Have I told you yet that I can't stand Britney Spears, but her annoyingly catchy songs get stuck in my head and I can't get rid of them?

Now I've got her annoying video 'Everytime' stuck in my head. Is it supposed to be deep? That her death resulted in a birth? She doesn't get reincarnated into a tree slug? How evil the media is? The stresses she faces being in front of cameras all the time?

Yet it plays over and over in my head.

Why? Because that hunk of hunks, Stephen Dorff is in it. Who? Come on, you know him. Blade? S.F.W.? Forget it. He's just hot. And he's hot in this video. Though a little too tan for my taste. And that shirtless scene shows me that although his career has gone to the dogs since he's starring in Britney videos, he still cares about his body. Stephen, I miss you. Please make a movie that I would pay to watch.

He kinda reminds me of another hottie, Christian Kane, who plays Lindsay on Angel. Yum Yum. Sucks that the show only has two episodes left! The WB is going down!

Troy will be premiering in a couple weeks, and it has several hotties - Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom. Troy is one of my favorite stories from ancient times. But as excited as I am to see Brad in it, I hope they don't focus on Achilles as much as they do in the ads. He wasn't the battle of Troy. It was an immense cast of characters that made up that story. My biggest disappointment, my favorite character from all of Greek mythology isn't even in the movie, though she was a princess of Troy - Cassandra, the woman who could see the future but whom no one would believe. Bastards. She's a great character to throw in there! Just because they banished her to the temple doesn't mean she can't be in the movie!

OK....that's my mini-hottie report for the month.

Photo Friday: Natural

Haleakala Crater - Maui, HI: March 2004

The Haleakala Crater in Maui creates a very un-Hawaiian landscape with red soil, jagged peaks and lava formations. Almost like being on Mars!

It's been a busy couple of weeks! As you may know, over the last month or so, I've had a whirlwind of out of town guests come in and out. Everyone used my place as launching pad for different activities. My aunt came by, then visited her friends, then my dad stopped by before he went to Vegas and San Diego. Marian and Shannon came by last weekend to check out California. I saw more of SoCal in the last weekend then I have the whole time I've been here. I felt like *I* was on vacation last weekend! Dan and Tall Steve also came to join in on the festivities last weekend, and thank God X was open at Magic Mountain, Dan would have set the place on flames! Then we all had a great time at Rick and Lanie's, playing cards, drinking and laughing a lot.

Last Monday I was invited to dinner with some Canadians that were in town, and I had a fun time just eating and listening to their accents. I was exhausted on Monday!

Then yesterday we went to the National Sports Grill & Bar in Torrance to meet up with Deo, who's also in town. The place was CRAZY packed with Lakers fans who were watching the game. We were happy in our little corner of the restaurant watching the Cubs play. We were the only TV that wasn't tuned in to the game. One of the TV's on our level was tuned into FOX Sports, and the other TV's were on another channel. It was hilarious to watch the crowd, because the rest of the restaurant had a 3 second delay, and the group at the top level would cheer, then the rest of the restaurant would cheer.

It was great hanging out with Deo again, catching up on everyone at home. We gossiped like old ladies. We also found out some interesting events that happened during our wedding that we didn't know about! We missed a lot of drama! Too bad Mike couldn't come, (he's lived here all this time, but I've been too lazy to arrange anything) but hopefully we can all meet up tonight!

Theme Thursday: Purple

Purple Cottonball Flowers - Vancouver, Canada: May, 2002

In keeping along my spring flower theme, another pic from my Vancouver trip.

It's Manny's birthday today! I think...I always forget the actual day. I think it's today, though!

Happy birthday, Manny Fanny!

This is the very first yanowhatimean? reader survey. It has been brought to our attention the site is loading a bit slower than usual since we've implemented the latest template.

So I had promised an investigation into this matter - is the site loading slower for you? Nothing annoys me more than a slow loading site, but since I'm on DSL, it's hard for me to test the site speed. Are there any other things that you're running into on the site that you'd like to improve/change?

We here at yanowhatimean (all one of us) care about giving you the best worktime wasting experience possible, even IF your name is Jones and you're hated by the wrestling community, race car drivers, pro surfers and many more. Every person counts.

So tell me what you think!

When Marian and Shannon were here, we drove around a lot. On Friday, we headed out to a club, all dressed up. As we were driving out of my apartment complex, we saw something on the side of the street. A group of girls was heading towards us and pointing at the side of the street. It was a opossum, which had gotten hit by a car and was lying at the side of the road. There was an large amount of blood and it was a pretty grisly scene.

We had to maneuver around it and the girls on the street just stared at it pointing. We were thinking that the girls were debating on moving the carcass out of the way. There was nothing we could do so we left. After the club, we decided to stop by the apartment to get out cameras before heading out to Hollywood for some late night sightseeing.

As we came across where the possum was, we saw that it was moved to the other side of the street. The girls or the apartment security must have dragged or kicked the body to the other side, since there was a messy trail of blood across the street.

We got our stuff, then headed out again. As we were coming across the carcass once again, I thought I saw movement. I stopped the car so the possum was in my lights. Then we all started screaming, 'It's still alive!!!' The poor possum was trying to move, and the only thing it could do was open and close its mouth. It was like it was screaming and there was no sound coming out. We had no idea what to do. And we had figured that the possum had moved itself across the street, trying to find some shelter. We couldn't do anything for it, so we just left.

But I vowed that if we came back, and it was still alive, I would run over it and put it out of its misery. Of course, I wouldn't have had the guts to do that, but that's what I wanted to do. Fortunately, the possum was dead by the time we got back. No movement, no silent screaming, nothing. And the apartment security was kind enough to give the possum's final resting place some orange cones so no one ran over him.

So rest in peace, little possum. We only had moments together, but I'll make the sign of the cross in my head each time I pass.

And yes, Fatima, I think it's the very same possum you saw when you were here. I'm sorry for your loss.

PhotoTime Tuesday: It's a Spring Thing!

Irises: Vancouver, Canada - May 2002

This one is a trip down memory lane, back to happier, simpler times...

Ten Great Cartoons from Your Childhood

1. Robotech
2. Smurfs
3. Tom and Jerry
4. Dungeons and Dragons
5. Flintstones
6. Voltron
7. The Flea Circus cartoon with the clown flea in love with Fifi the flea
8. Chilly Willy
9. Spiderman and his Amazing Friends
10. Jem

Next Week: 10 Things That We Probably Don't Know About You

If you'd like to get an email when the Ten on Tuesday is posted, just submit your email address here. Don't worry, I won't be sending you spam, just an update...

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Add a comment once you're done, and if you don't have your own blog, feel free to comment your answers here!

Got this from Eggwife, who got it from Cybertoad, who got it off the streets from a dirty one eyed whore...you know how it goes...

1 ... is the number of times I've gone to Bally's since I moved here
2 ... sisters I have, Fatima and Claudine
3 ... years Dave's residency lasts in Chicago
4 ... beaches I've been to this weekend (Newport, Venice, Hermosa and Huntington)
5 ... is the month I was born
6 ... times I've been to the Chicago Comic Convention
7 ... years that Dave and I have been together
8 ... months I've been married
9 ... times I've watched 'Scary Movie 2' since I moved here (our DVD collection isn't too big)
10 ... women that were bridesmaids/principal sponsors at my wedding

So even though my dad came here to visit here for two weeks, I only really saw him for several days. The rest of the time he was visiting old high school friends all around California, plus had a weekend mini highschool reunion in Vegas.

He got to see Celine Dion, who he was raving about, even though he had nosebleed seats.

He was in San Diego earlier this week, visiting his best friend. I had called him while he was out there, and asked him if he was having a good time. He said he was going around town and sightseeing a lot. 'Did you take a lot of pictures?' I asked. He said he didn't, because he didn't want to take pictures of himself alone. It was a painful reminder that whenever my dad and mom would take trips together, he would come back with rolls and rolls of my mother in front of whatever thing they were seeing. My mom in front of the Grand Canyon. My mom in front of the White House, etc. And then there would be the pictures of them together. Rarely did my father take a picture alone.

I knew that he was really missing my mom during the trip. He had so much time to himself, time that was usually spent by my mom going shopping or seeing the sights she wanted to see. He also had forgotten so many things for the trip, things that usually my mom packed for their trips together.

