happy with I was. Everything went my way. Sure, there were hardships, but I got over them. But over the last few months, I've constantly been challenged with taking a step back to look at who I am, why I do the things that I do, to second guess myself, to not like myself. But when I look at the full picture, I'm essentially the same person I was a year ago. But maybe it's the company I'm in that has changed.

So what do I do? I dunno.

I've met some people who have changed my life. For better and for worse. I've made some really good friends. And I guess I've made some enemies. Which I find really funny, yet really hurtful in a way. Yeah, in the past I've had people hate me. I've had people talk shit about me. And I feel, in a way, that they had every right to. Because of things that I did to them, or to people close to them. But I don't understand people who tear people down just for the fact of who they are, who they know, or what they see from the outside. And I don't understand how I could have thought I got along with someone, but later feel the whispers and the hostility behind my back, for just being me. I'm not an angel, I'm not perfect, and I'm not expecting the world to kiss the ground I walk on.

People tell me that I can't have everyone like me. I know. I really do. But I can't help but WANT them to like me. Feel hurt when they don't. Feel angry when I feel that they're just being nice to me to my face. I just don't understand. I try. I really do. Because even though I know, I still like them. That's what's trippy. But I don't know how to deal with these situations. After living a life as someone so invisible, someone forgettable, someone people laughed at, someone's who's name no one remembered....I loved making friends, meeting new people, learning to be social....But for as much as it looked like it, I didn't want the spotlight on me. I was happy just being an observer. Watching this wonderful world go by. Trying to enjoy the ride while it lasted.

But I don't know if I want to be on that ride anymore. I'm just so tired of it. Tired of holding back and not defending myself or defending the people I care about. Tired of feeling like I have to answer for my actions or feel bad for the good things that have happened in my life. People I've talked to call it jealousy. Not to take it personally. Not to be so sensitive. Not to show that it's bothering me. But it does. And a little part of me is afraid that maybe it IS me. Maybe that dark part of me that I thought I left behind years ago has come back, and that I AM the person that they think they see. Who knows....sometimes I don't know who I am anymore.

I've been spending too much time alone. I'm about to break. This traveling is killing me. I have nothing familar around me. No touchstone to bring me back to reality. I'm homesick. I miss my dog. I miss my sisters. I miss Dave.

Thanks to the people who have listened to me. Who've tried to bring me out of this funk. I love you, and I appreciate it. I know I'm loved. I never forget that.

I can't wait to go home tomorrow. Sorry for the rant. Just needed to vent a bit and just babble on. Don't even know if it makes sense.

I'm going to go and gorge myself on the Cinnabons that I have warming up on my heater now.

OK. No adventures here.

Um yeah. I'm in Akron. Whoo hoo.

Actually, it's Canton, home of the Football Hall of Fame. It's cool come see it. I've seen it already.

I'm so tired of traveling! I just want to be home for a week!

Treated myself to some ice cream on my way to the subway today, and I'd have to say that Baskin Robbins' 'Tax Chip' is a new favorite for me. It's coffee ice cream with fudge and chocolate covered rice crisps. Yum! So all the way home I thought of ice cream. And here's my top ten list, in no particular order:

1) Breyer's Coffee
2) Edy's Cherry Chip
3) Ben and Jerry's Concession Obsession (vanilla with chocolate peanuts, non-pareils, rice crisps and caramel)
4) Graeter's Coffee Chip
5) Haagen Dazs Bailey's Irish Cream
6) Edy's Scooby Snack (Vanilla and Chocolate with Peanut Butter cookies)
7) Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey
8) Green Tea ice cream at Akai Hana
9) Haagen Dazs Macadamian Nut
10) Those cheap ice cream cups that come with a wooden 'spoon'

Hot damn, I'm hungry!

Must. Think. About. Fitting. In. Wedding. Dress.

I've got this weird tick in my eye. Feels like I'm winking. Little spasms in my eyelid. It bothers me a lot. Don't know what's wrong. But I can still see ok, so I'll let it go for a while and see what happens. All I need now is a tick in my neck and some brass knuckles and I can start a rumble.

Dave says it's lack of calcium. Could be. Haven't had any good chocolate thingees to drink with milk. I will most certainly have some at home.

