1. Lover:: Boy
2. Ridiculous:: Joke
3. Oscar:: Wiener
4. Tennis:: Match
5. Account Balance:: Withdrawn
6. Hickey:: Red
7. License:: to Drive
8. Breathmints:: Smell
9. TexMex:: Taco
10. Stepmother:: Evil

Finally back from Saginaw.

I think that Mother Nature has it in for me - our flight from Saginaw was delayed because of bad weather in Chicago. They couldn't assure that our flight from Chicago to LAX would go through or not, since so many flights were delayed/cancelled. We were in the plane in Saginaw for about an hour and a half, and then they brought us back to the gate. After some debate, we decided to try and catch a Northwest flight (we were on United) to Detroit, then to LAX. Fortunately, the weather wasn't in Detroit yet, so our flight to Detroit and from there went off without a hitch. *whew*.

Anyway, after my hellish commute to Saginaw, I got there in one piece, driving out there with Dave and his dad, and getting there at 4am. And the bridesmaid call time was at 6:45am, so we could get makeup and hair done. I thought I had 2 hours to nap, but then I realized that Michigan is in the Eastern time zone, so it was 5am. So I just stayed up.

I was pretty exhausted, but once the day started, I didn't feel tired at all. It was great to see Rachel and Jen again, as well as the other girls, and to meet the ones I hadn't met yet. I felt a little bad that I hadn't taken part in a lot of the pre-wedding activities, but I know that they understand. It was fun to be girly and get our hair and makeup done. The guy who did my makeup was hilarious, and he was overjoyed to find out that I was from California. Turns out he lived in California for a while and did makeup for the stars. Got a lot of good celebrity gossip out of him.

It was so great to be part of the wedding party, to watch Rachel get ready and watch someone else get the pre-wedding jitters. Her dress was made in the Philippines, and it was so detailed and intricate, it was gorgeous. She looked so beautiful and radiant...I was so happy for her. When we got to the church, I could feel the excitement from Manny...it's been a long time coming!

I think my favorite part of the ceremony was watching each of the guys come down the aisle. They gave Manny a handshake and a pat on the back. He was just so full of emotion. I speak from experience when I say that there's nothing better than to have your best friends with you, surrounding you on the best day of your life. We were all standing in place, and then Rachel came down the aisle. She looked just like a princess (I know I used that for Jen's wedding, but it's true!). It was so wonderful to see the look on Manny's face - a mix of adoration and love. He was so happy to see her, so overcome, that the rest of us all got teary eyed, too. Luckily I had some tissue hidden in my flowers. I always cry at weddings!

We had good times in the limo, and the alcohol was flowing. We had a great time, toasting, laughing, seeing the best Saginaw has to offer. Once again, we had to make a beer run at the local liquor store to stock up on drinks. You can't get a group from U of I together and NOT run out of alcohol.

The hall where the reception was held was spacious enough for the 450+ guests they had. It was like a U of I reunion - there were so many people from college there! Dinner was super yummy, and my partner Jerry kept me entertained. He likes to call himself 'Evil Dave', saying that he is what Dave would be if he were from another dimension and evil. The dance floor was huge, and the open bar was open all night. Which led to some great dancing and some funny drunks. People puked, people dropped other people when dancing, there were battles on the dance floor, an impromptu conga line started with the glow necklaces, we had the biggest Casper Slide Michigan had ever seen, and Manny breakdanced. Even after it was over, people still lingered, not wanting the night to end. Fortunately, the hotel had a shuttle that came and picked people up from the wedding.

One thing that I'm left with after being at the wedding is how touching it is to see other people in love. I guess when you're in love yourself, you see love all around you, and you appreciate it. Just to watch couples dancing, looking into each others eyes, so in love...It makes me fall in love all over again.

I'm so happy for Manny and Rachel, two people I love very much, finally tieing the knot.

Here's my pictures:

Click here to see all my pictures...

Good: There were fresh Krispy Kremes at the airport

Bad: My 8am flight left 15 minutes late

Good: I got first class, which meant a lot of leg room and breakfast

Bad: We got to Long Beach airport 30 minutes late, and my bag was one of the last ones out

Good: My California driving is awesome now. Driving to LAX was like Heo working his way through the Matrix...all of the sudden, even through traffic, there were lanes open for me, I was able to switch lanes to get to the fastest lanes. I got to LAX in less than 20 minutes.

Bad: But then there was traffic when I got to the terminals.

Good: But I got a parking spot close to the terminals, with 1/2 an hour to spare.

Bad: When I got to the ticketing counter, the lady said it was too late. I'd never make the flight, especially to go through security. And if I wanted to change my ticket around, I'd either get there early tomorrow morning, or have to pay $1400 to change my ticket around to fly just to Chicago, rather than all the way to Saginaw. There were a lot of other crazy options, but none of them good enough.

Good: I guess I looked like I was about to break down, and I gave them my sob story, then I ended with, 'I'm in a WEDDING tomorrow! I was supposed to be there today! I got here from Long Beach Airport in 15 minutes trying to get this flight!' They seemed sympathetic.

Bad: But they still didn't let me on the flight.

Good: But they DID have a 10 minute pow wow in a secret room, and came out with a ticket for me on the very next flight to Chicago, with only a $100 change of ticket charge. I thanked them and said it was the best birthday present ever. (of course, I lied, because we know that Sebastian is the best present ever, but this ticket felt pretty good)

Bad: My ticket back is at 12 noon from Chicago on Sunday, which means I have to drive back from Saginaw before then.

Good: So I got on the flight, even got a window seat. And now I've got a couple hours at home with my pops.

Bad: We're driving to Michigan tonight, should get there by 2:30am. I'm missing the rehearsal dinner. I feel really bad, because I wanted to be there for Rachel and Manny like they were there for my at my wedding. But I think they'll understand...they have better things to worry about anyway.

Good: Dave remembered to bring my bridesmaid dress.

Bad: I look liked like shit getting off the airplane. Like I'd been hit by the ugly stick.

Good: All in all, I made the flight. I'm going to get to Saginaw before the wedding. I got here safe and sound.

It's all good in the end, right?

...and they reroute your flight to Oklahoma City.

Get ready for a big vent.

So I left Pittsburgh for my connecting flight to Dallas, which I now realize is my kryptonite of airports. Only bad things happen here. Why? Because the weather was so bad in Dallas, our plane had to circle around before running out of gas and having to go to Oklahoma City to refill. Then Dallas shut down due to weather, which left us stuck in our plane in Oklahoma.

Made a million and one phone calls on the plane, trying to figure what I could do. Found out that my connecting flight from Dallas to Long Beach was cancelled. Which really didn't matter anyway, because my flight didn't get into Dallas until midnight Dallas time. We were supposed to land at 7pm.

So I'm at the airport, waiting in line to get my flight re-arranged. Because I was supposed to land in Long Beach that night. And I have a 6:30am flight out of LAX to Saginaw, Michigan, for Manny and Rachel's wedding. Since my flight was cancelled, there's NO way I'm going to make that early morning flight. So I was thinking of just flying straight to Chicago to catch my connecting flight to Michigan. But that's a United flight. My American flight is the one that was cancelled. I guess they don't play well together. So it was next to impossible for me to get a flight to Chicago, yet maintain my original itinerary - I'd have to buy new tickets, which would run me at least $300 more.

So the only thing I could get was an 8am flight to Long Beach, which gets me in at 9:25am. Then I have to haul ass to LAX to catch an 11:10 flight. I have no idea if I'll make it, but I have to try. If anything, I'll just buy a completely new ticket.

This sucks.

And since I was on the phone so long, I missed the cot-mobile, which was handing cots and blankets out to the rest of the people stranded here. So I'm on a chair. But I don't think I can sleep anyway.

And my body is surviving on my extra special birthday ho-ho's that I had for breakfast, the 5 pieces of pasta salad that I managed to eat before I got to busy to finish it, and a cookie that I had leftover yesterday for dinner. Tummy grumble.

I really wish I was home. Chicago or Long Beach, I don't care.

I'm too tired to cry. This is possibly the worst birthday ever.

But not really. It could be worse, right? And for all the awesomely crazy shit ass fucked up crap that I went through today, there's some positive stuff that has helped me not to go completely postal on my fellow travelers who are sleeping on cots with their soft, warm red blankets, snoring away in dreamyland...uh, where was I? Oh, positive stuff.