When he came back, I asked him how his trip went. He had mentioned that many of his friends had told him that they knew people they could fix him up with. I don't know how he reacted to it, but he seemed pretty lighthearted telling it. Me, I guess it's all a little raw for me still. He also mentioned an old classmate who was a widow, who insisted on taking a picture with him so that he could show it to his daughters to see what they think. It was humorous to my dad, but to me, I was a bit horrified. He then said, 'You know, you're mom said that it was okay if I remarried, but if she didn't like her, she would come back and tell us.'

Yeah, she said, that...I remember hearing about it...that's my mom for you. Leave it up to her to think of my dad's happiness after she was gone. She wouldn't want my dad to be alone. Of course, she has the power of veto by coming back to this earthly plane if she didn't approve.

But as for me...I think I'll pass on having a step mom for now.

But my dad had a great time, hanging out with old friends and for the first time in a while, getting some rest and having some fun.

Yesterday:

- Woke up late
- Headed to Hermosa Beach
- Ate at Zeppy's, had horrible pizza
- Came home, started watching Rockstar
- Went to pick up Dan and Tall Steve, waited for YEARS since punkass didn't pick up his phone
- Went to the Yardhouse for dinner
- It was too packed there, went to Islands instead
- Went to Rick and Lanie's poker night

Today
- Make my special heart and star pancakes (done)
- Check out Newport Beach
- Check out Venice Beach
- Check out Santa Monica Beach and Third Street Promenade
- Eat dinner at the Yardhouse

It's a pretty ambitious schedule, but I think we can do it!!!

Got this from Soo's, your personality based on your favorite foods....

You Are What You Eat

Here's my results:

Christine,
You have confidence in your ability to get things done. You are a leader among friends, and a good one too. You are responsible and like to challenge yourself by taking up difficult tasks - and you usually succeed.

You're very careful and circumspect in all matters but you won't face any problems until they actually happen. Also you're a kind and sensitive person.

Also, Christine, you think positively about the people around you and are never prejudiced. This means others see you as a kind and gentle person. They enjoy listening to what you have to say because they respect you.

You are self-centered and disagree other people's feelings and ideas. You normally go against social rules and regulations.

I don't know how accurate they are. Self Centered? Me!?!? NEVER! :-P

Took the girls out to lunch at Ruby's on Huntington Beach today. We had a great time, and they're loving the California weather. Marian has developed a fascination with surfer boys, she just can't get enough of them. And Huntington had more than enough to keep her occupied. After lunch we walked around Main street for a while, checking out the surf shops and people watching.

Here's some pics from our adventures:

Me, Shannon and Marian on the pier

For a mere $3, we rented a Rod for an hour

Marian loves those surfer boys

Forgot to do this on Sunday....I'm only, uh, 5 days late...

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Virginia:: Madsen
2. Soft:: Gentle
3. Carol:: King
4. Vanity:: Fair
5. Feminist:: Movement
6. Alias:: Comic
7. Coward:: Lion
8. Beer:: Gut
9. Chance:: Try
10. Honest:: Abe

So I worked pretty hard today, even though I worked at home. I've been so behind because I've been working at the 'Oaks trying to help them out, and I haven't been able to concentrate on my other clients. Today I was supposed to be doing a lot of testing, but got stuck on a 3 hour phone call.

I went to the airport to pick up Marian and Shannon. I was antsy all day waiting for them to come in! Their flight came in late so I hung out at the 7-11 where all the cool airport workers hang out.

After getting the girls, I took them to In-n-Out to get some grub for dinner - I hadn't eaten all day and the girls were starving. Of course, Marian totally looked like a tourist when she walked in there and exclaimed 'That's all that's on the menu?' And she wonders why people were staring!

After dropping their stuff off at the pad, we headed over to Huntington Beach with our food to watch the sunset. For some weird reason, there wasn't anyone on the beach. I guess it's too cold for the other Californians to come out and see the sunset. I thought we were going to get kicked out or something. So were were there on this huge beach with our beach blankets with no one around us, eating burgers, laughing our asses off, watching for surfer boys and watching the sun go down.

Then we went back to the apartment to watch 'Friends', and later went to Cha for Tea, the tea bar where all the local cool kids hang out at night. We sat around sipping our boba tea drinks, and played a round of Jenga Truth or Dare, which was pretty hilarious. I'm sure the rest of the place was entertained watching Marian do the hula and me and Shannon rubbing noses. We had some pretty good laughs!

Then back to the pad, to wait for Dan and Tall Steve to get in. Once he got on, he told his horror story of having the wrong assignment on the plane, therefore getting smooshed into a small seat. Then at the airport, it took 40 minutes for him to get a shuttle to his rental car place. And when he was trying to get on the 405, all the entrance ramps were closed, so he had to drive a couple miles to find one, and it was going North so he had to get off and turn around.

Woe be to Dan when he gets to his hotel/motel with no windows. Sorry dude.

By the way, that's Dan in the webcam on the right. Doesn't he look like the guy who just won't get voted off American Idol?

Ok, the girlies are sleeping. I shall stop my clickety clacking on the keyboard now.

Photo Friday: Junk

Knick Knack Drawer: Long Beach, CA - April 2004

I actually had to take this picture, because I have no pics of junk anywhere. This is our 'I don't know what else to do with this stuff' drawer. I'm sure everyone has one!

Yesterday I went to a comic book signing at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood. It was Michael Turner's birthday, so I got him a little seahorse and a card, which he loved. It was great to see everyone again, Liz, Lauren, Koi, Mike, Jason, Talent and Frank...but too bad Peter wasn't there!

It was my first time driving around Hollywood since I've moved here, and I have to say it was pretty crazy. I was half driving and half/sightseeing. I should go there one of these days to walk around and check out the sights.

Since I didn't have any comics for them to sign, I just hung out for a bit, watching Tal draw an upcoming GI Joe cover and just chatting it up with other comic book geeks. I told Tal I didn't bring any books with me to sign, so he just signed my hand. Funny guy. He's a lot of fun to talk to! We had a nice discussion on his extremely popular European erotica (Eurotica) series called 'Gangbang'. We were just fooling around, but this guy thought we were serious and was pretty interested in knowing more about it. :-P It was hard to break the news that we were only kidding.

Mike was awesome enough to draw this sweet picture of Psylocke in my sketchbook for me. I asked him if it was a drag to be signing autographs on his birthday, but he said that he was happy to do it, since he was having a good time and he was surrounded by friends. (A lot of other comic creators stopped by the signing to with Mike Happy Birthday).

Sadly, this will probably be the last time I see the crew for a while, since I'll be moving back to Chicago in a couple months. But then they'll be at the Chicago con, so I have something to look forward to!

This sheep is a whole lotta sheep...No need to wonder what a sheep looks like if it hasn't had it's hair cut in 6 years. Makes one curious as to what sheep did before humans started cutting their hair...did they just walk around with little sheep dreadlocks?

Looks like Shrek the Sheep has been avoiding shearers for some time now and has accumlated quite a heavy coat of wool. He looks like a walking carpet! He's become something of a local celebrity and hides out in the mountains, his heavy coat the perfect camouflage to evade people.

Shrek the sheep faces his shearers

Pulling the wool over his eyes

Owner fears for safety of world-famous wether

UPDATE - Because I know that not knowing was keeping you up at night...

NZ's famous sheep gets TV haircut

This is almost as good as when Bartie the Baseball got blown up on TV.

Just wanted to give you the before/after pics...

Before

After

Phototime Tuesday: Curves

The Metro: Washington DC, December 2002

After an eight month fasting, I had my first Krispy Kreme today. And it was a magical experience. I miss them so!

I was telling my clients here about it, and since there aren't too many Krispy Kremes out there, (and Californians are notoriously health conscious) they had never had one before. So I decided to stop by the one that's right by my house. Which isn't RIGHT by my house, but when you're driving around your neighborhood, it seems so close, but when you're late for work, then it's really far and out of the way.