Today's a pretty stressing day. I've leaving tomorrow for Akron, and I'll be gone til Friday night. Monday I'm leaving for Vegas (baby, Vegas!) for a tradeshow so I'm not going to be back in the office until next, um, Friday. Hot damn, it's almost like a vacation! I'm a little worried about Vegas, though, because I've got to do some presentations, and although I'm pretty good with speaking in public, I'm not good with selling our product. Which is the role I'll have in Vegas. A salesperson. Ack! I guess I should do some research on what the bells and whistles are for our new product. So I don't look like an idiot standing there talking. That's ok, they'll be pissed drunk anyway, because it'll be St. Patty's Day and there's an open bar. Hmm. Wait. I CAN BE PISSED DRUNK TOO! Yes. That will solve my problems. I might lose my job, yes, but the crowd will definitely be entertained! J/K. No alcohol til after. Well, not TOO much alcohol til after. *wink*

So today I'm rushing to get all my stuff done. I've got a million and one clients waiting for me to call them. That's the tough thing about traveling and doing support at the same time. I can't do both. It's gotta be one or the other. Then again, I don't have a choice. Half the time when I'm traveling I'm still working on 'work' stuff even after I'm done with a client. And I STILL need to do my commission report, too. ACK!

I think I just may buy myself some ice cream on the way home from work today. I don't care if it's freezing outside!

So me and Dan, the red-headed white devil, are at the Chicago place for lunch. I'm cackling away as usual and this man and woman come up to me.

'We noticed you from far away, and you've got a great smile. Have you ever modeled before?'

'Um, yes, I've modeled before, but nothing big.' (of course, I'm referring to the PSA fashion shows during my college days - it's nothing to brag about)

'Well, you've got the look we're looking for, and we've got an open call tonight for models. I'd love for you to come on by. We'll take a couple shots of you, it'll be a lot of fun. We're a legitimate group. You know the guy that started the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync? Ron Perlman? He owns our company. If we choose you, you're guaranteed to get work....' blah blah blah...

So I listen. And I kinda fade away for a little, visions of runway shows and photo shoots of the Caribbean floating in my head. OK. HELL NO. Not my scene. But I give her my information anyway. And she schedules me for a shoot tonight at 6:30. No chance I'm going to make it all the way from Downtown to Oakbrook in that time. Oh well. It wouldn't have worked out anyway. I've got a zit on my nose. Not too bad, just on the side. Maybe next time. But it was SO cool that they picked me out. I was discovered! Then again, I'm pretty sure that half the people in Chicago place were 'discovered'.

If you're looking to be 'the next big thing', check out Trans Continental Talent. If this whole thing was totally legit and I would have made millions of dollars being an international super model, I'm going to kick myself in the head. But oh well. Maybe I'll contact them after all the wedding stuff is done. Or maybe I'll pimp out my kids to them. Or my sisters. I mean, I pimp them out to everyone else already!

I love a good dirty joke. This has always been one of my favorites. It didn't really occur to me until last weekend how funny some of my readers would find it, because of the subject matter. Read it, and you'll see. You know who you are.

Three men had a very late night drinking Guinness. They left in the early morning hours and went home their separate ways. The next day, they all met for an early pint, and compared notes about who was drunker the night before.

The room was silent for a moment. Then, the first guy spoke out again, "Listen, guys, I don't think you understand... Chunks is my dog."

If you gave names, it would make it even funnier. *evil grin*

Congratulations to Sammy and Isabella on getting hitched yesterday! I've known Sam for a couple years now, and he hasn't always been in the best of relationships. It's great to see him marry such a beautiful person, inside and out. I knew it was something special when he would just have this sparkle in his eye time he talked about her. When he asked me when I knew I found 'the one', I knew that he had. *sigh* I love seeing two people so in love with each other. It just makes my heart soar.

And it makes me itch for my own wedding!