Oh my god, to log onto my site and see 35 birthday well wishes completely amazes me, and I'm just speechless. Not that I have anyone to talk to here anyway. Not to mention the emails and voicemails and text messages...I absolutely love you guys. All of you. Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes and the kind words....my heart is smiling. And the special posts on your blogs, I can't believe it. Even though I'm in a shitty mood right now, I still feel lucky. Well, not with travel. But with friends, and this amazing community that comes here day after day to read my rants, raves, stupid crap and nothingness...I thank you all. Thanks to all of you that posted little things on your blogs, too! That was completely unexpected! From Pridey's Yano party to Shannon, Marilyn, and Texx and whomever else for their posts.

And to Mel, who wrote a really sweet thing...Miss you much...LYLAS (remember that?) She also posted this little trip down memory lane...

But the greatest gift that I got today, a gift that I didn't even ask for, was that my cousin Gail, my little flower girl Nina's mom, had a baby today! On my birthday! What better present can anyone have than to have someone born on their birthday? So welcome to the world, little Sebastian. Don't let Nina push you around, and big brother Enzo will be happy to have a boy to play with.

So ok, maybe it's not the worst birthday ever.

Happy Birthday to me....in Pittsburgh....alone.

Bummer.

Fun Things I'm Doing on My Birthday

- At the stroke of midnight, I'm converting a 40,000 record database so I can get to the airport early tomorrow
- Installing software, training, doing a database conversion
- Flying 8 hours from Pittsburgh, to Dallas, to Long Beach
- Getting in at 11:30pm at night

The last 30 minutes of my birthday are left up to me. And Dave, if he's awake when I get home.

This is the third year in a row that I haven't had a birthday at home in Chicago, surrounded by friends and family. It wasn't too bad two years ago, when me and my family went to Vancouver. And it was pretty fun last year, when Dave had our cruise cabin decorated for me as a surprise.

Pre-Birthday Cake at Iberico

But this year, I'm away from home. I don't have Dave here, and I don't have my family. So I guess you can say I'm bummed. And a little lonely.

But this time alone has caused me to be pretty reflective about the first 29 years of my life. It's had its share of ups and downs, and thankfully, more ups than anything. I really don't fear getting older, because I don't feel I am. I still feel like I'm 23, if not younger. Even though I've been in a funk lately, I never ever worry that I'm loved, by my husband (who was so awesome and picked up my bridesmaid dress and carried it like a man around Belmont Shore), by my family, immediate and those not so immediate, by my friends and even by people I've never met, but who give me encouragement and kind words all the time. I have met and continue to meet so many amazing people that have affected my life in so many ways. I only wish that I have touched someone's life in the way that I have been changed by others. And as much as there may have been some things in my life that I'd love to do over again, and that I may regret, I know that the experiences of my life have molded me into the person that I am today. I know I'm so lucky to have the things that I have. Sometimes it's easy to look at the bad side of things, be envious of the things other people have, the lives other people lead, the living in a world that I have never experienced. But when I look at all that is before me, and the happy moments in life that keep me going, I know that I'm content and blessed.

And old. I know. I said earlier I don't feel old. But hey, I'm a Gemini, I can change my mind whenever i want to.

Next year is the big 3-0....hopefully I'll be able to spend it at home.

If not, hopefully I'm at least around people I love.

*blows out candles*

Fine, fine, there's no candles.

*turns off the light*

Goodnight.

I had so much more to say today, but I forgot. I'm just so tired today. Not getting much sleep, because the time difference is still screwing with my head. I'm feeling really restless for some reason, and a little bit off. For some reason, a little bit melancholy and homesick, too. And tired....so tired.

Anyway, I updated my Amazon Wishlist....um, just in case anyone wants to buy me anything special. *wink* Oh hey, what a coinky dink, isn't my birthday coming up soon? *evil grin*

[updated 9:17pm EST]

OK, I think I know what part of it is. I'm so burned out with work. As wonderful as my present clients are, I'm just so tired of working, so tired of multitasking. And it's lonely in Pittsburgh. Without a car, Pittsburgh can't be part of my 'Yano Goes to the Mall: The American Tour'. I had also found out that one of my favorite clients had to stop our project prematurely due to internal issues. :( But of course, some people think it's MY fault. Fortunately I save all my emails so I was able to prove that it isn't my fault. I also had to fill out a ton of paperwork for a drug test and a background check, fax it (after having to find a printer to print it out) to a client that I have an upcoming gig with, only to discover that they don't need me to come out there anymore. Hmph! And I rescheduled Fatima and Melanie's visit for these people!!! Grrr!

:(

It's 1:30am here in Pittsburgh, but it's only 11pm in Long Beach, a good 2 hours before I normally go to sleep. When I try to sleep, I just lie there and think about how I really shouldn't be in bed because it's still early in California. My sleeping schedule is so whacked!

I'm at a cool client site. I was so over dressed in my cool black slacks and hip striped top. Everyone was in t-shirts and jeans. Unfortunately, I didn't pack to many casual clothes with me. But tomorrow I'm doing jeans. I hate looking like the goody two shoes outsider. I told my main contact my car situation and he volunteered to be my chauffeur for the week, since my hotel is on his way to work. Don't worry Dave, he's a happily married older man with 3 kids, one who is as old as I am. It's great that he volunteered, because it was $40 one way, even though the trip is only about 20 minutes. Something about crossing county lines.

I was bored today, trapped in my hotel, so I actually went to the healthclub and worked out. Dave sure is proud.

You know, I'm not a regular American Idol watcher, but America, you best be voting for Fantasia. If she loses, you'll know that this whole competition is a crock of shit.

No offense to little Diana, it's amazing that she has such poise and talent to make it this far.

But if you hear Fantasia sing, she is just amazing!

OK, most of you will have no idea what I'm talking about, but hopefully this post will save someone a lot of time if they ever run into it.

So anyway, I was installing our web product on my client's webserver, but I couldn't run our default page. Got a 404 file not found error. Went to the root of the webserver, just plain localhost, and still got that 404. It turned out that the system wasn't processing the asp pages. Brought pretty much the whole IT over and they couldn't figure it out, but then again, they didn't have anyone who knew IIS really well. Called the office, no one knew either.

If I didn't get it up and running, I was pretty much screwed.

Did some googlizing, and I found out that they used IIS lockdown, which basically shuts off the functionality of all files that it thinks could be a liability, with .asp files being one of them. I did a lot of searching and tweaking to try and figure it out. Finally, after rerunning IIS Lockdown and choosing a different security set, I was able to fix the problem.

Yes, I'm bragging. Because there are times when you really start not liking work, or you get really burnt out and you just don't know why you continue to work...and something like this comes along and it's like a kick start. To know that you're not stuck in a rut and that you're still learning, and that you can still get a little thrill from working and troubleshooting. That, and I was a psych major, and I get a small amount of satisfaction knowing that I'm the one who figured it out, rather than the IT guys who get paid twice as much as I do.

Of course, if I didn't figure it out, I would so be bitching in this post. And maybe freaking out.

Is googlizing a word?

So I'm in Pittsburgh right now. My flight left Long Beach at 10:20am, and our plane landed at 9:15pm Eastern time. That's technically about 11 hours of my life that have disappeared. Luckily for me, I checked out my intinerary before heading out, because I thought my flight was leaving from Los Angeles. It would have been a pretty funny story if I was looking for my Long Beach flight at LAX.

So when I'm on the plane, I realize that I had given Dave my driver's license to hold when we went to the Sunset Room, because my pants didn't have a pocket. And I forgot to ask for it back.

So when I went to the car rental place, and they asked for my drivers license, I gave them my state ID. And the guy said, 'I need your driver's license.' Then I sheepishly told him, 'Um, I forgot it at home.' Then Mr. Manager, who is standing within hearing distance, says, 'I'm sorry, but we need a valid driver's license.' I then told them that I have my driver's license number, but no go, they said that they wouldn't know if I had it revoked or something. No matter what I tried, I couldn't rent a car. Hmph.

So then I had to take the shuttle to my hotel, and I'm left to be taxiied around Pittsburgh.

Oh, and since I made my reservations last minute, there's only smoking rooms left. So it stanks in here. Stank-o-licious!

I don't know if this is representative of how exciting it is here in Pittsburgh, but one of the top news stories is how a duckling was bludgeoned to death by a 10 year old boy. Um...ok.

Sucks to be me. Argh!!!

Phototime Tuesday

Slam Dunk, Glendale CA - May 2004

Went over to Vinnie and Dean's house the other day, and had a great time watching the guys play water basketball. Got this great shot in, and I think it goes well with this week's theme.