Anyway, I drove to the Krispy Kreme, which is ironically located next to the Long Beach police station. Coincidence or business genius? Luckily, they had a drive through. Fortunately and unfortunately, the total was much higher than I anticipated, then I realized that they thought I wanted 2 dozen donuts instead of one. Well, I saw it as a sign from above that Shannon, Marian, my dad and Dave's dad will be eating Krispy Kremes this weekend. Did I mention that Dave's dad is coming too? No stress, I'm cool with it...Dave's taking them to a baseball game and me and the girls will do girlie things.

You may be wondering why I'm not so stressed, considering I was freaking out last week. Actually, my dad's been in Vegas for the weekend with friends, and is now in San Diego with his best friend from high school. My aunt spent the weekend with her California friends, so I didn't have to worry about entertaining them at all!!! *whew*

[Edited 11:13am] Due to some complaints by certain redheaded white devils on behalf of themselves and their taller almost-life partners, the Krispy Kremes shall also be consumed by Dan and Tall Steve. Anything to bring a little bit of happiness to their no-window hotel staying poor souls.

Here's the pics I took at Disneyland a couple weeks ago...they're all pretty cheesey, but well, Disney is cheesey. Didn't take a lot because we had a pretty busy day planned...maybe next time!

This week's topic was submitted by Noelle. This one required a lot of thought from me to narrow it down to 10...I'm really interested to see what everyone else's is. Let's keep it realistic!

Ten Things You Want To Do Before You Die

1. Swim with dolphins
2. Attend the Olympics
3. Visit Europe
4. Have kids
5. Own my own house
6. Take an Alaskan Cruise
7. Get out of debt
8. Go skydiving
9. Go the Philippines again
10. Finish picking out my wedding pictures for the album

Next Week: 10 Favorite Childhood Cartoons

If you'd like to get an email when the Ten on Tuesday is posted, just submit your email address here. Don't worry, I won't be sending you spam, just an update...

Here's some icons to use as links.

Use this for a link:
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Add a comment once you're done, and if you don't have your own blog, feel free to comment your answers here!

Dave always has the good links!

Here's the Exorcist, re-enacted in thirty seconds, done by bunnies.

I was going to post my Disney pics today, but I think I forgot to save the file where I put all the captions, so you'll have to wait til tomorrow...anyway, here's a pic of me when I was a wee little baby. I had a lot of hair and my mom liked to put my hair in curlers. As you can see, I was very enthusiastic about the idea.

One topic I've been thinking about a lot lately is jealousy. I don't really see myself as an extremely jealous person, but I do get jealous now and then. But there's different levels. There's the kind of jealousy that you feel when someone you don't like gets something you want - whether it's a material item or something happens to them that you wished happened to you. This kind is a little more extreme because you have negative feelings for the person. But there's also a lesser jealousy, where you don't necessarily hate the person, but you still wish you were them. The lowest level is the pang of jealousy you feel for a friend or someone very close to you, who gets a stroke of good fortune, and you're sincerely happy for them because you know they deserve it, but still, that little voice in your head whispers, "I wish that was me!"

I was talking with a friend about this, and she had said that the last level was what she saw 'envy' to be. I never really thought about that word much. Is 'envy' a word that you use when you're happy for someone, yet still want what they have? I think the times I've used the word 'envy' it's been towards a person as a whole - 'I envy her.' Meaning: 'I envy her life.' I think I get my kind of envy a lot, not that I don't love my life, but I'm so curious about other people's lives, other people's experiences that I want to live them as my own. Hmm...almost seems 'Single White Female'-ish.

Sometimes I don't understand when that first jealousy gets out of control, where you hate someone just for the fact that they have something you want, something you wish you had. I've never been malicious towards someone because of that sort of jealousy, but it's something I feel that I see so often. I just can't fathom it.

OK, fine. I've been lying to you. In kindergarten I purposely gave this girl a papercut by throwing a piece of paper at her, because I was jealous that she had pierced earrings and I didn't. But that was the last time. :-P

Watching Divas Live on VH-1 right now...

9:02 - It's the opening, Patti La Belle is doing Lady Marmalade, and her girls are coming out on stage. Here's Jessica Simpson, who has the most amazing boobs I've ever seen. Perky, round and full. She's working it in that black dress. Lucky bitch. Cyndi Lauper is out, too. I never knew she could belt out music like that! Cyndi, I love you!

9:05 - The women of the Apprentice are out. Everytime I see Omarosa, I want to hiss and boo. But girlfriend has an awesome pair of legs. But still, I get the biggest urge to scratch her eyes out.

9:08 - When did Deborah Harry start looking like Zsa Zsa Gabor in fatigues? Eve looked HOT in her Farrah Fawcett 'doo and thigh high stockings....she's come a long way!

9:11 - Joss Stone is stunning. I'm not just talking just about her looks, I'm talking about that sexy sultry voice that you would never expect to come from this 17 year old blond Brit. She kind of reminds me of a really soulful Janis Joplin. I'm really diggin' her. But I'm tired of the song....what's coming out next from her?

9:20 - Jessica Alba. Woke Dave up from his nap to see his 'Jessie'. Not enough air time. Dave almost misses her whole intro. Is it really her? The camera is too far away. Jessica is introducing Ashanti. Come on, Ashanti is SO five minutes ago. :-P

9:26 - I love Tyra Banks because she's one of the most beautiful women in the world, and she's got HIPS. Gotta love that. But today, she looks a little weird. I think it's the non-existent eyebrows. Or maybe the wild-n-crazy orangish-brown hair.

9:36 - Ever since I was little, I adored Sheila E. She was a woman in a field that you just didn't get a lot of women stars in, and whenever she played the drums she had so much energy, so much fire and sass. Even now, she's still as strikingly beautiful as she was when I was a kid. As much as I love Cyndi Lauper, I wish she'd get some normal hair! I like it that Cyndi's range didn't go into the ear piercing whininess that had marked her earlier career. I love the maturity of her singing voice now....even though her normal speaking voice is still kinda squeaky.

9:42 - I would never had thought that Pattie La Belle and Cyndi Lauper were as close as they were, but I guess Patti is the godmother to Cyndi's son. How cool is that?!? After a little technical snafu, Patti joins Cyndi in a duet of one of my favorite songs - 'Time After Time'. Wow. This is just magical. I'm getting chills up my spine. I've never heard it done like this before...two such different styles of singing merging to beautifully into one. I hope I can find this somewhere online, this is a keeper! Oh, and Patti homegirl threw in True Colors! Wowza. I'm spazzin' here. Lovely. Absolutely lovely. I'm breathless.

9:56 - Still reeling from Cyndi and Patti. Next up, Jessica Simpson, who looks like a Greek goddess, a rather cold one, in a long white flowing dress. You know, I never really liked her remake of 'Take My Breath Away'. I love Jessica's voice, but I just don't like her take on that song. Then she goes into a rendition of 'Loving Angels Instead', which is excellent. She has such a wonderful voice! But when she sings she kinda looks like a woodpecker, and her face makes some weird contortions. But still, she does the song well.

10:07 - Patti again. Definitely timeless. But a little part of me is whispering 'do an encore of Time After Time!'

10:17 - The Pussycat Dolls. Nice bodies. And nice to see Carmen Elektra singing after her singing career didn't take off in her post Prince years. Sexy and they can sing, too. Where can I sign up? Oh, forget it. Too short. Then Tom Jones comes out. Wish he sang 'It's Not Unusual', but that's ok. Dave says he looks like Andrew Dice Clay. I think he looks a little leather and plastic. What happened, Tom?

10:28 - Blondie, the band. Um...it's ok.

10:33 - Joss Stone joins Blondie singing 'One Way or Another'. Joss looks to be having the time of her life singing and dancing barefoot with Debbie. She is just the cutest thing!

10:43 - The amazing Gladys Knight. When I was a kid, I loved her, she was classy, she had such a presence about her. And she reminded me of my Tita Rosie. She has such a lovely smile! She does a great rendition of 'Memories'. Then the young divas Joss and Jessica come out to sing with her. Joss ends her bit with an enthusiastic, 'I just sang with Gladys Knight!' Jessica can sing, but she needs to get a little more soul in her moves!