I WAS able to find a dress to wear to the wedding. Actually, I wore the Chinese cheungsam that I had mentioned a couple weeks ago. I had gained a bit of weight since my portland trip, so it was a bit snug, but I was desperate. Didn't realize that the slits were cut so high on the leg until I sat in the car. Dan, my escort for the night, kept on making comments all night that resulted in his arm punched a lot. We stopped by Walgreens to get a card and as I was going back into the car, a gust of wind blew my dress up (not all the way, but enough to show a LOT of leg) and Dan had mentioned that it was like the Asian version of the Marilyn Monroe white dress scene. Oh, and Claudine, 'BOOM I GOT YO' BOYFRIEND! I GOT YO' MAN!' That's ok, you can keep him. Though many thanks to him for driving and trying to make engaging conversation on the way home to keep me awake.

The reception was a lot of fun. A couple of us from the office were there and we had out own table. We were betting that Earl a.k.a. Orlando wasn't going to show, but he ended up coming at 12:29am, right after the last song ended. The music was OK. Me and Amy were out on the dance floor often. And of course I had to get my groove on when they played 'The Casper Slide'. Sliiiiiide to the left! Sliiiiiide to the right! Cha-Cha now! An older woman actually came up to me after the reception and commented on how good my dancing was. Then she asked me, 'Are you an aerobics instructor?' Oh my! If she only knew that my favorite pasttime is anything relating to sloth. I got a good laugh out of that one, though. Then I thanked her, and told her that I only dance like that when there's an open bar and I don't know anyone in the room. You people better dance at my wedding, or I'm gonna kick some asses! Five hops now!

Here's some pics...

So I got into Chicago half an hour ago, and I'm leaving for Sam's wedding in half and hour, AND I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!

Seriously. I'm in trouble. I don't know what to do!

I need to buy more dresses, rather than buying sweaters. I have a million sweaters, but no dresses. ARGH!

Otherwise entitled 'How I'm Gorging Myself With Food In Portland'

So yesterday I went with my client for some dimsum in Portland's Chinatown. The Chinatown here is a whole 3 blocks long, but you have all the essential Chinatown hangouts - dimsum restaurant, bakery, giftshop, seedy bookshop. I love dimsum. Just like Spanish tapas. Little portions of tasty treats. And as always, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Ate a LOT of stuff. They had this pork roll wrapped up maki roll style in seaweed that was awesome, and stuffed crab claw that was mouth watering. By the time I got to my sticky sesame seed bun I was about ready to hurl. But it was DAMN good.

I'm eating SO much here, as I'm sure you can tell from my posting. I lost a good amount of weight in SLC due to nerves, but I think I gained it all back, and then some!

I'm not in the greatest of moods right now. I was supposed to leave Portland at 2:30 today, but the client wanted to have a full day with me. So I had a choice of being a bitch and saying NO....I'M GOING HOME, or taking one for the team and moving my flight back. My choices (well, not really MY choices) for a flight home was a United flight at 11pm getting into Chicago at 5am, or a Northwest flight with a connection in Minneapolis at 7am tomorrow, getting in at 2:30pm. Which is 4 hours before Sammy's wedding. (Yes, my boy is getting married tomorrow! I'm so excited!) I would have jumped to take the United flight, but it's $640. The Northwest change is only $100. I don't know why the hell airline flights cost so much. I remember having a flight to Seattle or something for $2099 once. Business traveling sucks. Well, I'm not the one paying for it. But it DOES control what flights I get. If a client is cheap, I'm stuck on ATA with the fiesta crew. Well, at least ATA has good biscuits. Anyway, I'm stuck taking the 7am flight. If I miss Sam's wedding someone's gonna get some legs broken.

Well, at least I can look forward to some good eating tonight!

Raining in Portland. For the third day in a row. I would take pictures, but it's so gloomy and dark here!!!

More pics...I should be done with the gallery tonight!

I love having a good meal in a strange city.

I met up with a friend from Portland (who I didn't know lived here til she posted on my blog) and she took me out to this cool place called 'Oba' or something like that. Anyway, the food was good, the desert was great, and the conversation was even better. Yeah, there's nothing better than eating dinner and having non-stop conversation. I think we could have gone on for hours.

And I got a mini-tour of downtown Portland afterwards. Pretty nice place, but I'd love to see it in daylight!

So thanks so much for a fun night, Linda. We'll definitely have to do it again!

My tummy now begs me to go to sleep early.

Still processing through pics (they're really dark and pixelated) but thought I'd give you a couple to tide you over...