Ten Things You Plan on Doing This Summer

1) Move from Long Beach to Chicago
2) Find a house
3) Go to the beach one more time in California
4) See an outdoor concert
5) Host a party in my own home
6) Get a new printer
7) Practice my photography skills around Chicago
8) Get a raise
9) Some the summer blockbuster movies
10) Finish doing my site galleries

OK, I guess this post serves 2 purposes:

1) For you to tell me if you have problems seeing anything on this page. if you're having problems with the background interfering with the text, please tell me what resolution size your monitor is at. Right now, if you're at 800x600, you're screwed, but I'm looking at options to fix that problem. [edit: I've tried something already, tell me if this helps a little...]

2) For you that are having font viewing problems, or I guess just anyone in general, I'm offering you several choices of fonts to vote on. Some may seem the same, if so, and if they are both your favorite, vote for both letters. (Some fonts may not be on your system) So now I shall present to you some sample text using different fonts, go ahead and comment with whichever font you think goes best with the layout and which you can read the easiest. Help me help you!

a) Book Antiqua
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

b) Bookman Old Style
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

c) Century Gothic
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

d) Monotype Cursiva
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

e) Palatino Linotype
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

f) Tahoma
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

g) Trebuchet
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

h) Verdana
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.

i) MS Reference Serif
Do you know where you were when you heard? I got a phone call, at the Baggage Claim at Logan Airport. My friend said only, "Roy." And I knew. There were some snickers, guffaws. Siegfried and Roy had been the most popular show in Las Vegas, and there was nobody who would share the same iconic status. The ageless, windblown pair, in pirate shirts, looking at the camera, as if they dared the audience to come see the spectacle, and how tan they were in person. It was bound to happen, but no one ever thought it would. The duo seemed invincible, and the tigers were snowy and stuffed animal-like. I think that it was the inimitable Seigfried and Roy hair, motionless and shaped like lion's manes, one dark, one light, that made them seem like they could commune with the big cats, that they were part of that family. Roy, as he lay bleeding backstage pleaded, "Don't kill the cat.." They were a pride.
excerpt taken from Margaret Cho

It was a pretty busy weekend for me and Dave. His brother Justin was in town, and stayed with us on Saturday night. He knows a bunch of people in LA, and we headed out to the Sunset Room with him and a bunch of his friends. Me and Dave were the oldest in the group, which was kind of funny, because a couple of the people we were with were the younger siblings of people we had gone to school with. I also got a chance to meet my sometime poster, most of the time lurker, Carla. Me and Dave had a great time, though, and it was actually the first time that the two of us went to a club together since we moved here. The music was pretty good, but during one dj's set he didn't mix the songs together, he'd play one, the do a scratch, then go to the next song. Can't get a consistent groove when that's happening! The crowd was pretty eclectic for the most part, and it was a good sized crowd, but not packed. Which is fine by me because I'd rather not go home hot and sweaty. It's not a good look on me.

Dave summed up the crowd when he said, 'There's a lot of skin showing, but when you get up close, it doesn't hide that they're not good looking.' Which sums up one of the things that I realized about California. It does have more beautiful people, but not as many as I thought. Though there are more good looking people than Chicago (I admit, we're a chunky people in the midwest) a good amount of the beautiful people here are smoke and mirrors. That is, at first glance they're hot, but when you get close, you'll see that it's an illusion created by stylish clothes, a hip haircut/dye and well applied make up. Once I realized that, it made me feel a little less self conscious about not being a 'beautiful' person. Because I don't really care about clothes, my hair or perfect makeup - if I had all those and was still ugly, then I'd worry *wink*. This is in no way saying that all people in California are like this. I can honestly say that no one I've met and gotten to know here was anything less than friendly and genuine. It's only the people I see around that I apply my little sterotype to. I know it's bad. Sue me.

But all in all, we had a good time. But we know we're getting old. Dave got pretty tired early, and the rest of the group was just getting started!

Yesterday we went to Vinnie and Dean's place so Dave could get a haircut. We actually stayed there longer than expected, but it was a lot of fun. After the guys' basketball game (we stayed behind to watch the Cubs on TV) we had some pizza and got some good laughs watching their cousins try to throw each other in the pool. When I grow up, I want to have a place with a pool! Then I can finally learn how to swim! I got some great shots of them playing pool basketball, and I'll probably post them up tomorrow or something.

Today.....I head out to Pittsburgh. Anyone in this area? Pridey? Anyone?

Monday Madness

This week's is a fill in the blank kind of thing, I guess....

1. I started blogging about 2 years ago.
2. I try to post a new entry in my blog about every day. (pretty much whenever the fancy strikes me, which is often)
3. I read about 5 blogs on a regular basis.
4. I change my layout about 10 times a year.
5. I used to not be alive, and now I blog instead. Just kidding.
6. I spend more time blogging than I do cleaning my house.
7. I tend to blog (and visit blogs) most in the morning.
8. The thing I enjoy most about blogging is being able to write as long as I want and not be interrupted. You're all a captive audience, in a way.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Finale:: Grand
2. Martial arts:: Movie
3. Flirt:: Tease
4. Energy:: High
5. Flavor:: Taste
6. Guess?:: Jeans
7. Accomplishment:: Done
8. Prom:: Date
9. Diploma:: Graduate
10. Bloody:: Mary

This is pretty long...watch out!

Finally getting to posting up my Maui review. By now my 'Memento' memory has erased most of my memories (which is why I started this blog in the first place - so I remember things) but lucky for me, I jotted down some notes in the airplane. But I have to write this soon because Manny and Rachel are planning on going, and I promised Manny I'd tell him where to go...

So here's little snippets of what I remember, things that you should do and shouldn't do, etc.

Before we start, click here if you want to see the galleries. I just wanted to say that now in case you didn't make it to the end of my Hawaiian novel.

- When we first got there, it was raining. The locals said it was rare that it rained that hard for that length of time. We had planned on doing our snorkeling on the first day, but we were told that it's hard to do when it's raining and that we need wait a couple days for the water to clear up. So we had to rearrange our schedule.

- It's a plus to be Filipino. We got our parking for free after the old Filipino attendant asked us if we were Filipino. When I took out my money to pay, he just shook his head and pointed us to the door. Most of the locals we met there thought we were local, too.

- We went to a luau, I forgot which one, but since it was raining, it was indoors, so it felt more like a Hawaiian wedding than a luau. If you want to go to the most popular luau on Maui, the Old Lahaina luau, you'll need to make reservations before traveling there because spaces take taken up quickly. If I was going to go back to Maui, I think I'd rather check out the Feast at Lele, which is a more intimate luau, with food that represents the different islands of Polynesia. It's also a sit down dinner, rather than a buffet, like most luaus. But we had a great time at our luau, and the food was awesome, even though at the time I had given up beef and Dave was raving about how good it was. Oh, I remember now, it was at the Hyatt. I love me some kalua pork!

- Our breakfast of choice - the spam, egg and rice breakfast from McDonalds. Only in Hawaii can you get spam at Micky D's!

- Lahaina was a great place to shop and just check out the scene. We stopped by Whaler's Village, and ate at the Rusty Harpoon - their seared ahi wrap was delicious. Don't bother going to the museum, it's kinda boring. Though we did get a good laugh when we watched the whale movie, and the lady said that looking at a whale was like 'looking at the eyes of God'. Um, it's cool, but not THAT cool!

- Everyone told us to do the Road to Hana, and since it was raining, we thought we might as well do the trek, since we'd be going through the rain forest anyway. It was really beautiful, but I guess from the hype everyone was giving us we expected more. Due to the rains from the previous days, the waterfalls were in full effect, and the rainforest was lush and green. We did one of those mini-bus tours, and we had a fun bunch of people. Our tourguide, Wes, was awesome. He was this 40 something old surfer guy who had grown up on the north side of the island, and he had the best stories. He gave us a crash course in Hawaiian history, local legends, his own memories in different spots, and partying with celebs like Willie Armstrong and Steven Tyler. He was ultra cool. In any other environment I would have been intimidated by his coolness. He took us to his favorite spots along the way, and my favorite was this area right along the coast with hardened lava all over the place and a blowhole that let the water through. It was pretty and all you could hear was the waves crashing against the shore.

- We also stopped by the Seven Sacred Pools, which were beautiful. Since we were on a tour, we were crunched for time, so rather than explore the whole trail around the pools, me and Dave went to the bottom pool to swim for a bit. The bottom was uneven, and I don't know how to swim, so I never made it to the waterfall side. But it was a beautiful view. I only wish I got shots from the bridge that people jump from!

- Bring water socks, sometimes the beaches have rocks, and they could hurt your feet. You may also want to invest in some of your own snorkel gear, because there's some great snorkeling spots along the beach.

- Make sure to catch a sunset. There's a lot of places you can turn off the highway that have some spectacular views.