10:59 - Cyndi starts off the finally with, what else, 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'. And Holy Shit! Sheila E is out doing Glamourous Life! Awww.....yeah! I love her! Did I say that yet? Play those drums, woman! Damn! That's hot! She kicks ass! Debbie Harry's doing 'Call Me', and she sounds the same...she just looks so different! Next up, Ashanti...cute. Joss comes up next, that little white girl with soul, singing Sting's 'Set Them Free'. Jessica does Steve Winwood's 'Higher Love', I don't know why she chose that one, nor why she looks so much like Morticia Adams' blond sister. The Pussycat Dolls do 'Girls on Film'. Meeeeow! Oh Tom, I love that chocolaty voice! I just want your extra time, and you're *smack* KISS! He sure was hot in his day. Maybe not today, but in his day. Last up, Patti La Belle singing 'New Attitude'. You know, I miss her weird wacky hair/hat things that she used to have. Remember that?

So that's the end of the show. Hmm...it was ok. Kinda mediocre for me, outside of the performances of Sheila E and the duet with Cyndi and Patti...

Here's a dual review, on two excellent movies...

HellBoy

I've never read this comic, but after watching this movie, I really want to check it out.

The story of Hellboy is during the second world war, the Nazi's tried to get some supernatural help, but the American forces prevented it. However, Hellboy was able to come in from his dimension. Fortunately, he was found be a good scientist who raised him as his own son. His own red skinned, six foot five, horned son, that is.

Hell boy had some great action sequences, but even better than that, the movie had some good character development. You really got a sense of who Hellboy is, a man who is not a man, trying to find his identity in a society that he must hide from. Ron Perleman plays him with such force, you feel like you're watching the real Hellboy - not a man in prosthetic horns and makeup. He's perfect with every punchline, his eyes speak volumes, and he's just as cocky as can be.

The supporting cast is great as well. I never realized how hauntingly beautiful Selma Blair was until this movie. She plays Hellboys tortured love interest, Liz, so well. I adore her even more after this movie. Rupert Evans, a brunette Brad Pitt look-a-like, has a strong movie debut as Hellboy's FBI liason. His character isn't as rounded as the others, but he's definitely nice to look at. You almost want to see more of him, to follow him through the rest of his character's career.

The story is so-so, but I don't think I was expecting an amazing story requiring a lot of thought and reflection. There are some great lines and some great comedic parts, though there were jumps between certain scenes that were too abrupt for me. One moment they're here, they next moment they're there, and the audience is left to figure out what happened in-between. I think that's my only complaint about the movie.

---

Kill Bill: Vol 2

When I had seen the previews for Kill Bill: Volume 2, I didn't feel it had the same action as Vol 1. I didn't think it would be as good.

Well, I was wrong.

I guess the thing I was forgetting that Vol 2 isn't a sequel, it's the second part of the same movie. But the feel of 2 is definitely different from 1. I wasn't wrong about Vol 2 in that the fight sequences aren't as majestic as Vol 1's - the fight against the Crazy 88's was amazing in 1, and 2 doesn't have anything of that magnitude. But where 2 lacks in epic fight scenes, it makes up for in plot, dialogue and 'moments'. Vol 1 was for action, Vol 2 is for the mind.

Not that Vol 2 didn't have some great fight sequences. The fight between Elle and the Bride in the trailer was thrilling. The choreography had to give us action in a little confined space, and they came up with some pretty inventive things. If you would have asked me 5 years ago if Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah would have kicked ass as hard as they did in this scene, I would never had believed you.

There is so much that is answered in Vol 2 that you were left wondering about in Vol 1. The scenes between Bill and the Bride are almost touching - both the flashbacks and the present day scenes. You really get to see the dynamic between the two and understand both of their motives. The whole church massacre is explained. (And there's a pretty good cameo by one of the coolest cats around) Vol 2 is more filling.

And I loved the humor in the movie. The humor is really dark, but that's to be expected from Tarantino. I didn't expect to laugh like I did, but he threw in some really great parts. I especially loved the scene in the hotel room - it was hilarious. And the scenes with Pai Mai were excellent as well. You could see Quentin's love for the kung fu movie genre here, in how many of the scenes and moments that are an homage to the movies he adores.

Uma is just amazing in this movie. I never thought she was the amazing beauty that everyone said her to be, but after this movie, I think she's gorgeous. You could see that she put her all into the part, learning the fight choreography, creating a character that flowed from anger to sadness to rage to ambivalence, all within the blink of an eye. She is the bad ass girl to rule all the bad asses. She makes this movie the ultimate girl power movie.

All in all, it was a great movie. I had loved Tarantino's movies, and he didn't disappoint this time around. Quentin is a pop culture junkie, and you can see it here. You can see how much care he put into the characters, how hard he worked on the script, how much he thought each scene, each shot, in every single scene. Where Vol 1 sucked us in with the action and the in your face violence, Vol 2 keeps us in our seats and opens our eyes by weaving the rest of the story and creating depth in the characters, characters that we start to sympathize with and care about. Did I mention that Uma kicks ass?

So go see it!

Watched 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story' earlier today. I absolutely love that movie!

There aren't too many people out there that illustrate the racism against Asians in the mid-sixties, some aspects which are still existent today. Bruce didn't just have a difficult journey to become a movie star or martial arts master, he also had to fight with prejudice and acceptance.

It's a pretty inspirational story, and it's so sad that Bruce died at age 32, just as his star was rising. It's also a sad to think that Bruce's son Brandon also met a death too early, while filming the movie that would have made him a household name 'The Crow'.

And this movie has one of the best soundtracks ever - when you hear it you'll think of many movies that have since used it for trailers and commercials.

OK, fine. I just watched it for Jason Scott Lee. Hubba hubba! That one part in the beginning, at the dance, when he fights the sailors and he gets knocked back so hard that this shirt rips and he pulls it off, exposing his ripped muscles and well oiled body.... ahhhhhhhhhh...... yeah...... That is definitely the body type that I like. Yum.

Yesterday I hung out with Dave and his co-workers. It was one of the resident's birthdays and they all decided to go see a movie and hang out. So we went to go see Kill Bill: Vol 2, which was totally excellent. I'll review it later.

Afterward, we went to the resident's house. First, we had to find it. He lives out in Garden Grove, which isn't too far from us. Dave is the one who took down the directions, but he didn't write them all down, and he said, 'We turn left at the second cul de sac and this is the number of the house'. So i wasn't really paying attention when he turned into the cul de sac, but we found the number and got out. We went up to the house and rang the doorbell and an Asian man answered. Dave asked for his friend, and the man looked confused, then said, 'I think you have the wrong house.' We said sorry, and ran away. He must have been thinking, 'Crazy people coming to my house at midnight!'

I guess Dave turned into the FIRST cul de sac.

Once we reached his friends house in the SECOND cul de sac, we all sat around in the living room, checking out his awesome entertainment system. Then out came the Karaoke DVD's and microphones. I'm sure I could smell the horror of nervousness coming out of Dave. He doesn't like to be the center of attention (ahem that's my job) and HATES karaoke. But everyone was talking about how no one was going to leave the house until they sang. Of course, most people were hesitant, but people took turns singing, becoming more comfortable when they realized that not many of them were great singers, so they didn't have to be embarrassed. They kept on telling Dave that he was going to sing to which he replied that he couldn't find a song. I didn't really want to sing because I was in ultra-shy mode because I didn't know any of these people - but they were really friendly so I was at ease.

Finally Dave realized that he couldn't escape it (probably after they started chanting his name). I said we could do a duet so it would be both of us in the hot seat. He rejected my first choice of 'Ebony and Ivory' and the gang decided that 'A Whole New World' was what Dave was going to sing. So he took the mike and started tentatively to sing.

So he's not Frank Sinatra, but he did pretty good for his first verse. I was terrified when I started singing my part. Then one of the resident's said, 'Wow, she has a good voice!' (OMG! Are you talking about me!?!?!?) Then Dave remarked, 'Hey! No one said that when I sang! What about me?!?' Which caused everyone to laugh and lifted the tension from Dave, who proceeded to have a good time and ham up his part as Aladdin.

After a couple rounds of Karaoke, out came the DDR pads. What's DDR? It's Dance Dance Revolution. You watch the TV as arrows pointing left, right, up and down move across the screen, as you step on a pad with corresponding arrows in time with the music. It looks a LOT harder than it is. I've played a couple times, and had beat Rod's barely there ass playing it. Most of the people there hadn't played it before, so I didn't say anything. I just wanted to watch them play. Dave was hilarious when he was playing it, stomping on the pad and totally missing the arrows. When my turn came up Dave yelled, 'She's played before!' but the girl I was paired up against had played before, too.