This could very well be my favorite day of the year. What's not to love a day that represents a day of gluttony before 40 days of fasting? Since I'm in Portland, I didn't really get a chance to get my eat on, so I'll have to do it later. If I was in Chicago I'd be on my fourth Krispy Kreme, midway through a pint of Ben & Jerry's and after having a juicy piece of steak. Then comes Lent. Don't know what I'm going to give up/take up. I never keep it anyway. I might just go with my yearly 'don't eat after 8pm' and 'no red meat as a main course'. I mean, I can't just go cold turkey with the red meat. That may cause some physical damage. I may even try working out at least once a week. Yes. Once a week. Don't want to hurt myself now!

So I hope you all ate well today. Tomorrow begins my 40 days of being a healthier, better person.

My favorite episode of Smallville is on now - the one with Ryan, the boy who reads minds. This was the first time they used Five for Fighting's 'Superman' in the show. *sigh*

So I'm at O'Hare for about 5 hours today (Monday). My original flight to Minneapolis connecting to Portland got cancelled because of snow. I wait in this enormous line at Northwest. Once at the counter, I tried getting on the later Minneapolis flight, which was booked, and Northwest said I could take a flight tomorrow, or take a chance and see if I could get on the 7:45pm United flight. I decided to take my chances, because I need to be at my client site at 9am. So I walk over to the next terminal, in the snow, lugging my bag around, without my gloves and hat because I'm in such a hurry (I could have gone to the other terminal using the indoor passage, but time was of the essence and walking inside was way faster), and I get in this massive line for United. And it's the Premier line, too. (Little does United know that my Premier status ended as of February 28th. I don't think I made it again this year, after being on the company travel blacklist because of bad behavior - well, that's my theory, anyway) So I get there, and for as stressed as the lady is about all the people who are angry about the flights, she squeezes me into the 7:45pm flight. See, if you're nice to people, even when you're stressed, and you let them know that you understand their pain, they do nice things for you. By now, it's already 7:30. The lady tells me that the flight is delayed, and would probably be leaving at around 9pm.

So I head to the gate and grab some grub to munch on while I wait. Seems like there's a lot of delayed flights because O'Hare was packed. I looked at the monitors to see exactly what time the flight was leaving, and it just said 'delayed'. At about 8:00 there's an announcement that the flight hasn't left it's original destination yet, so they couldn't post up a time. Finally, they post a time of 9:30. I was starting to exhaust my pile of comic book in flight reading material. Later, they change it to 10pm. Then they said that the flight was coming in. Then they said that the flight was diverted to another city. Then they said the flight was coming to land. Then the time was changed to 10:30. I was left to reading the letters sections of my comics.

Finally I get on the plane. And I'm pooped! Someone near me (I did a smell check and it's NOT me) smells like ass. I feel like puking. I mean, it really smells like they've gone up someone's butt. And the dude sitting across me in the aisle is staring at me. Not blatantly, but I feel his eyes on me now and a again, and if I look at him, he doesn't look away. He maintains his stare and challenges me to stare back, or maybe say something. I look away and pretend that I find the 'Hemispheres' magazing life changing and interesting. And yet the eyes still burn into my side. What a freak. So I lean my head against the window and I pass out. And I wake up. Twenty minutes has passed and we're still on the runway. Not even wanting to process what time I'm going to actually LAND in Portland, I go back to sleep.

So here I am now, in the plane, after waking up to the sweet smell of the in-flight snack, something SO much better than the snack mix of bagel chips and pretzels. Nacho chips and salsa! Yum! And a sugar cookie! And that's not it! Cheese spread and crackers. A regular smorgasbord of yummy snacky treats. I scarf down the food. Now my tummy grumbles. I think I ate too fast. And the dude still smells. Back to sleep. Portland, I'll see you when I wake.

********

So I landed in Portland at 1:10am. Which makes it 3:10am Chicago time.

And there are no more king sized beds left in the hotel.

I am not a happy girl.

This sucks ass!

Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

I'm exhausted after my 5 hour drive, but I did manage to get some pics processed before I take my nap. These are some of my favorite images of Bay City this weekend.

Well, that's all for now. Of course, I shall write a long novel for you to enjoy. But for now, I'm going to take a nap because I'm pooped.