- We got up at 2:30 am to drive up to Haleakala crater, which took about 2 hours, which wasn't as long as we thought it would take. It was an windy way up the mountain in the dark, but lucky for us there was a full moon to guide our way. We wore long sleeves and brought our jackets, because we were forewarned that it would be chilly at the top of the crater. When we got there, there were about 4 or 5 other cars at the summit already. We got out of the car and IT WAS FREEZING! It was cold and the wind was howling. I was almost afraid to go to the observation area because I didn't want to blow off the mountain. We stood around for a bit and finally went back in the car to warm up and nap a little. By the time we decided to get out of the car, the parking lot was packed and there were tons of people there. Dave went into the observation room and I decided to brave the biting cold and wind outside so I could get better pictures. At around 5:30am, the sun started to rise. It was the most incredible thing. Being so high up on the mountain, we were above the clouds, so when the sun came up, it slowly painted the sea of clouds below it. When it finally broke through, the world around us was covered in this golden glow. It was really amazing to see. I must have taken a million pictures. We really were on top of the word. After that, we took a nap in the car and didn't end up waking up til 9. We toured around the crater after that, and it's pretty amazing. You feel like you're on another planet looking out into the red earth and the craters left by the extinct volcano. Not something you expect from Hawaii!

- Later that day, we went to Kamaole Beach I, II, and III. Not very imaginative names, but very good beaches!

- The next day, we checked out Big Beach and Wailea Beach. Dave wanted to find Little Beach, which was the topless beach, but unfortunately couldn't find it. I'd have to say my favorite was Wailea beach, because it wasn't too huge, but not too small.

- During our honeymoon, we did the most romantic thing possible - watched 'The Passion of Christ'. OK, I'm just kidding. But it was a bit weird, but we didn't have anything to do one night and saw a late showing of it at the theater. Great movie. Though I wouldn't suggest seeing it on your honeymoon.

- We went on a dolphin excursion, but unfortunately, it started to rain again and the prime snorkeling spot was pretty rocky, so we never did see our dolphins. (One day, dammit! One day I'll see one of you pesky little sea mammals!) We did get to do some snorkeling at Molokini crater, where the water was pretty clear, outside of some debris from the storm. Our captain told us there were many whales in the area. There was a little snorkeling fish class, where we swam (I had my little tube floaty and looked REALLY cool) with a marine biologist and she pointed fish out to us. That was neat, because most of the time you see the fish, but you have no idea what they are, or what they do. She told us that if we stick our heads underwater, we could hear the whales sing from far away. I went off on my own and put my head underwater, and I could hear them singing, very softly. That rocked.

- After that, we went snorkeling in Turtle Town, and I never thought the turtles would be so huge! One swam right by me. They are just the cutest things, and their swimming is just so effortless. One day I'll get my underwater camera developed.

- So there's this law that says that boats cannot sail to within 300 yards of a whale. If it happens that a whale should swim within that 300 yards (they stay underwater and sometimes pop up), then the boats must stop their motors and wait for a whale to pass. On our way back to the dock, we saw many whales in the distance, their dorsal fins in the water or breeching (launching their bodies out of the water and slapping back in). Our boat had a captain, co-captain and several marine biologists. We were sailing along then we saw this mother whale and her baby within that 300 yards. The captain turned off the motors, and we sat there and waited for them to pass by. The suddenly the crew started getting really excited. The mother and baby were going to pass right underneath the ship! Everyone was running around, pulling out their cameras, and the captain was ringing the bell. I never thought a whale could be so huge, but she was almost as big as our boat. So the two of them passed, and after, the little baby launched herself out of the water, learning how to breech. Soon after, mama whale showed baby how it was done and breeched out of the water as well. The whole crew was laughing and smiling and said that had never happened before. To me, it totally made up for not seeing the dolphins!

- My last day in town, I got a cold. I was all sniffles and sore throat. But all we had left was the whale watch. We already had whales the day before, and had debated on going since nothing could top our experience. But we paid for it, so went on the ship. So we got to the boat and headed out of the harbor, and we saw some whales on one side. We watched them and ohh'd and ahh'd. Then the captain exclaimed, 'There's one right on the side!'. We then had to stop the boat, since the whale had come in range. We were excited to see her come closer, and had our camera's ready to take pictures as she passed us. But she didn't. She came right up to our boat and stayed there. The guide theorized that the whale like the sound of the motor, or maybe was using our boat as a shield to get away from any whale suitors. Nonetheless, we were ecstatic. She stayed next to our boat and surfaced every now and then, blowing air out of her blowhole and wetting us, coming above water to take a peep at us, and just chillin on the side of the boat. It was so awesome I can't even put it into words. And the coolest thing is, we couldn't get away because she was by us. We had to wait it out until she got bored of us and went away. I guess this is called a 'whale mugging', where people on a boat are stuck with a whale until it goes away. But hey, we weren't complaining having our own personal whale to hang out with! She was gigantic, and I swear, she winked at me. Finally, an abandoned boat that was moored to the dock passed by us, and Whalea got confused and went and followed that boat. We started to sail away, but then she found us again. We stopped the motors. By this time I think she was tired of us, so she went away. But it was the BEST experience!

- Try the seared ahi tuna at The Lahaina Fish company. You don't even need a meal, just order two plates of those and you're to go!

I always get restless with my site design, so here's the latest. This time around, I just wanted someone simple, yet cool. And what is cooler than a chick with a sword? Of course, the art is by Michael Turner and the character is Kiani, the newest heroine in his comic, 'Fathom'. This is from a 3 poster set that they have available right now. In the future I'll probably incorporate the other posters in the layout.

So...what do you all think?

Got this one from Lupe's....

1. What color are your kitchen plates? Ecru with swirly designs on the edges
2. What book are you reading? Still on 100 Years of Solitude...I've been reading it for about 100 years...
3. What's on your mouse pad? A black gel wrist supporting pad thing...once I actually get a DESK I'll get a nicer one...
4. What's your favorite board game? Clue
5. Favorite magazine? Photoshop User Magazine...but I never get it because it costs an arm and a leg.
6. Favorite smell? Fresh Laundry
7. Least favorite smell? REALLY old soy milk
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the
morning? Snooze, Snooze, Snooze
9. Least favorite color? Hot Pink
10. How many rings before you answer the phone? 3
11. Future child's name? We're debating about it...Trinity or Benjamin, I guess
12. What is most important in life? Loving
13. Favorite sound? Little kids laughing
14. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
15. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Yeah
16. Storms, cool or scary? Ultra Cool!
17. What type was your first car? 2000 Honda CRV
18. If you could meet one person dead or alive? Martin Luther King, Jr.
19. When is your b'day? May 27th. Mark your calendars!
20. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? I don't EAT broccoli
21. If you could have any job, what would it be? Teaching kids art
22. If you could have any color hair, what could it be? I'm thinking about highlights again
23. Have you ever been in love? Yes
24. Is the glass half full or half empty? Half full
25. What are your favorite movies? Too many...The Princess Bride, Contact, The Little Mermaid, Pulp Fiction...
26. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? no.
27. What' under your bed? Right now, just dust bunnies. Last year, I would have been afraid to tell you
28. What's your favorite number? 18
29. What is your single biggest fear? Not being able to have kids
30. Favorite CD? Tough one...probably Lauryn Hill's first CD.
31. Favorite TV show (s)? on air right now? Um...All the Law and Order shows
32. Hamburger or hotdog? Hotdogs
33. Favorite soft drink? Orange Crush
34. The best place you have ever been? Maui, Hawaii
35. What screen saver is on your computer right now? Just a blank screen
36. Full name: Christine Sanchez Feliciano
37. Cats or dogs? Dogs
38. White holiday lights or multi-colored? Color. Lots of them.

My dad called me this afternoon, as excited as a kid in a candy store. It turns out that my cousin Ronald scored some tickets to the Cubs/Cardinals game and invited my dad to come alons. He called to inform me of what seats he was at, in case I wanted to look for him as I watched the game. You can bet that he's asked someone to tape the game for him or something so he can see his shining moment on TV, if it should happen.

So if you're watching the Cubs game, and see a short Filipino man sitting with two younger Filipino men in the crowd, that could very well be my father.

As I write this, Moises just hit a 3 run homer to bring the Cubs within 1. No sight yet of the short Filipino father.

A big happy birthday to my lovely sister, Fatima. I hope she has a great day today and parties her ass off. She's such a wonderful person and I admire her strength, especially during these past months. She truly deserves to rest and have fun today....wish I was there!!!