Then the master came up, this guy had all the moves, and I think he would have done flips and stuff if he good. He was smooth, he hit all the right places and he made it look so effortless. While the rest of us looked like Frankenstein doing the hokey pokey, concentrating on hitting the arrows at the right time, he was so fluid, and his moves actually looked like he was dancing. He put us all to shame, even the guy who owned the game.

Then there was the ice cream cake, which was super yummy for my tummy.

All in all, it was a fun night. Never thought a room of doctors could be so much fun!

Well, the day didn't end up as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was up pretty late yesterday trying to get all my stuff together so I could rebuild it this morning. For some reason, when I really need to stay up, I get super sleepy! But I made sure I had enough done before I went to sleep.

After a couple hours, I woke up 2 hours early for work so I could be up before people were at work in Chicago. Then it was work work work. And many phone calls to work. Luckily, everyone was willing to help and people didn't get too frazzled. There were some things that I wasted time on that eventually we didn't use, but it's all part of the learning curve. I also made a lot of silly mistakes, but it's hard to work on something at the office when you're not there to see the results. It's like being blind and just feeling your way around.

So now I can breath easy, because we're done getting the presentation ready.

Now I have to catch up on the other work that I've been putting aside.

Argh!

Photo Friday: Self Portrait

Webcam Archives: 2002-2004

I don't know why, but Photo Friday and Phototime Tuesday always seem to have similar subjects. Rather than posting the 'Self Dorktrait' that got the rave reviews and laughs, I decided to go a step further, and give a sprinkling of pics from my webcam. I'm a Gemini, and I think these pics show my dual nature - smiling and posing pretty for the camera, and being a complete dork.

Real quick, because I have a LONG night ahead of me...

Tomorrow I have a project due. I was supposed to be working on it all week, but I got tangled up with some client stuff and haven't had a chance to work on it. Today I got a curt call from the pres, telling me I had to get it done today. So I worked on it all today, while on the side I was still helping my client.

I was working on the VP's database, which is on her laptop, and I had the guys at the office promise me that they'd leave it on all night. I needed all the time I could get, and I knew I wouldn't get it all done by the time people left at 5 Chicago time and 3pm my time.

Then at around 5:45, I lost my connection. And guess what? I hadn't made a backup of everything. And since the guys said I wouldn't need to make a copy of the database, I don't have her data, either.

So I've been set back about, uh, 8 hours of work, left to piece together work on a database I don't have.

Time to bring out my magic wand.

This is one of the most interesting links I've been sent in a while....A great plug for Burger King! Thanks to my man Jerry for this one! (And Chariya sent it, too!)

Your Personal Chicken Slave.

Things to try:
Fly
Do a cartwheel
Show me the money
Sit
Lift your leg
Pray

He doesn't do everything, but the amount of stuff he does is kinda creepy!

Added 7pm Here's a link of things to have him do! Thanks to ClientX for sending it to me instead of working on his problem.

This is Luscious Deranek Feliciano. He's my rabbit, that lives at home with my dad and Fata. He's a little sick. At first my father thought he accidentally poisoned him with Tilex, but after a night in the hospital, the doctor says he's got a viral infection. He hasn't really eaten in a couple days and my dad said he's pretty weak.

Hopefully he's getting better, but if you find yourself chewing in some lettuce, or munching on a carrot today, think of Luscious, will ya? Thanks.

And if you ever come to the house, I'll show you this really cool trick he does - I don't think you'll ever be the same after you see my rabbit hump his fluffy stuffed whore. His speed is incredible, like a little fuzzy jackhammer.

Nice visual, right?

So I'm sending my positive vibes to my little humper back home, who is also known as Dave's nemesis. Dave's horribly alergic to Lush, and when he used to come over to the house Lush would follow Dave around to torment him.

Pets are just like their owners!

Happy Birthday to my ultra-huggable cousin Marlon. I don't have to tell him to go and have a good time, because I'm sure he's doing it as I speak.

Theme Thursday: Noise

Overhead View of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra: June 2003 - Chicago, IL

I found out something I never knew about my father today. I found it rather shocking. Almost uncharacteristic. Something that is pointing to what the future is going to be for my father's life, I guess. Not that I object, it's just not what I expected, I think...

So what was it?

My father is an American Idol fanatic. He even VOTES over the phone. Well, I guess it isn't too much of a shock, since two of the finalists were Filipinas. But still, my father rarely watches a show religiously (unless it's Smallville, which I guess had fallen behind American Idol in his heart since they're on at the same time). It's just weird to me! He even gave me the lowdown on all the contestants. It was just bizarre.

So I picked up my dad from the airport today. My aunt was picked up by her friends and she's spending the night with them. So she's gone, and my dad is staying here tonight. I feel like a bed and breakfast.

It's great to see my dad again. He had lost a lot of weight after my mom died, but he seems to be gaining it back again. He's really excited to be here because he has a lot of old high school friends that live in the area, and this weekend they're all driving to Vegas for a mini-high school reunion.

Maybe he can fix my leaky faucet.

Remember how I had said that I don't know how to act around adults? My daddy's different. We have a comfortable silence between us. I don't feel like I have to be in conversation with him, impress him, or do anything with him. If I need to say something, I do. If he needs to tell me something, he does. There is rarely any unecessary talk or gossip between us. Maybe that's why I'm so uncomfortable around other adults because I've never had to talk much around my parents.

In other news, today was a killer day at work, even though I was working from home. Fortunately, I wasn't on the phone today and my client was cool enough to just work with me through IM - which is SO much easier than describing things on the phone! Sometimes I feel like my typing is faster than my talking. However, the only weird thing was that he kept on asking me for a picture. Duh, he already knows what I look like, we've worked together. I think he's been IMing too much - he forgets that we're WORKING, not hooking up.

I had lunch today with the Pho Master. (Pho is Vietnamese soup) I've just had pho a couple times before, and I just ate it straight, but Master Pho showed me several different ways to have the soup. I felt like I was watching a special on the cooking channel. Never really thought it was that complicated. I've been in a funk lately, so it was nice to just sit and eat my soup and listen to someone else talk about life and problems. It was a good break in a hectic day.

I need to get out more during lunch...I realize that being cooped up in the house the whole day makes me rather grumpy by the time Dave gets home. And since I've been in a funk lately, I haven't been that nice to him. Luckily, he's been understanding. That, and he's been sleeping early since he works really early in the morning, so he doesn't get to experience the full effect of my moodiness.

Tomorrow - my dad and my aunt, in the same house! The adventures continue!

Stolen from HuskyBoy

All my life, I've never really known how to act or what to say to adults. So now that my aunt is here to visit, I just don't know what to do!

Yesterday, me and Dave took her to Shoreline Village to eat. It was pretty pleasant, and she had a lot of stories to tell Dave about my childhood and what it was like.

Today, I had to go back to the Oaks to work, and Dave had to work to, so we were both out of the house at about 5:30am, and I had to leave my aunt there with no car. I left my housekeys and note that if she wanted to walk around she could just take the keys with her. But I felt really bad that I had to leave her all alone.

She managed pretty fine, eating our leftovers from the night before for lunch and taking a walk around our apartment complex. As soon as I got home, I touched up my lipstick and we were off to meet my aunt and uncle, who I've never met and my aunt hasn't seen in 30 years. It was a nice reunion, they had many stories to share, and were soo happy to see each other.

But it was difficult for me, because for some reason I'm really uncomfortable around adults and I become painfully shy (yes Noelle, SHY!) and I didn't talk much at all, not knowing what to say. But I think the most difficult thing with the night was how much they talked about my mother. My aunt that we had met had known my mother before she had started dating my father, and though they weren't close friends, she remembered her fondly. Then my visiting aunt started talking about the funeral and wake, and things like that, and they just got caught up in talking about cancer and the last days. They weren't saying anyhting bad, they were actually praising my mom and speaking so highly of her. It was just so painful for me, I wanted to run to the bathroom crying, but I didn't want to make a scene and just sucked it up. But in my head I was just screaming, "Please stop talking about my mommy. Please stop talking about my mommy." The pain is still a little too fresh for me.

I guess my mourning is different from what Fatima is going through at home. I think for Fata it's more of a constant thing. She's faced with memories of my mother all the time. For me, it comes in waves. My life is so busy here that I hardly have a chance to eat, much less think of my mom. When I do, I push it out of my head, because it puts me in such a mood that it's hard to climb out of.

I think being alone last Sunday really affected me, and having my aunt here talking about my mom is too much. I know that she's going through her own thing, missing my mom, but I'm just not ready to talk to her about it. I don't think I ever will, I never really had a relationship like that with the adults in my life. So now I'm all grumpy and moody, and those of you who know me know that I'm NEVER like that! I think it's because I'm tired too, all this driving back and forth from the Oaks is really tiring me out. Haven't had much time to rest lately.

I suck at being a hostess.

Just a quick Happy "You're Really Old Now" Birthday to my friend Mike. There's still 20 minutes left to it!

Here's a pic from our younger, skinnier days...

Hope you had a good one, kuyabar!

This Phototime Tuesday's theme is Self Portrait. For a while, I was trying to think of the prettiest picture I could find of myself to show you, to put my best face forward. But then I stumbled across these little gems, taken during one REALLY boring day at home, and I realized, this is me. How I love my webcam! I revel in my dorkiness!!!

Self Dorktrait - January 2004: Long Beach, CA

Last week we had the bad, this week you get to brag about yourself a little. Come on, after being so hard on yourself last week, go ahead and pat yourself on the back and tell us...

Ten Positive Qualities You have
1. silly
2. friendly
3. positive
4. patient
5. fair
6. open-minded
7. creative
8. idealistic (can be a negative thing, too)
9. affectionate
10. a good public speaker

Next Week: 10 Things You Want to Do Before You Die

If you'd like to get an email when the Ten on Tuesday is posted, just submit your email address here. Don't worry, I won't be sending you spam, just an update...

Here's some icons to use as links.

Use this for a link:
http://www.yanowhatimean.com/archives/001244.html

Add a comment once you're done, and if you don't have your own blog, feel free to comment your answers here!

OK. Back up your files. Any files that you would beat yourself in the head for not backing up if you were to lose them - back them up now!

Go ahead and put in a blank CD into your CD-RW and make a backup CD.

Don't forget to back up you blog/website files.

So if anything happens, you'll have something to go back to, and you can write me a nice email and say 'Gee, Yano, thanks for the advice!'

Because if you don't do it now, you may never do it, and someday in the future, it's gonna happen - and you'll bludgeon yourself and scream to the heavens, 'Why!?!? Why didn't I listen to Yano?'

So back up your stuff!

Today was a blah day, as I had thought, I was pretty bummed all day, on a real low. Going to the aquarium cheered me up a little, its really soothing to watch the fish. Unfortunately, the jellyfish exhibit had less jellyfishes than the last time we were there. And the special 'Glow' exhibit that I went to see was pretty lame - no animals or fish, just words words words and a couple pictures. *yawn* But it was nice to walk around downtown Long Beach. I just wish I had someone to enjoy it with!

Here's a couple pics that I took:

In other news...

Saw the Nick and Jessica Variety Hour today. I think it was OK. Jessica Simpson was a little over the top, and some of the scenes were a little cheesey. But I did kinda like the Nick Lachey LaShave. And you can't really bust on a show that has Mr. T! Especially Mr. T singing 'With You'. It didn't have my attention the whole time, but I think I'd watch it again if I had nothing to watch on a Sunday night.

Also watched Janet Jackson on SNL, and I gotta tell ya, even with Boobgate and all, I still love her. Even though she lip synched her songs (well, she COULD have done the first one live, but I doubt it). The woman can still dance her ass off! And she did a great impression of Condoleezza Rice. I had thought that they weren't going to reference the boob incident in the opening skit, but they threw it in there pretty cleverly! All in all, not the best show, but still pretty good.

And finally....

Things are about to get really crazy in our little Long Beach pad! Tomorrow starts the beginning of 'People From Home Who Want to Visit' season. For a little over two weeks, my aunt, dad, cousin, cousin's roommate, sister's boyfriend and tall guy are all coming for a visit. Here's the calendar of events:

yellow: Tita Ely
green: My Dad
blue: Marian and Shannon
red: Dan and Tall Steve

It's going to be really crazy here for a bit. Be ready for a break down or some cryptic complaining - I can see it coming. I don't do too well when it comes to entertaining my elders. The young'uns I can handle, but I have no idea what do with my aunt and dad. By the end of it, I think I'll have chewed my arm off.

The adventure begins tomorrow!

Happy Easter to everyone!

I guess I'm in a little funk today. I'm going to be spending the day alone, since Dave's on call at the hospital today. This is something that I'm not used to - spending a holiday like this by myself. At home, I'd be waking up early to get all dressed up for church, go to church with my family, then go to my family Easter party, where all my aunts, uncles and cousins are and eat and laugh and have a lot of fun.

But today, I'll be getting dressed up, go to church by myself, then go home to an empty house to clean. I really wish I was home in Chicago, or at least that Dave was here.

Maybe I'll go to the Aquarium for a bit and check out their new exhibit or something.

I guess something that makes it a little bit worse is that I'm thinking a lot about my mom today. Every holiday for the next year is going to have that 'This is the first insert-hoilday-name-here without her' feeling to it.

Well, there's nothing that I can do about it. The house needs some TLC anyway, since we're having a lot of people come by in the next couple weeks...but that's a story for later.

Cousins and sisterfriends, if you're out there reading, I really miss you tons today.

And so I don't end this post on a depressing note, here's a cute little easter treat for you. Gotta love bunnies:

The Easter Bunny's Message for You

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Boxing:: Match
2. Lewis:: Clark
3. Bodyguard:: Protect
4. Burnout:: Stressed
5. Cruising:: Street
6. Easter:: Egg
7. AA:: Alcoholic
8. Research:: Assistant
9. Redemption:: Healing
10. Snickers:: Bar

Why am I posting so much today? Because today, in the Yano-Estacio household, it's "Cleaning Day". Which means I clean a little, surf a little, Dave catches me, and I clean a little more, then when he's not looking, surf a little. *evil grin*

Anyway, the thing that I have been waiting almost 20 years is here. Jem is out on DVD! Yes, pinch yourself, girls, this isn't a dream! Wheeeee!!! Rhino has put out seasons one and two out on DVD, and hopefully seasons three and four are soon to follow. I'm beside myself right now! Yay! Yay! Yay!

This totally brings back memories of sitting in front of the TV, waiting for Jem to come on, with my VCR ready and a tape recorder in hand. Yes, not only did I tape a bunch of the episodes, I had all the songs taped, too! Unfortunately, the tape was destroyed in some weird college incident, probably having to do with alcohol and big shoes.

Anyway, now I have to save up the cash to buy it!

1. Sag, you're It.
2. Hide and go pee.
3. 20 questions shouted into your good ear.
4. Kick the bucket
5. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over
6. Musical recliners
7. Simon Says something incoherent
8. Pin the Toupee on the bald guy

Found this in Yahoo! News:

Poll Finds Improved U.S. Race Relations

I find it a little sad that no one bothered to poll Asian Americans. We should have a voice, too! We're discriminated against, we have mixed marraiges, and we are also affected by affirmative action. I'd just like to see how my fellow yellow-brown people feel about these issues. Hmph. Thanks alot, Gallup.

But the results are quite interesting, some made me chuckle.

"In the poll of adults 18 and older, nearly 90 percent of whites, 73 percent of blacks and 78 percent of Hispanics said civil rights for blacks had somewhat or greatly improved."

"78 percent of blacks, 61 percent of Hispanics and 57 percent of whites said they prefer to live in a mixed neighborhood"

"73 percent of Americans approve of interracial marriage. In a 1958 Gallup poll, when the question was posed only to whites, just 4 percent supported mixed marriages"

I'm glad things have changed since 1958!

It's good to know that race relations are getting better, but we as a country, still have a long way to go!

It's Back!

1. What do you do for a living? Technical support and on-site consulting involving customization, training, implementation and integration of my company's training management/help desk management software.

2. What do you like most about your job? The people I work with, though the numbers of people who I like at my job are dwindling fast. I like a small part of the traveling - I get a lot of miles and got to see a lot of airports.