Photo Friday: Macro

Blue Flowers: Long Beach, CA - May 2004

This is the first time I really played around with the zoom options on my camera, and I think it turned out OK. I really need to read my camera manual sometime. There's so much that I can do with it that I have no idea about!

I am now officially the proud owner of a 2000 Metallic Forest Green Honda CRV. After four years of payments, the Mystery Machine is finally mine!

It's such a nice feeling to know that I don't have to worry about payments anymore, that this car is completely mine. I feel like I've achieved something financially. Also, that I've got some extra money every month to save up for a house.

So this is an ode to my wonderful car, which many of you who read this blog have ridden in, eaten in, laughed in, screamed at horror because of my driving in...

<--My car, during dirtier times.

We've been through a lot together, this car and I.

A few months before getting a car, I had seen a fortune teller, who really freaked me out. He said I was dating a man of smaller stature, but who was very healthy and muscular, who maybe like wrestling or weightlifting as a hobby. He said more, and essentially was describing Dave. He also said things that were uncannily true. Then he said that I will be buying a car in the future, and that car will be blue. So when it came to the time for me to buy a car, I made SURE it wasn't blue. I got the only other car they had on the lot, the green one, which was the perfect one I wanted - leather seats, CD/Cassette, pretty wheel cover. So was the start of me and my car.

Since then, we've been on many adventures. We've crossed the country, through plains, mountains, snow, hail and sleet. She kept me safe as I drove home from Thousand Oaks, crying, after finding out that my mother was dying. She has survived 2 accidents, both pretty minor, neither of them my fault (my dad backed into a pole and someone nicked me on the side). She has transported all kinds of cargo in her trunk, like snowboards, computers, food, card tables, and Olympians. She has driven all over Southern California. She got us safely to Michigan after being lost for 6 hours. Webmasters have been taxiied around in her back seat. Coworkers have driven her when I've been too drunk to drive home. She's maxed out at 9 passengers. I've taken her to 100mph. People have borrowed her to drive around. She has been my fortress of solitude, when I needed time to think and drive around with the windows open and music blaring.

I'm looking forward to what's coming up next for me and my car, as we enter this new stage of my car's life!

Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA - January 2004

It was halfway through my visit at the Getty Center before I realized that you could take pictures. I have no idea who this guy is, but I just liked the picture.

I actually filled up my memory card taking pictures at Jen and Mike's wedding, though I can't really recall what I took pictures of. But here's a couple of my favorites from that night...it was a fun night, and it made you love watching people in love...

Well, I'm back in Long Beach now. It was a great time in Chicago, but also a pretty stressing time. I was so happy to be home, the last time I was home was Christmas. But I think I was unprepared for how everyone would be. As I've said so many times before, people deal with grief in so many ways, but I never realized how different home would feel. Coming into my family's home, I was struck with an overwhelming sadness in the house. The air was thick with grief in the home, it's really hard to describe. But it definitely affected my mood while at home, a little sad, a little melancholy. Out of my sisters, I know it's been hardest for Fatima, who had witnessed all of it since the beginning, and who is left at home to tend to my father, who seems to have shut himself off. There's a distance he'd created between himself and everyone else - he was never really close with my aunts and uncles like my mother was, and right now, he doesn't have many people he can connect to, that he can talk to. I'm sure he feels so alone right now. I try to be there for him, not necessarily as someone he can open up to, but at least as someone who's supporting him.

We had a movie night with my dad, which I think he enjoyed, but once again, there was that air of something missing. Everything is such a delicate situation, I don't want the distance between me and my father to get any larger than it has gotten since my mother passed away, but we're all going through our own things. I want so much to help Fatima through it, too, because I know she has a lot of pent up feelings that she has yet to sort out. But it's all so hard to put these feelings into words - anger, despair, sadness, hopelessness, longing. So I just tried to be there for her, too.

There were moments when I came out of my room in the morning, expecting my mom to be sitting at the table eating breakfast. Or going through the mail and seeing mail addressed to her. It was so hard to go to her grave, I was almost afraid to. To see the grass starting to grow, and the headstone there made it all the more real to me. It just tears me up inside just thinking about it.

But it was nice to be home again, even with the rush of feelings, emotions and memories. It was nice to see old friends, hang out with the family and cousins, working with my coworkers. But I realize that when I go back home to live, it will never be the same. Saying goodbye to my father at the airport turned into this emotional 'Little Mermaid'-like farewell - you know, the part where she's leaving to live in Prince Eric's kingdom, and she gives her dad one last hug and says, 'I love you Daddy'. It gets me choked up every time.

Here's a semi-review on 'The Ultimates', Marvel's Ultimate take on the Avengers. I've never really read the Avengers, but so many people in my comic book world had suggested that I read the book that I finally picked it up when I went to a signing a couple weeks ago. I'm not about to hunt down all the back issues, so I just picked up a handy dandy trade paperback, which had the first 6 issues all nicely bound together. For any people out there interested in reading comics, trade paperbacks are the best way to start reading a book - they're cheaper and you don't have to find all the old issues.

So I'd started reading it, and I loved it. I love seeing all these comic book icons, reimagined and living in the world we know of today. The art is incredible, and the story sucks you in, with some fun pop culture references here and there (Shannon Elizabeth and Freddie Prinze Jr. make cameos). Essentially, the US government is getting together a superpowered team to protect the country, which is made up of Janet Pym - the Wasp, her husband Hank Pym - Giant Man, Steve Rogers - Captain America, Tony Stark - Iron Man, and Thor.

The book was so good, that when I was on my way home on the train, I wasn't even watching the stops. I was intensely reading my book when I heard someone yell, 'CHRISTINE!!!' outside of the train. Turns out we were at my stop and the conductor was calling, 'Step inside, doors are closing!' Fatima was outside yelling for me. I grabbed my stuff and ran out of the train, embarrassed. Fatima got a good laugh, because she was wondering where I was.

So yeah, the Ultimates is a good book...it gets me 'So good I almost missed my train stop' thumbs up!

Well, it's been moved. It had to happen eventually...so I made a quick, pretty layout for it and it shall now reside HERE. I've already moved all the of email notifications over, now I want to export the ones that are in this blog to that blog. I'll do that when I get back to California. Anyway, from now on, go to the new site to get your Tuesday fix...

But I'll still post up my list here...

Top Ten Cars of All Time

1) The Mazda Miata of the early 90's
2) The Batmobile
3) Honda CRV
4) Herbie, the Love Bug
5) 1975 Chevy Nova - my family's first car
6) Honda S2000
7) BMW Z4 Roadster
8) Lexus LX 470 SUV
9) The Barbie Corvette
10) Stephen King's killer car, Christine

Thanks to everyone who's participated to make it as successful as it's been!

Because I know you bitches love pictures...

Here's one from Melanie's camera:

She's got a couple more on her site from my stay here in Chicago. I've been too lazy to take pictures...here's another one from Bar Celona:

Fatima, Me, Marian and Melanie

So yesterday we went out for Marian's birthday (again) to her favorite place to dance with cute, complete strangers, Rush and Division. We spent a good chunk of our time at Finn McCool's (which used to be the Alumni Club). They'd done some renovation, and up on the dancefloor they've got this little catwalk for people to dance on. The DJ had a dance contest to see who could dance best to Britney Spears' 'Slave 4 U', and the girls made me go up and do my thing, which was pretty fun. Of course, the DJ said whoever took their top off would win, and sorry, I don't give free shows, so I didn't win. Oh well!

Later on we headed back to Shananigans, which was packed. I sweated off a couple pounds in there. Then the amps overheated and they had to turn off the music for a while. I was afraid it would start a riot or something, people were getting restless. We persuaded some random guys to sing, which was pretty awesome and people had a blast watching.

Best line of the night that we got? "Hi, my name is Phillip. My last name is Pino. Get it? Filipino?"

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Playoffs:: NBA
2. Morris:: Zack
3. Break up:: Hard to do
4. Eggs:: Over Easy
5. Parker:: Prothers
6. Hardy Boys:: Nancy Drew
7. Deluxe:: 247
8. Protection:: Condom
9. Girl Scout:: Cookies
10. Salsa:: con Queso

Well, I went to Jen's wedding yesterday, and it was a blast.

As expected, the mass started on time, rather than 'Filipino Time' - 10-20 minutes late. I'm sure that Jen threatened everyone with pain if they didn't come on time! I started to get teary as I saw her walk down the aisle. She looked so beautiful, just like a princess. And she was so amazingly happy! The homily was hilarious...the priest knew Jen as well as the rest of us did, so he made a couple jokes.

The ceremony was wonderful. My heart sang as I watched one of my best friends get married. I love Mike. He is so good for Jen. I remember being drunk one night and going up to him and explaining how happy I was that Jen was in his life, that she had someone she could rely on who made her happy. Even though I was a little off, I meant every word.

Then it was off to the reception, which was so much fun. Me and Fatima were seated with Eric, Gil, and Jen's cousins from California, who were a blast to talk to. We all got along so easily, Jen's got a great family. And the food ROCKED!

I think my favorite part of the night was when a huge group of Jen't uncles and aunts (and her parents) got together in traditional Filipino costume (which is actually Spanish, but that'll be a lesson in the future) and danced 'La Jota', a Filipino folk dance. It was a complete surprise to Jen, who had danced folk dances since she was little. It was wonderful to see all these people dance this lovely dance with such ease and grace, it was so much better than the college productions we would stage. Watching it brought tears to her eyes, and near the end of the dance she got on the dance floor and joined them. Her dancing had so much joy as she twirled around, it was really breath taking.

I also loved Jen and Mike's first dance, which was actually a salsa. I love to watch Mike dance!

It was a great night. I was so happy to see so many old friends, and to dance the night away. Good times!

And congratulations to Jen and Mike...I love you guys!

Interesting links found on the 'net...

Men Without Tights

In honor of Troy coming out today, here's an interesting article about the top ten men in movies who have shown us their legs. Members of the list? Patrick Swayze, Russel Crow, Chow Yun Fat...etc. Sorry gals, no pictures there...
Top Ten Man-Legs in the Movies

10 Years of Wonderbra

The Wonderbra turns 10, and The Sun gives it's homage to the wonders of female cleavage.
Valleys of the Dolls

Pick up the Poopie or Rover Dies!

So this sniper at this apartment complex posts flyers around saying that dogs will be shot if their owners don't clean up after them...and lo and behold, a dog was shot. What is this guys problem? Doesn't anyone just talk anymore? Reminds me of that guy who was putting poison in dog treats and leaving them on the ground, because he didn't like dogs running around without a leash.
Dog shot at condo complex after 'threat' by sniper

Lost and Found at the Pool

It's interesting what people forget to bring home with them. I mean, as you're getting back to your car, realizing how tired your leg is, wouldn't you REALIZE that you left your prosthetic leg at the check in?
British Pool Managers Find False Limbs

Tomorrow one of my best friends from home is getting married. I picked up Rachel after work today and headed over to the wedding rehearsal in the pouring rain. After a couple detours, we made it pretty late to the church, but just in time to see Jen practice walking down the aisle. (yet late enough to get the 'you guys are DEAD for being late look from her later on)

I'm going to be doing the petitions at the mass, and was a little nervous about speaking during the rehearsal, but we didn't have to go up and read. But I did get to go up and practice my part after most of the people had left, so I'm pretty comfortable with what I have to do.

It's always an incredible thing to see a friend get married, take that next step in life. I'm so happy for Jen, and I know that she's found the perfect man for her. Mike is so wonderful and loves Jen so much, and the two of them are so compatible...it's great to see them finally tie the knot.

I could only feel for her as I saw a bit of 'the night before' craziness in her eyes. Yeah, when that time comes, things really get crazy. But knowing Jen and how incredibly organized she is, I know that she's got everything planned down to a T and that the wedding will be wonderful. She has helped out with so many weddings, I'm sure that planning hers was easy. She should be a wedding planner!

So just a half day for me tomorrow...we've gotta get to the church early. Rest assured that I will take a million and one pictures...hopefully I will be able to focus as the tears of happiness are running down my face...

We had an awesome time yesterday when we took Marian our for her birthday. We went to Bar Celona, a little bar/tapas place outside of Wrigleyville that Marian had suggested.

It was just us girls, Fatima, Melanie, me and Marian, but we had a blast, laughing over sangrias. We were starved and we ordered more tapas than our tiny little table could hold. When the food got there, we scarfed it all down in less than 10 minutes. No one said anything, other than, '*grunt*Mmm...this is good', 'Want a potato?' 'Are you gonna eat that last one?' and 'Who's gonna cut the pork chop?' The food was good, especially that crabcake croquetas and the squid.

Our mission to get Marian trashed were successful, after 3 pitchers of sangria. Melanie's friends stopped by later, and so did our cousin Marlon. There were times that we were laughing so hard that we started crying. Marian had spent the day helping out at the Special Olympics (which directly relates to her job) and, well, you can just imagine the things we talked about. Especially after a couple drinks.

So we had a ball. We even had a nice stranger by us drinks. As we left, we thanked him and he said, 'Samamalt!' I looked at him strangely, and he asked, 'Do you speak Filipino?' [the official language of the Philippines is Tagalog, BTW] I told him I only understood. And he said, 'Samamalt! Thank you!' 'Oh! It's SA-LA-MAT.' He then pronounced it correctly, and I shook his hand and went on my merry way.

Theme Thursday: Ring

WWJD With Handcuffs? - Chicago, July 2003

I was walking down the street one day and saw this car. I had to take a picture because it was so funny and ironic. WWJD = What Would Jesus Do. A pretty devout Christian with a pair of handcuffs. Gotta love it!

A quick Happy Birthday to my wonderful and lovely cousin Marian, who always laughs at my jokes and loves to read my entertainment magazines.

So where are we gonna party?

So I'm back in the Chicago office today. I'm happy, but there's still a lot of stuff to get used to, like talking to people, people asking me questions, having to multitask and juggle priorities...but it's great to see my coworkers again.

But wouldn't you know, I'm in the office for no more than an hour and I get stuck with a client with a problem that I haven't seen in a long time, and my new laptop doesn't have the program installed, so I'm left to solve it with my wits and people skills.

So all in all, I'm a busy gal. More later.

Oh. And there's no internet back at the house. It might be later later...we'll see!

Well, I guess my yellow dress will not be making its debut this weekend, since I re-read the wedding rehearsal invitation and saw that they requested that anyone taking part in the ceremony wear something peach or coral.

Ironically, I was looking for a peach or coral dress to match what the bridesmaids were wearing. Unfortunately, I hated all of them. There isn't much selection of peach or coral around here. Oh well. I've been to the Los Cerritos Center Mall, the Lakewood Center Mall, and I should just finish up the triumvirate today and go to the Stonewood Center Mall. Hopefully I'll have more luck there.

Am I returning my Stepford Wife dress? No way!

Someone please get married this summer so I can wear it.

Thank you.

Tonight I head home to Chicago for a little time at home, and to attend my good friend Jen's wedding. I'm going to be reading at the mass, so this is a pretty big deal to me.

So in honor of her wedding, I went off to the mall to buy a new dress for the occasion. I hate dress shopping. I'm not really a dress person, and they never seem to fit me right. But I found one that was kind of fun, in a 'Stepford Wives'-ish kind of way. I think Jen will really love it.

And also, because I know Jen is totally a girly girl, I had my first pedicure today. I called her when I was on my way to the shop. She was pretty surprised. I didn't know what to expect. It was quite an amusing experience, though I still don't know what the fuss is. I tried hard not to giggle when she was using the pumice on my feet. It tickled! I also got to choose what color to put on my toes, though looking back on it, I don't think I picked the right one. The shade of pink is glowing on my tan little toes. I'm totally not into this girly stuff, but in a little way, it was fun, even though I hardly understood a thing my Korean beautician was saying to me.

Not only did I get a pedicure, but I also got my eyebrows waxed, which was an event in itself. My eyebrows must have been pretty scraggly, because when I went up to the lady, she said, 'You want eyebrow wax first?' Uh, yeah...sure. Thanks. I've always been weird about my brows, because they're so sparce. I pluck one and the whole eyebrow is gone. But the lady did a pretty nice job, and there's something comforting about feeling the warmth of the wax on my brow. Then the quick wince of pain when she pulls the strip of cloth off.

So I came out of the place feeling like a whole new woman. I pranced around the apartment in my new dress for a while after coming home. Dave had a good laugh over it.

Unfortunately, I realized all too late that I have a habit of digging my toes into the carpet. Hence, my shiny toes now have this textured carpet fiber look. Oh well. I can do 'em again on my own.

Ahh....the price of beauty! Only Jen can turn me into a girlie girl like this!

You know when you're in the car, and you hear an old song on the radio that never fails to put a smile on your face? A song that no matter what, brightens your day and puts you in a happy mood? That's the list for this week:

Ten Songs That Make You Happy

Ten Songs That Make You Happy
1. Talk Dirty to Me - Poison
2. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
3. Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz
4. 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
5. Love Like This - Faith Evans
6. You Got Me Up - Cajmere w/Daje
7. These are the Days - 10,000 Maniacs
8. Jump Around - House of Pain
9. Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
10. Vibrant Thing - Q-Tip

Next Week: 10 of Your Favorite Cars Ever

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

Thanks to everyone for their encouraging posts. I've said it many times before, I'm blessed to have so many wonderful, caring people around me.