3. What do you like least about your job? The high stress level of working at a small company that doesn't have the resources or knowledge that big companies do. Red tape with management. Living out of my suitcase at times. Bugs in the software that I have to explain to customers. Having to work TOO much. Not having a cleaer idea of what I really should be doing.

4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____... I've got too many things to do and too many clients breathing down my neck, and I don't have answers for them.

5. What other career(s) are you interested in? Teaching kids. Website development. Taste Tester. Sleeping.

Dan sent over this link. Me and Dave had tons of fun yesterday making her say a plethora of phrases, in different languages.

Text To Speech Translator

OT - Gas in California is now $2.43 for regular gas. It takes me a little less then half a tank to drive to Thousand Oaks. Argh.

Photo Friday: Discovery

Flowergirl Finds Her Dress - May 2003

So I'm back in the Oaks...just like always. But they're really in crunch time now with the rollout of the system, so everyone is in panic mode. Rather than sitting in Quietville, where my cube is situated, today I travelled across campus to work with different people. Now the company here is huge, and the grounds cover about a mile of land. They have shuttle buses to take people from building to building. But since I was running late for almost all of my appointments, I just walked.

And I don't think I ever have to exercise again. I actually started to sweat, which I hate doing.

But I got a great workout, walking here, walking there, but unfortunately I've got my clippity clop heels on today, so I'm sure once I take them off my feet will be killing me.

I've been suffering from a high level of stress lately.

I think I hear Clinique Bonus Days calling.

Theme Thursday: Heavy Metal

This is all I could find on my server for this...

The Bronze Medalist Wave - June, 2002: Chicago, IL

After one too many, it didn't take a lot to persuade me to throw on that bronze medal and do my beauty queen wave to all the patrons of Bubba Gumps. That dark Filipino man on the right is trying to steal my bling from right under my nose. Sneaky!

I think I had mentioned this before...I starred in Rod's final school project. It was the first time I did anything on film, so I was a little nervous, but it was a lot of fun to do. When I first watched the video, I cringed in horror - I just do NOT like seeing myself on screen! It's so scary, and become hyper critical of myself. No wonder Hollywood has so many eating disorders.

So Rod sent me some screenshots to post for you all, and this one was the only one I felt OK posting. And even with this one I have a dumbfounded look on my face.

Yeah, that's me as Lara Croft, and my computer generated background. Pretty cool, eh? Sure, the costume isn't amazingly authentic, but I had to work with the clothes that I brought with me to Long Beach, which wasn't much. Truthfully, it was fun to run around with my holsters and pretending to shoot my gun around.

Stay tuned for my next movie....filming soon!

I had posted up a review of N.E.R.D.'s 'She Likes to Move' the other day, but I just wanted to highlight some other songs that have been on my mind lately....

"This Love" - Maroon Five

I love this song. It's fun, it's lively...and since watching them perform on Saturday Night Live, I find the lead singer really attractive, even though he reminds me of Psycho's Norman Bates. And he's part of that 'I'm lucky to be a rock star' club because he gets to frolick around in bed with a naked girl in the video.

---

"My Band" - D12

I said it once, I'll say it again, I really love that Oscar Award winning rapper, Eminem. This song just kicks ass, and the video does, too. (I've been watching a lot of MTV lately) No one pokes fun at other people quite like Eminem does, and this time he brings his band D12 into it, too. The lyrics are smart and fun, and not as mean as Eminem used to be. Well, just a little mean. The rest of D12 do a fine job as the supporting cast, bitter after being in the shadow of Eminem the prima donna.

---

"If I Ain't Got You" - Alicia Keys

Alicia proves that she's not just a one-album wonder, and that her Best New Artist Grammy was well deserverd. This song is so sweet, it's so hot and Alicia's honey smooth voice makes it unforgettable. And the lyrics, yeah, I don't need nothin' but my man!

---

"My Immortal" - Evanescence

For some reason, I found myself attached to this song, something drew me to it. Every time I'd catch it on the radio, I would listen to the words, bot not hear them. But something inside me loved this song, as simple as it is. After listening I was always left with a sense of longing. Not until reading Fata's blog did I realize why I loved this song so much. I've been so busy the last couple weeks that I haven't really had time to just think, like I had in the beginning of the year. It's been a while since I've really sat down and thought about my mom. Lately my life has been so busy and crazy that I haven't though about her as much as I used to. But I guess my attachment to this song still shows that my mother's memory is still around. And since life has been slowing down a bit, my thoughts turn to her more and more again, missing her again. Her memory still holds me.

OK, I know you've been wondering where the window pop-up tutorial was, and here it is!

Click on this link for a simple code to use.

What you'll have to do is copy the [script] portion right above your [/head] tag in your html file/template. You really don't need to copy the second part, you just need to make sure that the code for the pictures has the correct information.

Then wherever you want to show pictures, your code will look like this:

Click on this to see an example page, with HTML.

So that's it. Not too hard. Just make sure that you have that [script] in your header and to make sure that you have the right kind of link.

I couldn't put the examples directly on this main page, because the script I use is a little more intesive than this one.

Good luck!

Coming Tomorrow - The Tutorial that should have come before this one, 'How To Make Thumbnails'.

This week's Ten on Tuesday lets us get to know you a little better...

Ten Negative Qualities You have
1. mischievous
2. shy
3. lazy
4. irresponsible
5. self-centered
6. scheming
7. indecisive
8. long winded
9. paranoid
10. short attention span

I know it's sometimes hard to immediately come up with 10 things, so starting this week, I'll tell you what next week's topic is so you have a week to stew about it.

Next Week: 10 Positive Traits You Have

If you'd like to get an email when the Ten on Tuesday is posted, just submit your email address here. Don't worry, I won't be sending you spam, just an update...

Here's some icons to use as links.

Use this for a link:
http://www.yanowhatimean.com/archives/001225.html

Add a comment once you're done, and if you don't have your own blog, feel free to comment your answers here!

The only reality show I've been keeping up with lately is the Real World/Road Rules challenge. Today, Coral, the badass of badass, said the best thing that just cracked me up. Julie the whiney crazy girl wanted to challenge Coral to a wrestling match.

"I don't wrestle, I fucking beat bitches up!"

Oh yeah. That's my girl Coral. She's all talk, but she says the best stuff. And really wanted her to go apeshit on Julie.

Did Julie really think she had a chance against Coral? Come on! Get a clue, you're scared of Veronica of all people! Does Katie keep you up at night, too?

This week for Phototime Tuesday is something representing your hometown. I picked this picture because after living in Long Beach for the duration of the winter, I really miss the lights of the theater district in downtown Chicago.

Snow in the Theater District: Chicago, January 2003

reading pleasures

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

I've jumped on the bandwagon and read the book that everyone and their mother is reading. I really liked The Da Vinci Code a lot. A great, fast moving plot, with a good amount of twists and turns. Essentially it is the story of an American man who is visiting France, who gets caught in a web of murder and mystery when he is implicated in a murder he didn't commit. You could tell that a lot of research was put into making this book, and after reading it, you're just hungering to learn more. I suggested that Dave read the book, and he actually did! It was the first book that he read since 'The Jordan Rules' way back when. I'd definitely suggest this book to all of you out there, it's a great one to bring on a trip or on the train - the chapters are quick to read. But it'll be hard to put down!

song stuck in my head

'She Likes to Move' - N.E.R.D.

I've always said that the Neptunes produce hits, and here they are, as N.E.R.D., with a hit of their own. This song doesn't know what genre it wants to be a part of - Rock, Hip Hop, Funk, Dance...but it merges them all so seemlessly and it just makes me...want...to....move. And that girl in the video is hot. Makes me want to buy a little shimmery minidress and wiggle my goods while Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and that other guy sing below me. Ok, that other guy has a name, and it's Shae Haley. I feel so bad for him because during interviews people just talk to Pharrell and Chad, and Shae just stands on the side and smiles. But don't worry, Shae, at this moment your bodiless head is floating in my brain whispering, 'She wants to move'. Oh yes. I want to.

at the movies

The Passion of the Christ

What better way to spend your honeymoon in Maui than to have a romantic dinner and catch 'The Passion' afterwards? Because that's what we did! Seriously, though, it was a great movie. There were more than a couple times that I flinched and whimpered in pain, but it was all worth it. I was a bit concerned about the sign they had at the ticket window warned of 'scenes of graphic violence resembling a slaughterhouse', and Dave was concerned about the subtitles. After going to Catholic school for 12 years, nothing in the movie was really a surprise to me, except for the things Mel Gibson took his own spin on, which at some points were distrubing and scary. There was a lot I had to explain to Dave, who is Catholic, but was a CCD kid. What's that? Those are the Catholic kids that didn't go to Catholic school that us Catholic school kids looked down on because they went to Sunday school. Those CCD kids always messed up our desks during the weekend! Anyway, the movie was great, definitely epic. There's a lot more to say about it, but I'll just keep it at that.

comic you should be reading

Superman: Godfall

The Man of Steel, as done by the Aspen team. Written by Michael Turner, Joe Kelly and Chuck Austen, art by Talent Caldwell, inking by Jason Gordon and colors by Peter Steigerwald and Christina Strain. These books were selling like hotcakes, and at my local shop they didn't have them on the racks - you had to ask for it behind the counter. The first two issues are going back to print with black and white covers, since the initial run sold you. It's really great because Talent had some exposure a couple years ago pencilling the Killian's Tide mini-series. But he's the next big thing now that he's doing Superman, and he totally deserves it! So buy the book!

yummy for my tummy

kalua pork

Since I couldn't eat beef in Hawaii, I lived on fish and kalua pork. That's the highlight of a luau for me! Kalua pork! And now that I've discovered Aloha Grill, it's kalua pork all the time, baby!!!

addiction

Driving

That's all I seem to be doing nowadays! I fill up my tank 2-3 times a week, and in California, it isn't cheap! At least I'm getting reimbursed for mileage!

On Friday, Jen was done with her convention and wanted to hang out with her fellow conventioneers (is that a word) after dinner. So I went to the Oaks, drove back to Long Beach, picked her up and took her for a little tour of PCH, finally ending up at Huntington Beach. I know, not much of a tour. We ate at Aloha Grill, and Dave met up with us. I was dying because it was Friday, and that kahlua pork plate had my name on it, but I settled for the ahi tuna.

Afterwards, Jen's friends called and said they were hanging out at Rock Bottom. We went home and changed into something comfy and warm, since the night was a little brisk. Since it was Rock Bottom, I didn't care too much about my clothes, I just wore a long sleeved tee, jeans, and flip flops.

I've never been to downtown Long Beach on a weekend, so I had no idea the clubs there were so popular. We had the windows open and I could tell Jen was drooling as we heard the salsa music coming out of the buildings. We got to Rock Bottom, and just hung out for a bit there. Then her friends suggested that we move to one of the clubs on the street. We got to one of the clubs, and we could tell it was a good time inside, because the music was awesome and everyone inside was dancing.

But everyone was dressed up. Girls in short skirts and teeny tiny tops. Looking totally cute. I looked at my old jeans and my flip flops and felt like a troll. Then we saw the sign at the door that said, 'Dress to impress' or something like then, followed by a listing of things not to wear, 2 of which I was wearing.

One of the guys we were with tried talking to the girl at the door to let us in. She said there was a private party. I think it's because me and Jen were dressed like homeless people. OK fine, there was a private party. But still.

So we didn't get into the club. We weren't going to wait til the party was done. We did a little dancing outside and headed back to the car. Her friends decided to call it a night, since they had been out earlier than us. When we went to pay the parking attendant, he was like, 'You guys are done already?' and we said, 'They wouldn't let us in!' And he said, 'Why? How old are you guys?' And we laughed, and replied, 'No, it's not that, we're just not cool enough.' So he gave us a little pity smile and took 2 dollars off our parking fee.

After that, we felt bad. We felt ugly. We felt like we had lost our spark. We used to be queens of the nightlife!!! So we lowered our standards, just to make us feel a little better, just to give us back that dignity that we lost on Pine Street (yes, I know it was a private party, but let me be a drama queen here). We went to Live Bait. The bar down the street from me. Which I've never gone to before, but which has that 'Galaxy Club' feeling to the outside (a bar North of Chicago). We got in, and realized when they put the wristbands on us that it was an 18 and over bar. Little tiny girls prancing around in next to nothing. Guys trying to score with the little girls. Old men there to ogle at little girls. So we were still out of place!

But we had a blast watching everyone dance and mack on each other. (is mack a word people still use? I'm a dinosaur!) And guys actually came up to us asking us to dance! Then we flashed 'single man's kryptonite' - our wedding rings, but thanked them for asking.

I guess I was having a pretty intense convo with Jen, because I had my head down as I was listening and a bouncer came by to make sure I was OK and not drunk. I popped my head up and was like, 'Huh? No! I'm fine! I'm just listening to her talk!' We had a pretty good laugh out of that one.

So, our having gotten an ounce of dignity back, we came home and passed out.

The end.

For those of you who attended our Spam-a-palooza at Elm St. girls during my U of I days, here's something for you, stolen from Luna...

Spamjam A Huge Success In Manila

Yes. I love Spam. (and catfish, too, Janet!)

Disneyland was a lot of fun, through I like Disneyworld more. I'll say more later, but I just wanted to share this picture with you. I took it during the afternoon parade. It's a dancing mushroom from Fantasia. After seeing this, I just felt dirty, and, uh, slightly aroused. I turned back to look at Dave, and he eyes just had this 'WTF?!?!?' look. We made eye contact and just bust out laughing. Janet Jackson gets shit for flashing her boob, and Disney has THIS dancing in the afternoon parade? What's going on with the world?

Dirty Dancing Mushroom: Disneyland, April 2004

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Condemn:: Prisoner
2. Promiscuous:: Slutty
3. Pro-life:: Choice
4. Mona Lisa:: Smile
5. Crown:: Head
6. Mumble:: Talk
7. Hack:: MT
8. Diet:: Coke
9. Introduction:: Meet
10. Latin America:: Music

Don't mind me...just testing some stuff out!

family

Roll

Reciprocal

We're finally off to Disneyland today! I haven't been there since I was 5, but I love Disneyworld, so hopefully this will be a comparable experience.

I'm so excited!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The commute from Thousand Oaks to Long Beach can be a pretty long haul, sometimes taking more than 3 hours if the traffic is bad enough. And although I love the view of the mountains, sometimes the ride home gets a little boring.

So thanks to these guys for their attempt to liven up their ride home. I didn't give them a show, but they got a hearty thumbs up wink from me.

Fun on the 101 - April, 2004: California

This week's Photo Friday: Atmosphere

Sunset Over Buffalo: February 2004, Buffalo, NY

Since Jen has been in town, I've actually been around Long Beach more than I had in the 7 or so months I've been living here.

Earlier this week, we went out to lunch with a friend and got a little tour and history of Long Beach and Seal beach. Then we ate at Ruby's at the pier, which has a pretty tasty fish and chips.

Then yesterday I got to drive around downtown Long Beach for a good amount of time after I got lost when trying to figure out where Jen and her convention friends were at. So I got to see the Pike, Shoreline Village, took a turn in the scary docks where I swear that the mob had some deals going down, got stuck in the parking lot of the Queen Mary, drove around the aquarium, almost got myself lost in Terminal Island. Quite fun, yet quite scary at the same time. Finally found Jen at Tequila Jacks, which coincidentally was next to The Yardhouse, the first restaurant that the Long Beach gang took me to during my first visit here.

Well, at least I have a LOT of ideas of places for me and Dave to have dinner!
____________

In other news, work is totally kicking my butt today. And the thing is, I don't even think I'm supposed to be doing the things that I'm doing here. Its not in my contract, but I spent 5 hours today helping them migrate their database. I was here last year helping them build a package to automatically move it, and yesterday (a whole year later!) they ran it and got a whole bunch of errors. We went over the errors today, and to tell the truth, I don't remember a lot of the work I did last year. But when I looked at the errors, I didn't think that they would have been things that I would have left undone - I specifically remember running it and not getting any errors, and making exception rules for the special tables. The file that they were running didn't have those exception rules. Then I found out that the file was last modified on May 15th, 2003. I told him I think I was here in April, that the file had been modified since I was here last. But I wasn't sure. But thank God for blogs (and tonig