Yesterday me and Dave headed of to the beach so he could study and I could catch up on the People's 50 Most Beautiful issue. After that, we ate some dinner, I did some work (argh! on the weekend! but it kept my busy) and then went out to see 'Van Helsing'. Before heading out, I was watching the 'Survivor All Stars' 2 hour season finale. I was going to miss the last hour because of the movie, so I set my VCR to tape the last hour. Of course, I totally forgot about the hour reunion afterwards. And I guess the two hour finale ran over a bit.

So I missed who won.

But then I realized it didn't really matter, because Boston Rob proposed to Amber, which I thought was really sweet. And either way, he ends up a millionaire. You may think that he did it because he knew he'd lose, because the way that final Tribal Council went, you knew he didn't have too many friends. But it was obvious that he truly had feelings for Amber, and that she had them for him, too. But I think he also did it to ensure his 1 million, too. *wink*

So they're both winners.

By the way, Amber won. But she deserved it, by hiding in the shadow of the conniving, manipulative one. She's the queen of flying under the radar. I missed the reunion though...did I miss anything good?

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Vagina:: Monologue (oops...missed it the first time!)
2. Racism:: Hatred
3. Mother's Day:: Card
4. Fire alarm:: Ringing
5. Elvis:: Impersonator
6. Pregnant:: Woman
7. Vacation:: Time
8. Waffles:: Syrup
9. Perpendicular:: Lines
10. Hospital:: White

Happy mothers day to all the mothers out there...I know there's at least one of you out there that reads this crazy stream of consciousness that I call my blog.

Well, I've been saying all along that I have been dreading this day, and it's here, and I'll try and let it go by as quickly as I can.

But I can't let it go by without saying something about my mother.

It's a little weird, I knew I wrote something nice and sweet about her last year, and looking back, I just shake my head...the things I complained about were nothing compared to what Fatima and my dad went through in the last months of her life, the pain she went through were nothing compared to the pain she went through near the end. And still, she rarely complained.

The one lingering memory I have of my mother, and I may have mentioned this before, is of her in her hospital bed, propped up with a whole bunch of pillows, with people around her. Even though she's attached to a million machines and has tubes everywhere, she's looking at me with a sweet, content smile. Of course, I had just done my world famous 'Christine Dance' for her, which became a regular thing for me when she was in the hospital. I did everything I could to get that smile.

It still hurts a lot. Her memory still lingers around me, so many things bring her to mind.

I heard this song while I was driving home from Thousand Oaks, and it just hit me so hard. Before, I had wondered how it would feel to have this song sung to me, to have such an impact on someone's life that they would have me in mind when they hear this song. I realized on the drive home that this is the way I feel about my mother. She raised me to be a good person, sacrificed so many things for me, never asking for a thank you or expecting anything in return. And she is the person that someday I hope to be, loved by everyone who knew her, patient, loving, funny, kind...

Miss you, Mommy...

So I think I'm getting a cold again. Which I'm not really surprised about, because I really haven't been taking good care of myself over the past couple weeks, sleeping late, not eating well, etc. I'll try to be a little proactive and take some zinc. It's worked before, hopefully it works this time.

One of Dave's friends from med school was in town yesterday. We had a great time hanging out at Huntington Beach (seems like I've been there a lot lately!). He's going to be doing his residency here in June, so he came into town looking for places to live. He was pretty surprised how much things cost around here. So me and Dave gave him our pointers for midwesterners living in Southern California. I'll share a couple of them with you now.

- Motorcycles can go wherever they want. Even if you're stuck in traffic, those little suckers will fly right by you. It's unnerving. And it's not fair!

- Gas prices suck. Don't cry the first time you fill up your tank and it's over $30.

- Traffic isn't too bad. If you're driving at 5 in the morning or 11 at night. All other times, it sucks.

- In Chicago, your scarf is the very last defense against the cold. Scarves and gloves will come out when the temperature is about 10 degrees. Here, people will throw on a scarf to wear with their sweater in 60 degree weather.

- Downtown Chicago is a happenin' place. That's the place to be to have a good time, that's where you take your visitors from out of town. You can take your visitors from out of town to Downtown LA, but only those visitors who you never want to see again. It sucks. It's empty, scary, and there's lots of rats. There's nothing there. If you have visitors, take them to the Santa Monica promenade, or the beaches, or the Getty.

- Go to the Kodak Theater, expecting the ambience of the Oscar's red carpet, you'll get a little surprise. It doesn't look like that

- Pacific Coast Highway is a beautiful drive. If you're going south past Long Beach, or north of north of Santa Monica. Even that Santa Monica part I'm not too sure. But drive on PCH in north Long Beach, and you might want to make sure your doors are locked.

- LAX sucks. If you're picking anyone up, the traffic down there is crazy.

- People are nice here, but not as friendly as they are in Chicago. Chances are if you make eye contact with someone walking down the street, they won't say 'Hi' to you, or if you say 'Hi', they'll be surprised. If someone accidently bumps into you are a bar, or on the street, they don't say sorry.

- There are a lot of beautiful people on the beach. Good looking with great bodies. It can give a not so beautiful person with an average body a complex.

- There's nowhere here you can get good pizza. We're spoiled.

There was a lot more, but I don't want to rag on California too much. We also gave a lot of positives about living here, with the weather being the most obvious thing. But I'll post my 'Things I love about California' before we move out. It will be touching, trust me!

Saw the 'Friends' finale....

There was so much hype over it...TV specials, Today show appearances, finaly parties in Hollywood...etc. NBC has been milking it for months.

How was it? It wasn't amazing, I didn't falling off my chair laughing, I didn't start bawling, it wasn't the best episode ever. But it was nice. A sweet goodbye.

Why such a big deal? What's so special about the show?

Well, for me, this show has been around for so many of my life changes. I remember in college people would get together for 'Friends' nights. People would relate things in their lives to things that happened on the show. We've been involved with these characters, through love and heartbreak, and in a way, we've grown up with them. It's so different from one of my other favorite shows, 'Seinfeld' in that these characters weren't always happy. Things weren't always funny. Seinfeld and Co were pretty much the same characters throughout the run of the show...there was no timeline, really. They never really had long, drawn out storylines.

But it was different with Friends. The characters we saw 10 years ago are different from the ones that we watched yesterday. We saw Ross and Rachel fall in love, then out of love, then in love again. We witnessed Chandler and Monica hide their sexcapades, then watched as it turned into love. Ross got married several times. And Joey ate. A lot. Phoebe had triplets, and had a hard time deciding on names. We were torn when both Ross and Joey were in love with Rachel. We ached when Monica and Chandler found out they couldn't conceive a child...

So I'll miss the show....miss the comfort of knowing that it will be on, every Thursday night. But to tell the truth, it hasn't been as great the last couple seasons. Though as mediocre as the shows have been lately, the show went out well. I admit, I got a bit teary. But it ended the right way. I mean, he IS her lobster.

So goodbye, my Friends....I'll see you in reruns....

*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*

Photo Friday: Play

What Are All These Buttons For? - Chicago, April 2002

Nina always wanted to be like her big brother. As soon as he was done playing, she grabbed the controller to see what the fuss was all about.

Watching the last 'Friends' episode. What do you think?

More on it later...

I'm super swamped with work today, but I thought I'd post something that I did a couple days ago, but never posted...

_______________________________________

Been a while since I've done one of these...Got it from Marilyn, who got it from Melanie, who got it from Shannon...I read all three, but I guess I missed it on the first two.

..::SuRvEy TimE::..

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find the fourth sentence. Write down what it says.
"My father survived the attack, but it killed his spirit." (Elektra comic book)

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
The couch

3. WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is.
3:05 p.m.

4. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
3:20 p.m.

5. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
TV and air conditioner

6. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
About an hour ago, me and Dave went to Huntington Beach for lunch

7. Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
Marilyn's site

8. What are you wearing?
An orange 'Long Beach' tee, a black skirt/shorts

9. Did you dream last night?
Yes

10. When did you last laugh?
About 5 minutes ago

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Christmas stockings - we never took them down

12. Seen anything weird lately?
There was this gross stuff on the pier earlier...looked like dried boogers

13(a): What book are you currently reading?
Still on 100 Years of Solitude, haven't had much time to read lately...been reading comics a lot

13(b): What is the last book you finished?
The Da Vinci Code

14. What is the last film you saw?
Kill Bill V2

15. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
A really good computer

16. Tell me something about you that I don't know:
I was asked to join the track team in high school, but chose band instead

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
That's a tough one. There's just too much.

18. Do you like to dance?
Love it

19. What is the last thing you ate or drank?
A mocha shake at Ruby's

20(a). Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Isabella

20(b). Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Riley....actually, I don't have any boys names....but I think that name is cool

21: Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yeah...but only in a country that has indoor plumbing

Theme Thursday: Twisted

Twisted Trees - Jekyll Island, GA: May 2003

You know, I never realized how much hype there is for Mother's Day until this year.

I think you can say this is similar to how a single person feels with Valentine's day around the corner. It seems like everywhere I turn, there's a spot on the radio about it, an ad in the paper for Mother's Day sales, a special on the Today show for things to buy your mother...

I'd love to say that Mother's Day, to me, will just be another day, but it won't. It'll be a very hard reminder that she's gone. It's a day that I don't want to come, a day I don't want to celebrate again. On that day I just want to shut myself off and just pretend it isn't Mother's Day. I'll probably mope around and be really bad company for Dave.

Yesterday I signed our Mother's Day card for Dave's mom, who, in essence, is my mother now, too. I did it as fast as I could, not even reading the sentiment. I'm thankful that Dave bought the card himself and didn't ask me to buy it. I know it's not fair to Dave's mom, in a way, because I can't bring myself to fully celebrate the day, but I'm sure next year won't be as bad. Well, I hope it won't be, anyway.

It's the 5th of May. Break out the Coronas and slice up some lime wedges!

In case you're wondering why we celebrate this day, click here.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Well, you knew it had to happen sometime! This is my ode to the heat spell here...it's hotter than hell! Well, not in Long Beach, but in other areas!

I've been making little changes here and there that you may have noticed...here's a little overview of them...

- The 'people' links are now powered by Blog Rolling. Some of you may have noticed that some blogs have asterisks next to them. Blog Rolling has an option where it shows which blogs have been updated in the last 24 hours. But I've taken out the functionality, because it doesn't show for all blogs.

- I've added categories on the site - I haven't fully categorized all my posts from before I moved to MT, but most of them have some sort of category.

- I fixed a couple broken links - one in my Bay City photos, the other in my webcam archives.

- Added a couple links
---New people = Leen, Lucy, Janet, Key and Lucy
---New sites
-----Shag Art, who made the awesome pic on the top right
-----fark.com, the place to get all kinds of interesting news
-----Princess Melissa, Melissa from Real World New Orleans...she's pretty funny..check her out

- Added bottom link navigation, just in case the navigation graphic doesn't work

Was surfing around the news today.....

Haven't had any in a while? Get a BMW! Seems like people who own BMW's get the most action...
BMW drivers get most sex

Researchers will turn the ocean red to see how the Hudson River flows into it.
Experiment will color ocean red off coast of Sandy Hook

Britney Spears gets a new tattoo to show her devotion to Kabbalah, the religion she got into because of Madonna. Of course, Britney didn't get someone to proofread, so her Hebrew tattoo means nothing. Which is better than the Japanese tattoo that she got that she thought meant, 'mysterious' but which was actually translated to 'strange'. Oh, the life of a celebrity!
Britney's new neck art is gibberish

When a Punking goes wrong - the Black Eyed Peas didn't find their Punk'd prank too funny. Another one of those 'Wish I was there' moments...
Black Eyed Peas Resist Being Punk'd

Most of you have blogs, and tell your readers about your day to day things, or things in your past, but are there any little facts about you that your readers may not know? This one was a little tough for me because I had to cross reference it with my 100 Things, but I managed to come up with some...

Ten Things We Probably Don't Know About You

1. I wear gas permeable contacts
2. I have to buy two more boba teas at the local shop before I get a new one
3. I can't leave the house without wearing at least eyeliner and colored lip gloss
4. I was the jump roping champion of my second grade class
5. I think Rick Moranis is really sexy
6. My mother cut my hair until I got to college
7. I have to separate my fries on the side of my plate before I eat them
8. Being alone, driving 4+ hours a day has really improved my car singing skills
9. My ex-boyfriend still has my super nintendo AND my super bomberman, and I'm a bit bitter about it
10. I have a very short attention span (but I'm sure you've figured that already)

Next Week: 10 Songs That Make You Happy

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

Here's my positive post (see post below)

I love going to the comic book shop, especially the one that I go to in Long Beach. They have such an amazing selection of everything - not only comic books, but also statues, toys, t-shirts, posters, books, etc.

My schedule is so hectic and crazy, I don't get to go there that often. But when I do, I spend a good chunk of time just walking slowly through the main aisle, checking out books that aren't on my pull list. [pull list: a list of comics that you ask the shop to put aside for you so you don't have to worry about your favorite comic selling out - they'll have it on the side for you] There's so many comics out there, I don't want to miss anything that's good.

I usually don't talk much when I'm at the shop, mostly because I don't know the shop guys that well. But last week I needed to take some books off my pull list. (Bye bye Batman, Witchblade and Tomb Raider) So I talked to the counter guy for a bit.

We got into this pretty great conversation about comics and the X-Men, who, although they've killed off my favorite character, still have a place close to my heart. In the next month, Joss Whedon, who used to write Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will be writing one of the X-Books, which I'm really excited about. Its nice to talk comics with someone, because there aren't many people that I know who still collect them

So as I was leaving, comic book guy says, 'You know what's really cool? There are two girls that come in here regularly, you and this other girl. And you two get the most books out of anyone. Our two top pull lists are women! You'd think it'd be the guys, but it's not.' Thought that was pretty funny...

I know that sometimes people feel that when they post on their blogs, the only time they write is to vent or complain about negative things.

So today, take out 10 minutes from your day to write about something positive. It could be a person you admire, something good that happened to you this weekend, a favorite childhood memory, something positive that's going on in your life, what you like about the city you live in, a thought that makes you smile...it doesn't matter, just as long as it's something that's positive.

So I'll be back later to write about my mine...

Dave was on call yesterday, so I had some alone time.

At first, when Dave would be on call, I would get a little depressed, trying to think of ways to keep myself busy. I didn't like being alone, especially in an unfamiliar city where I didn't know a lot of people. But I realized that as time went on, that I really enjoyed these times that I had all to myself. I love taking my little adventures around town, going to places that I would enjoy, but which Dave may not feel like going to or doesn't have time to do. After being married for this long, having moments to myself, where I'm doing something independent of my husband are a nice change of pace.

So today I went to the Los Angeles Zoo. I think after going to the zoo in San Diego, I've been ruined for all other zoos. The LA zoo wasn't as great an experience for me. It didn't have the same wide selection of animals, and the layout of the animals wasn't easy to follow. I found myself backtracking a couple times to see animals I missed. It could also be because it was H-O-T today! I was burning up and I wasn't even at the entrance of the park yet. I took a good amount of pictures, but I have enough pics of sleeping animals for a whole gallery. I wasn't the only one that was lethargic because of the weather! All the animals seemed to have this, 'You know what? It's too hot. Leave me alone' look on their faces.

But it was still a good time. I'll post up my sleepy animal pics...then the rest will be in my upcoming galleries. When will those be up, you ask? Um. I dunno. In time...

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Sexy:: Bitch
2. Clique:: Group
3. Pledge:: Jones
4. Carbs:: Diet
5. Dream Job:: Sleeper
6. Sweeps:: Week
7. Soundtrack:: Listen
8. Hero:: Shakespeare
9. Shave:: Razor
10. Christina:: Onassis

I admit...when I lived at home I was pretty spoiled and never really did laundry. I'm a lazy, spoiled, bratty princess and I admit it.

But now that I am a married woman (ohh...sounds so scary!) it's either me or Dave that does that laundry. Oh wait, did I say me or Dave? Hmph. It's ME that does the laundry. Dr. Dave seems to have a pretty packed schedule...too busy and tired to take 2-3 hours out of the day to do the laundry.

I never knew that 2 people could accumulate so much laundry. I did 5 loads the other day, mostly towels from the visitors and Dave's scrubs. Luckily, the folding skills I picked up when working at the souvenir store at the airport are coming into effect. But there's just so much laundry! The pile of fresh laundry is quite intimidating.

And socks! Our apartment isn't that big. There's one bedroom, a walk in closet, a closet in the bedroom, a coat closet and the bathroom. We've only lived here for 8 months. How could SO many socks lose their partners? 50% of the socks don't have a match. Where did they all go? I've checked the house for gremlins and gnomes, and nothing!

Dave is on call today. The laundry folding can wait. I'm going to the zoo!